Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

Green&Red

Mooooo wrote: »

If you can carry them without feeding extra it may be as well to milk on till dry off and either sell in milk or dry off and sell or carry to spring and sell. If you are tight on grass sell now in milk, 500 to 750 could be the range roughly

Sorry, should have said, they’re heifers

Gman1987

Hi all, just wondering do ye footbath your cows and if so what do you use/recommend and how often do ye use it?

We havent before and only started a couple of weeks ago. We got Provita Hoofsure. I'm only really around at the weekends so we run them through 2 to 3 times over the weekend. Is this enough to see results? Is their other footbath solutions that we should use instead or are people able to make up their own mix? The footbath solution is not cheap to buy so I would be interested to hear what other people are doing.
Also, typically how many cows would you walk through the footbath before changing the solution?

Thanks

liosnagceann75

Gman1987 wrote: »

Hi all, just wondering do ye footbath your cows and if so what do you use/recommend and how often do ye use it?

We havent before and only started a couple of weeks ago. We got Provita Hoofsure. I'm only really around at the weekends so we run them through 2 to 3 times over the weekend. Is this enough to see results? Is their other footbath solutions that we should use instead or are people able to make up their own mix? The footbath solution is not cheap to buy so I would be interested to hear what other people are doing.
Also, typically how many cows would you walk through the footbath before changing the solution?

Thanks

Spoke with a man who is spraying his cows with formalin during milking. He said its made a massive difference

jaymla627

First time in 7 years here theirs a feedspace for every cow

whelan2

liosnagceann75 wrote: »

Spoke with a man who is spraying his cows with formalin during milking. He said its made a massive difference

I think the footbath spreads infection. I use a lemonade bottle with a hole in the lid and treat for 3 days. Just do the ones that need it

Castlekeeper

liosnagceann75 wrote: »

Spoke with a man who is spraying his cows with formalin during milking. He said its made a massive difference

Isn't formalin a bit dodgy to be spraying or squirting around the parlour?
Good stuff for hardening hooves alright but I think it is highly carcinogenic.

atlantic mist

Gman1987 wrote: »

Hi all, just wondering do ye footbath your cows and if so what do you use/recommend and how often do ye use it?

We havent before and only started a couple of weeks ago. We got Provita Hoofsure. I'm only really around at the weekends so we run them through 2 to 3 times over the weekend. Is this enough to see results? Is their other footbath solutions that we should use instead or are people able to make up their own mix? The footbath solution is not cheap to buy so I would be interested to hear what other people are doing.
Also, typically how many cows would you walk through the footbath before changing the solution?

Thanks

Blue stone mixed with warm water to disolve and added to water bath
never found liquid products great
change after 1 milking, if any have a cut or bacterial infection it hurts so they mess up bath
prefer doing it once a day for three days

whelan2

Scanned this morning 10 empty out of 122 scanned. 3 of which calved at the end of june. One cow that was bulling every 3 weeks is 4 months in calf. Happy enough. All heifers were in calf when scanned last week

cosatron

jaymla627 wrote: »

First time in 7 years here theirs a feedspace for every cow

is the first one on the left a jex:eek:

Sacrolyte

cosatron wrote: »

is the first one on the left a jex:eek:

That could be worse than Phil Hogan goin golfing

jaymla627

cosatron wrote: »

is the first one on the left a jex:eek:

Zero issue using jersey genetics here, just wouldn't be going with grass based ai jersey, the 1st cross black beauties I have here are some of my favourite cows

cosatron

jaymla627 wrote: »

Zero issue using jersey genetics here, just wouldn't be going with grass based ai jersey, the 1st cross black beauties I have here are some of my favourite cows

I heard that alright that the first cross are mighty animals. She is a tidy cow. Is the first one to the right out of a Monty aswell

jaymla627

cosatron wrote: »

I heard that alright that the first cross are mighty animals. She is a tidy cow. Is the first one to the right out of a Monty aswell

She was bought as a heifer calf in 2013, was a bit of Montbeliarde used alright where she came out of, she's of a shottle stock bull, is a super cow, bought 20 heifer calves of that man at the time and 15 are still milking

Green&Red

Green&Red wrote: »

What should be the plan with the empties?

