Bringing weanlings to stores

50HX

Kept weanlings last yearfor 2 reasons

One Land block too far from house for AI
Another smallie at home so reduced cows which in turn reduced work load

Weanlings were out wintered with access to a well shaded area also
Found they really hit the ground weight gain wise when grass came

They were on 74% dmd silage ad lib
1kg of beef nut 16% & 500grm soya bean/head & minerals

Was happy with prices this year for them
Doing the same this year with this years weanlings

Anyone feeding these type of cattle and if so what do ye feed

Wondering should i use rolled barley this year

Interested in peoples views

FeelTheBern

Wouldn’t claim to be an expert but ours are in on ad lib silage, 2kg 15% ration and about 200g/head of soya per day. We stop the meal early Jan and hope to have them out early/mid Feb weather permitting.

We use the 15% ration cos can get that in bulk and weanling ration only in bags. Think the soya we are adding bringing up to around 17 to 18% protein. Some of the experts can clarify for us but on that basis I wonder if 500g/head sounds high and might be unnecessary cost for you?

50HX

Yeah prob is high that's why i was thinking of barley this year but unsure if i should remove the ration

I just think a high protein didt puts a great frame on them and then grass for flesh gain in the spring

Sami23

50HX wrote: »

Kept weanlings last yearfor 2 reasons

One Land block too far from house for AI
Another smallie at home so reduced cows which in turn reduced work load

Weanlings were out wintered with access to a well shaded area also
Found they really hit the ground weight gain wise when grass came

They were on 74% dmd silage ad lib
1kg of beef nut 16% & 500grm soya bean/head & minerals

Was happy with prices this year for them
Doing the same this year with this years weanlings

Anyone feeding these type of cattle and if so what do ye feed

Wondering should i use rolled barley this year

Interested in peoples views

Whats the reason for adding Soya to the weanling ration ?
Interested as I keep my weanlings too till this time next year

50HX

Sami23 wrote: »

Whats the reason for adding Soya to the weanling ration ?
Interested as I keep my weanlings too till this time next year

Higher percentage protein, just used a beef nut as a carrier for it

Sami23

50HX wrote: »

Higher percentage protein, just used a beef nut as a carrier for it

Ok so it's beef nuts your giving them and not weanling ration.
If you don't mine me asking what sort of weights did they get to this autumn and when were they born as if like to compare to mine

50HX

Not bothered on nut v weanling ration, % protein is what i look at

Usually sell weanlings but bad prices in 19 and needed to change system
Eg Born mar/apr 19, brought bulls home from mart in oct 320kg ch 700

Squeezed and let them with the heifers
Sold june 20, averag was 1190, best ch i had 590kg@1375 @17mnths( prob should have finished myself)

Heifers averaged 1000, kept the best for breeding

Just looking for advice re feeding to keep cost down

Sami23

50HX wrote: »

Not bothered on nut v weanling ration, % protein is what i look at

Usually sell weanlings but bad prices in 19 and needed to change system
Eg Born mar/apr 19, brought bulls home from mart in oct 320kg ch 700

Squeezed and let them with the heifers
Sold june 20, averag was 1190, best ch i had 590kg@1375 @17mnths( prob should have finished myself)

Heifers averaged 1000, kept the best for breeding

Just looking for advice re feeding to keep cost down

Way better job than selling off as cheap weanlings.

50HX

That was the case this year but sure who knows whats down the track with brexit etc

_Brian

50HX wrote: »

That was the case this year but sure who knows whats down the track with brexit etc

But that’s sane risk for all farming

Grueller

50HX wrote: »

Not bothered on nut v weanling ration, % protein is what i look at

Usually sell weanlings but bad prices in 19 and needed to change system
Eg Born mar/apr 19, brought bulls home from mart in oct 320kg ch 700

Squeezed and let them with the heifers
Sold june 20, averag was 1190, best ch i had 590kg@1375 @17mnths( prob should have finished myself)

