Flecvieh Cows on a grass based Diet ?

Icelandicseige

Seems like lots of positives to this breed..
Lots of Milk,
Protein and fat doesn't seem bad,
Good Fertility
Good Cull Cow value
Good Calf Value


Whats the Negatives to this breed..?
Would they work well on a grass based diet..?

DaDerv

Icelandicseige wrote: »

Seems like lots of positives to this breed..
Lots of Milk,
Protein and fat doesn't seem bad,
Good Fertility
Good Cull Cow value
Good Calf Value


Whats the Negatives to this breed..?
Would they work well on a grass based diet..?

https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/bring-a-bit-of-german-efficiency-to-your-dairy-herd/

Interesting enough. Personally I'd never even heard of them but they look a lovely animal. I'm partial to the Simmental myself!
Seems like a good mix of both.

orchard farm

Simmental fan here for sucklers but by God do they like to eat,say as dairy you'd want plenty of grass

Mooooo

Icelandicseige wrote: »

Seems like lots of positives to this breed..
Lots of Milk,
Protein and fat doesn't seem bad,
Good Fertility
Good Cull Cow value
Good Calf Value


Whats the Negatives to this breed..?
Would they work well on a grass based diet..?

Negatives would be udder height and possible feed conversion efficiency when it comes to milk output. Also the high yields quoted are a lot of the time from European systems or crosses on European Holstein, so I would be sceptical here. In Europe you'd find jersey herds yielding more than a lot of herds here per cow. Also in a wet year there's a bit of weight to carry on soft ground. Gestation length is a couple of days longer too. Still they may suit some if farm was fragmented and male calves kept etc. Have a couple of cross bred fleck heifers here to calve in the spring so will find out. Don't have weights here but they are the same size as the aut born hol/fr heifers who would be 4 months older

TooOldBoots

They are similar to a Black whitehead milker. They'll keep up with the Holstein for most of the year but like the wh they start to lay on a layer of fat at the back end of the milking season

Timmaay

Icelandicseige wrote: »

Whats the Negatives to this breed..?
Would they work well on a grass based diet..?

You can only get out what you put in, and if your expecting to feed her the typical Irish diet of grass/silage and 6/700kg of nuts you will not get anymore than the usual 5500/6kl, however with the disadvantages of a bigger heavier cow who will eat the place outa grass and silage, and less hardly than the likes of a jex/br fr.

Personally I think they are only useful in high output situations, with plenty of cheap feed like maize etc, and country with a much stronger beef demand, here in Ireland the extra few hundred you will get when culling her won't be enough to justify her place there instead of a more grass efficient cow who would of given more profitable solids of milk over her lifetime.

Muckit

I know a lad that always ran a sim bull. He bought a fleikveich bull earlier in the year up North. I'll be interested to see the calves next spring.

DaDerv

Muckit wrote: »

I know a lad that always ran a sim bull. He bought a fleikveich bull earlier in the year up North. I'll be interested to see the calves next spring.

Whats his plan with the progeny?

Muckit

DaDerv wrote: »

Whats his plan with the progeny?

He takes the bulls to u16mth beef. He'd keep some of the heifers as replacements and used sell others in ballymote special sim sale. But not sure what plan is now. Cows would be sim aswell so perhaps they still qualify.

Never wrestle with pigs

Muckit wrote: »

He takes the bulls to u16mth beef. He'd keep some of the heifers as replacements and used sell others in ballymote special sim sale. But not sure what plan is now. Cows would be sim aswell so perhaps they still qualify.

In the deep South East?

Muckit

Never wrestle with pigs wrote: »

In the deep South East?

Correct! South East Roscommon!

Never wrestle with pigs

Muckit wrote: »

Correct! South East Roscommon!

Lol, know a good breeder doing the same. Putting milk back into them for a generation