Any advice on empty heifers?

whelan2

Green&Red wrote: »

Any advice on empty heifers?

I just leave them with the bull. If you dont want them when they are calved you can sell them. Do you know why they aren't in calf?

cosatron

jaymla627 wrote: »

She was bought as a heifer calf in 2013, was a bit of Montbeliarde used alright where she came out of, she's of a shottle stock bull, is a super cow, bought 20 heifer calves of that man at the time and 15 are still milking

Lovely herd of cows. Good power to them

GrasstoMilk

Green&Red wrote: »

Any advice on empty heifers?

I'm going to start mealing mine, hope to kill them before november

Sacrolyte

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

I'm going to start mealing mine, hope to kill them before november

I always give heifers a second chance. I must be soft.

mahoney_j

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

I'm going to start mealing mine, hope to kill them before november

Why not sell now as breeding heifers ,you’d have no trouble moving them straight away

Wildsurfer

mahoney_j wrote: »

Why not sell now as breeding heifers ,you’d have no trouble moving them straight away

How could a farmer stand over them as breeding heifers when they failed to go in calf during the last breeding season...

mahoney_j

Wildsurfer wrote: »

How could a farmer stand over them as breeding heifers when they failed to go in calf during the last breeding season...

Very simple answer farmer could of ran a short breeding season ,also if scanned empty I’d always ask scanner to check for cysts or any reason she wouldn’t go in calf .if there was a cyst or other reason straight to mart and declare it when selling

Buford T. Justice XIX

Sacrolyte wrote: »

I always give heifers a second chance. I must be soft.

I'd be the same. Some of my best cows are off heifers that didn't go in calf their first year or did and lost the embryo at some stage.

After spending years to get the heifers, I'd be inclined to give them a second shot. Housing them separately is awkward here though.

Mooooo

mahoney_j wrote: »

Very simple answer farmer could of ran a short breeding season ,also if scanned empty I’d always ask scanner to check for cysts or any reason she wouldn’t go in calf .if there was a cyst or other reason straight to mart and declare it when selling

2 empty heifers here, both were scanned in calf after fixed time ai so had embryo loss at some stage.

Mooooo

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

I'm going to start mealing mine, hope to kill them before november

Had one scanned in calf last year but must have lost it soon after so was still here at end of calving, put her and with a few culls and killed in August no meal. Will find the docket but if sr allowed wouldn't it be as well to kill off grass next summer?

GrasstoMilk

Buford T. Justice XIX wrote: »

I'd be the same. Some of my best cows are off heifers that didn't go in calf their first year or did and lost the embryo at some stage.

After spending years to get the heifers, I'd be inclined to give them a second shot. Housing them separately is awkward here though.

They were 3 year olds calving down ?

You'd do well to get 700e off a dealer atm I would say
100e of meal will do alot on them
Did the same last year and got 900e and beef price wasnt as good

Timmaay

I leave the bull running with them and if I end up with an autumn calving 2.5yr old it's not the end of the world. Calving down at 3yr old would be a pure disaster, would definitely end up mud fat and give trouble.

GrasstoMilk

Timmaay wrote: »

I leave the bull running with them and if I end up with an autumn calving 2.5yr old it's not the end of the world. Calving down at 3yr old would be a pure disaster, would definitely end up mud fat and give trouble.

https://www.facebook.com/854702607921410/posts/3473646496026995/?sfnsn=mo&extid=8fI48DZ71IDZkIuF

This guy disagrees

alps

Wildsurfer wrote: »

How could a farmer stand over them as breeding heifers when they failed to go in calf during the last breeding season...

You dont have to stand over them. They are what they are, nothing hidden. Heifers that didn't end up in calf after a 12 week breeding season.

whelan2

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

https://www.facebook.com/854702607921410/posts/3473646496026995/?sfnsn=mo&extid=8fI48DZ71IDZkIuF

This guy disagrees

33 months is a bit :eek:

Gillespy

Two years is plenty if the heifer has had a good life. An extra month or two can make a world of difference if they are a bit light. Three year old heifers is fine for heifers that would be way too small to calve at 24 months. Carrying a good heifer an extra year can backfire if they start getting fat. 30 months is probably ideal. Heifer are that bit stronger and more mature and can be great milkers in the first year.