Cattle in or out

Mac Taylor

Given the amount of rain that has fallen and due to fall are people considering housing. I’ll be housing next week the first few and if this keeps up they’ll all be in within the next two weeks. I’ve no shortage of grass but I suppose it’s of very little value now.

Hard Knocks

Mac Taylor wrote: »

Given the amount of rain that has fallen and due to fall are people considering housing. I’ll be housing next week the first few and if this keeps up they’ll all be in within the next two weeks. I’ve no shortage of grass but I suppose it’s of very little value now.

Have all in here
When farming alongside a full time job, the shed light is better than a flashlight

Bass Reeves

Have bought 17 I last 10 days. I have housed them as I saw not point in turning them out. I have 16 heavy bullocks outside in 3 lots and 40 odd stores outside in two lots. I also have 12 bullocks inside that I housed over the last six weeks in different stages.

Depending on how many I get away this week will decide if I house more stores this week. Hopefully will have stores out for another 15-30 days

FintanMcluskey

Hard Knocks wrote: »

Have all in here
When farming alongside a full time job, the shed light is better than a flashlight

Remember hearing many years ago

“Slatted sheds were built for man, not beast”

Cavanjack

The 1st of April is early to have cattle out round here. So it’s a long winter to have them in from now. I’ve stores scattered round the farm and hope to keep them out until at least the start of December.
Have bulls in and all big cattle housed to be finished in the next month or so. No craic feeding them outside this time of the year.

Mooooo

In calf heifers housed, cows in by night out by day, will be fully housed in 10 days. Calves I hope to keep out till 1st dec if I can, will see how they go.

Mooooo

Cavanjack wrote: »

The 1st of April is early to have cattle out round here. So it’s a long winter to have them in from now. I’ve stores scattered round the farm and hope to keep them out until at least the start of December.
Have bulls in and all big cattle housed to be finished in the next month or so. No craic feeding them outside this time of the year.

If you can keep them out till dec there are surely a few fields that can be grazed in feb/ March? If so if you start closing those it will allow you to have some early grass

Danzy

February and March tend to be bad here, so an early turnout can be missed.

Scattered in smaller groups around the place and hope to keep till end of month.


Have often in last few years got cattle out in January, for a couple hours a day, it's been great weather at times.

AckwelFoley

Mooooo wrote: »

If you can keep them out till dec there are surely a few fields that can be grazed in feb/ March? If so if you start closing those it will allow you to have some early grass

April was always known as the Hungry month.

Theres very little growth. Although there may be grass it doesn't regrow. We always budgeted feed until the second week of May.

We dont keep them in until then, but a brutal bad winter and you might need it

Dozer1

Housed all spring calving cows bar 4 heifers and their calves they can keep the bull company. All autumn calvers out till dec hopefully. Stuck with 23 heifers outside shed I'm building is delayed if weather doesn't pick up some will have to be sold

Stihl waters

I've them let out into the middle of the heather and freach until end of January, I'll start feeding in a month so at least they wont be going in for another while yet, sheds are only good for man, I find they're a lot healthier when left out as long as possible, all down to the breed as well i suopose

_Brian

It’s dependant on land and situation.

We’re saturated here at this stage so they are in, its handy for work too, well that’s mute since I’m off now.

We find we loose more in spring from excessive poaching now than keeping them out now would be worth.

patsy_mccabe

East Clare ....... Opened my first bale of silage yesterday. Dry cows still out but only a week or two of grass left. They are on low corcas type land that holds up well in wet weather. Upland gets ploughed to hell.
Dragging the round feeder across the yard in the dark last night. Light goes out of charge and cattle standing at the gate in the mud. Deffo the start of winter here. Can't for the life of me, find my head torch and I have 2 of them.

White Clover

Dozer1 wrote: »

Housed all spring calving cows bar 4 heifers and their calves they can keep the bull company. All autumn calvers out till dec hopefully. Stuck with 23 heifers outside shed I'm building is delayed if weather doesn't pick up some will have to be sold

Did you demolish old sheds when building the new one?

zf0wqv9oemuasj

Wow, we wouldn’t even be considering housing yet will be at least another month before we house. They will get another while from grass and then we move them to a rough patch we have where we start to supplement with bales as they pick away at the grass in that area we generally keep feeding them outside for a few weeks.

It’s generally getting towards December before we house but of course it can vary too and be a bit earlier. We straw bed rather than slats also and wouldn’t budget enough straw to have them in this early.

Stores are generally turned out (supplemented with a bale in a feeder) before the first cow calves as their winter pen is the calving pen in spring so they are usually out sometime in feb. Cows are let out as they calve from then on with everything out only when the last cow calves.

Hard Knocks

Reid Low Mandible wrote: »

Wow, we wouldn’t even be considering housing yet will be at least another month before we house. They will get another while from grass and then we move them to a rough patch we have where we start to supplement with bales as they pick away at the grass in that area we generally keep feeding them outside for a few weeks.