Heifers averaged 1000, kept the best for breeding

Just looking for advice re feeding to keep cost down

Roughly what was the cost per head for the extra 8 months 50HX? I am assuming a house period of 140 days so putting that at €1.50 per day and that's not dear would be €210. 100 days then at grass putting that at €1.20 per day would be €120.
Costs at €330 estimating on the low side and they could be closer to €400.
That puts you at €1030- €1100 when you include the cost of the weanlings. It's not a massive twist for the extra risk of pneumonia, hurt cattle etc etc.
I am not criticising now because I brought home heifers October 18 and killed them June 19. When I added up all my costs, everything written down accurately, I made an extra €480 on 8 heifers. €60 per head. Never again will I do it.

Hard Knocks

Grueller wrote: »

Roughly what was the cost per head for the extra 8 months 50HX? I am assuming a house period of 140 days so putting that at €1.50 per day and that's not dear would be €210. 100 days then at grass putting that at €1.20 per day would be €120.
Costs at €330 estimating on the low side and they could be closer to €400.
That puts you at €1030- €1100 when you include the cost of the weanlings. It's not a massive twist for the extra risk of pneumonia, hurt cattle etc etc.
I am not criticising now because I brought home heifers October 18 and killed them June 19. When I added up all my costs, everything written down accurately, I made an extra €480 on 8 heifers. €60 per head. Never again will I do it.

If they didn’t put pressure on your system wasn’t it an extra €480 in your pocket

_Brian

Selling weanlings at €650/700 is at best break even, your into busy fool territory but marts are full of them every back end.

Keeping them on into €1300/1400 stores may cost the €400 but your likely turning a €2/300 profit above costs overall.

So surely your better running 20 cows and bringing weanlings on to a €2/300 hd profit, than keeping 30 break even cows.

Maybe that’s an oversimplification of the situation.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s enough.

Grueller

Hard Knocks wrote: »

If they didn’t put pressure on your system wasn’t it an extra €480 in your pocket

Shed space was tight due to an extra pen, but the big thing is the risk. Say one died and that does happen, two years of extra profit on them is down the drain.
To make €50,000 would need over 800 heifers put through a year at that rate. Even allow for economies of scale and that reducing down to 700 heifers. That shows the unsustainability of that system imo.

Grueller

_Brian wrote: »

Selling weanlings at €650/700 is at best break even, your into busy fool territory but marts are full of them every back end.

Keeping them on into €1300/1400 stores may cost the €400 but your likely turning a €2/300 profit above costs overall.

So surely your better running 20 cows and bringing weanlings on to a €2/300 hd profit, than keeping 30 break even cows.

Maybe that’s an oversimplification of the situation.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s enough.

You are not wrong but to go from €700 average to €1400 average is more than an 8 month keep too.
I don't usually keep them. My average worked out this year on weanlings, bulls and heifers, all sold by 10-11 months was €1020. In the weanling game any calf after St Patrick's day is way too late.
Sorry for hijacking your thread 50HX

jfh

Grueller wrote: »

You are not wrong but to go from €700 average to €1400 average is more than an 8 month keep too.
I don't usually keep them. My average worked out this year on weanlings, bulls and heifers, all sold by 10-11 months was €1020. In the weanling game any calf after St Patrick's day is way too late.
Sorry for hijacking your thread 50HX

Super prices there

50HX

I 'll post the numbers when i get a chance

Agree on calves after narch, hard to cover cow cost with low weight weanlings

Find suckler cow report on icbf v good
Can see what previous cattle killed out at dead weight, gives me a guide on the cows and weather i should keep on certain stock further/finish them

An ounce of breeding etc

No hijacking here...tis good to discuss things

cacs

_Brian wrote: »

Selling weanlings at €650/700 is at best break even, your into busy fool territory but marts are full of them every back end.

Keeping them on into €1300/1400 stores may cost the €400 but your likely turning a €2/300 profit above costs overall.

So surely your better running 20 cows and bringing weanlings on to a €2/300 hd profit, than keeping 30 break even cows.