It’s generally getting towards December before we house but of course it can vary too and be a bit earlier. We straw bed rather than slats also and wouldn’t budget enough straw to have them in this early.

Stores are generally turned out before the first cow calves as their winter pen is the calving pen in spring so they are usually out sometime in feb. Cows are let out as they calve from then on with everything out only when the last cow calves.

You’ve good dry land
Look after it

grange mac

A picture tells 1000 words from South West.. Cattle housed 2 weeks...

keepalive213

Housed about a week here. 6 month winter the norm now, mid October to mid April.

kollegeknight

Housed everything yesterday. Cattle were getting unsettled and land is saturated.

A neighbour passed away a month ago and the family have destocked. so I’ve access to bales if I am stuck. I’ll buy 10/20 anyway.

Spent the day sorting out pens and water missed the hurling but didn’t miss much. Glad to be done now.

I’m hoping to scan the cows this week that I’m doubtful of.

I definitely have two to sell but with lockdown, they will be grand around.

893bet

Mostly in.

2 late calvers (June still out). Three early calvers (one calved this week and two due next week) still out. 7 weanling heifers are out at night and in during the day.

Places are wet as %#€$

Limerick

memorystick

Herding over the gate here. Trying to get until Sunday. Paddocks need to be grazed tight.

patsy_mccabe

Reid Low Mandible wrote: »

Wow, we wouldn’t even be considering housing yet.....

What part of the country?

Might help if everyone did the same.

Ladeeen

Very wet here in SW last few days and as another poster has said cattle starting to get unsettled. Everything will be housed by this eve.

zf0wqv9oemuasj

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

What part of the country?

Might help if everyone did the same.

In the west, we would have some sections that never get too wet but as I mentioned when everything goes to the rough patch it doesn’t matter what way the weather is really as that section isn’t used for anything else. We used to out winter there before we got the shed. Granted there is both advantages and disadvantages to housing vs keeping them out longer. If I was having to manage all myself I’d properly house once regularly feeding was needed as I would be doing it in darkness morning or evening (and still do when needed). But at the same time when out we can put out a few bales at a time to last a few days and never hand to lay hands on a fork. Swings and roundabouts really.

If we had slats also might be inclined to house a bit earlier as we would not be doing clean outs every few weeks and be trying to minimise straw useage.

Cavanjack

Mooooo wrote: »

If you can keep them out till dec there are surely a few fields that can be grazed in feb/ March? If so if you start closing those it will allow you to have some early grass

We do try and get silage ground grazed before 1st of April with yearlings but Find it very hard to get heavier cattle out that early here after a wet winter.

CHOPS01

Question.
Have a group of heavy cattle here for the factory between now and the middle of December and I have a batch of stores then that I hold around the yard over the winter.
Have about 3 weeks grass left for one bunch.
Which batch would ye keep on the grass ?

Jb1989

CHOPS01 wrote: »

Question.
Have a group of heavy cattle here for the factory between now and the middle of December and I have a batch of stores then that I hold around the yard over the winter.
Have about 3 weeks grass left for one bunch.
Which batch would ye keep on the grass ?

Beef cattle will set back inside for a duration, so if they near ready leave alone.

Cavanjack

Jb1989 wrote: »

Beef cattle will set back inside for a duration, so if they near ready leave alone.

I would have said that too but housed a few heavy bullocks two weeks ago that are due to be gone the end of November and they Have done a great thrive in the two weeks.
It’s 7 weeks till mid December yet. I’d prefer to have my stores out on that grass than the finishers.

Bass Reeves

Cavanjack wrote: »

I would have said that too but housed a few heavy bullocks two weeks ago that are due to be gone the end of November and they Have done a great thrive in the two weeks.
It’s 7 weeks till mid December yet. I’d prefer to have my stores out on that grass than the finishers.

Usually cattle are set back because if a huge change in diet. Lads having cattle outside on a dust if meal and put them in on middling silage. Then they go back. However if outside and ate build up to 5-6kgs/ day before housing when they go in they tend to stay going forward.

As well lads may have cattle outside on silage along with grass and ration again these should be ok when housed.

Cavanjack

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Usually cattle are set back because if a huge change in diet. Lads having cattle outside on a dust if meal and put them in on middling silage. Then they go back. However if outside and ate build up to 5-6kgs/ day before housing when they go in they tend to stay going forward.

As well lads may have cattle outside on silage along with grass and ration again these should be ok when housed.

Yeah they were eating 5 kg outside so silage was the only change. The good was gone out of the grass for them as it was after raining plenty when they were housed.

Count Mondego

South Galway here and will have everything out for another six weeks. Heavy rain fall the last week but there's break of a day or two in between which is giving the land a chance to soak it. A ball of grass has grown around here since August and I didn't put out 10 bags of CAN all summer. Normally housing around the first of December.