Maybe that’s an oversimplification of the situation.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s enough.

I do exactly the same as what you said here. I can’t see the point of selling a Weanling for 700. I sold lmx stores in August this year. Born on farm steers topped 1340 640 kg worst went 1100. I calf cows in December. Have a 4-5 month old hitting grass in April. Starts eating grass not running around playing. Weanlings housed at 350 to 450 kg. Out of the shed at 460 to 550kg. One weanling did 140 kg in the shed. Weanlings go to grass in March aim for 1kg of live weight gain per day at grass. Sell stores in September trying to get them to 600 to 700 kg. Was using a lm bull found that they just could get the adg that I wanted. Switched to a Charolais this year all late calfers light cows poor milkers gone . If The steers can hit 650 kg plus in September @ €2/kg min depending on quality. Should be well ahead of Weanling from a profit point of view. Another reason switched from lm I was struggling to get lmx heifers over 500kg I think 550 will be possible with Charolais. Focus on genetics, grass, paddocks, May silage, lower covers, dosing, vaccination, adg, weighing. I still thinking a few euro can be made.

50HX

cacs wrote: »

I do exactly the same as what you said here. I can’t see the point of selling a Weanling for 700. I sold lmx stores in August this year. Born on farm steers topped 1340 640 kg worst went 1100. I calf cows in December. Have a 4-5 month old hitting grass in April. Starts eating grass not running around playing. Weanlings housed at 350 to 450 kg. Out of the shed at 460 to 550kg. One weanling did 140 kg in the shed. Weanlings go to grass in March aim for 1kg of live weight gain per day at grass. Sell stores in September trying to get them to 600 to 700 kg. Was using a lm bull found that they just could get the adg that I wanted. Switched to a Charolais this year all late calfers light cows poor milkers gone . If The steers can hit 650 kg plus in September @ €2/kg min depending on quality. Should be well ahead of Weanling from a profit point of view. Another reason switched from lm I was struggling to get lmx heifers over 500kg I think 550 will be possible with Charolais. Focus on genetics, grass, paddocks, May silage, lower covers, dosing, vaccination, adg, weighing. I still thinking a few euro can be made.

Do you supplement the feed for cows with ration to drive milk?
Everything is bulled indoors then,any issues with injury ?

cacs

50HX wrote: »

Do you supplement the feed for cows with ration to drive milk?
Everything is bulled indoors then,any issues with injury ?

Everything bulled indoors bill goes in early feb. Trying to get everything bullied by April 1st
Cows just get the best silage I can make. Don’t look to drive milk in the shed I hate scour. AI and bull in the shed. This year. I put prids in all the cows didn’t keep on first heat. At least I had their time. Bulled them in the yard on second heat.

Bass Reeves

50HX I know a lads that is at something similar. He produces middle of the he road weanlings. He sells any that will make over 800-900 euro and keeps the rest. He finds that the better weanling will not open enough of a gap to make it worth while to keep. Heavier bullocks make less per kg and it's a struggle to open a 450+euro gap on them. My own opinion is that ones you get above 600kgs you are probably better off finishing. With heifers you should look at finishing any over 550 kgs However this means having a plan in place and start to feed them in early August to finish them.pre Christmas.

On how to feed them if your silage is 70+dmd you should only need minimum ration. A kg of a decent ration and 500grams of soyabean meal should be more than adequate. Just make sure you balance with adequate minerals and vits.

A weanling is the easiest and cheapest animal to feed over a winter. Any time I fed them the cost was sub a euro/kg but that is a bit back. However my bale silage would be high DM. A bale sould feed 40-45 weanling for a day. So 60c/day for silage (25/bale) add in a kg of ration at 25c and half a kg of soya at 20c. Mins and vits to balance at 5c. You could use barley instead of the ration and you could also feed a bit of limestone flour 10-15grams/ 100 kgs.

Feed costs would be about 1.10/ day at that rate. With your silage at 74dmd I expect them to grow at half a kg a day at least.

Welding Rod

Bass Reeves wrote: »

50HX I know a lads that is at something similar. He produces middle of the he road weanlings. He sells any that will make over 800-900 euro and keeps the rest. He finds that the better weanling will not open enough of a gap to make it worth while to keep. Heavier bullocks make less per kg and it's a struggle to open a 450+euro gap on them. My own opinion is that ones you get above 600kgs you are probably better off finishing. With heifers you should look at finishing any over 550 kgs However this means having a plan in place and start to feed them in early August to finish them.pre Christmas.

On how to feed them if your silage is 70+dmd you should only need minimum ration. A kg of a decent ration and 500grams of soyabean meal should be more than adequate. Just make sure you balance with adequate minerals and vits.

A weanling is the easiest and cheapest animal to feed over a winter. Any time I fed them the cost was sub a euro/kg but that is a bit back. However my bale silage would be high DM. A bale sould feed 40-45 weanling for a day. So 60c/day for silage (25/bale) add in a kg of ration at 25c and half a kg of soya at 20c. Mins and vits to balance at 5c. You could use barley instead of the ration and you could also feed a bit of limestone flour 10-15grams/ 100 kgs.

Feed costs would be about 1.10/ day at that rate. With your silage at 74dmd I expect them to grow at half a kg a day at least.

Wouldn’t half kg soya be huge overkill with a kg of ration?? Wouldn’t that much soya cover 10kg ration?? Or am I mixed up?

charolais0153

Welding Rod wrote: »

Wouldn’t half kg soya be huge overkill with a kg of ration?? Wouldn’t that much soya cover 10kg ration?? Or am I mixed up?

Half a kg would bring the pr% of diet up 2% roughly
Sialge would lnt be that high in pr

minerleague

cacs wrote: »

I do exactly the same as what you said here. I can’t see the point of selling a Weanling for 700. I sold lmx stores in August this year. Born on farm steers topped 1340 640 kg worst went 1100. I calf cows in December. Have a 4-5 month old hitting grass in April. Starts eating grass not running around playing. Weanlings housed at 350 to 450 kg. Out of the shed at 460 to 550kg. One weanling did 140 kg in the shed. Weanlings go to grass in March aim for 1kg of live weight gain per day at grass. Sell stores in September trying to get them to 600 to 700 kg. Was using a lm bull found that they just could get the adg that I wanted. Switched to a Charolais this year all late calfers light cows poor milkers gone . If The steers can hit 650 kg plus in September @ €2/kg min depending on quality. Should be well ahead of Weanling from a profit point of view. Another reason switched from lm I was struggling to get lmx heifers over 500kg I think 550 will be possible with Charolais. Focus on genetics, grass, paddocks, May silage, lower covers, dosing, vaccination, adg, weighing. I still thinking a few euro can be made.

Seem to be on top of your figures there, just to note keeping your weanlings for an extra year are you increasing cost of keeping cow ( by increasing stocking rate on cow/calf part of farm?. there is definitely farmers out there to buy good stores who dont want the hassle of weanlings

cacs

minerleague wrote: »

Seem to be on top of your figures there, just to note keeping your weanlings for an extra year are you increasing cost of keeping cow ( by increasing stocking rate on cow/calf part of farm?. there is definitely farmers out there to buy good stores who dont want the hassle of weanlings

Your 100% right. I could up my cow numbers as sell weanlings. I keep just 20 cows and bring the weanlings to stores. I could up to 30 cows But I work full time also and honestly I don’t want anymore work. Cows take a fair bit of work. I like to see the quality of of what I breed. I enjoying seeing how I can improve a bit every year. I honestly think you can make few euro from bringing them to stores almost finish. The second summer at grass you really push the cattle on and put weight on if you can get them out early enough and get your grass management under control. Last year I grazed bullocks and cows together. If grazed too heavy of covers. This year I will go leader follower and cows will clean out or graze the heavy covers. Bullocks heifers will get the best grass paddocks. My bullocks last year done around .65 kg at grass a day the year before I separated them and I got 1kg. Per day.