Letting out calves

Reggie.

Just released calves last night and had to usual madness. Left them in a crush for their eyes to acclimatise to the light and such and then let them into a small paddock. Had the usual ramming of fences and such (louth cattle....no manners)

Paddock is about a quarter of an acre. Cant make up my mind if the paddock is too small or too big for them.

Just wondering what ritual have you got for letting out calves for the first time? Or is it hope for the best when the gate opens.

_Brian

We have a good closed yard.
They get that first probably for a week in and out of shed. Divided with white wire straight to the mains fencer. If they knock the wire just stick it back up. They quickly learn not to touch or lick the white wire.

After that let them off hungry, bring meal trough from yard out to field so first stop is to stand at trough to feed.

We don’t let them off to field on evening, if it goes wrong it’s a pain to be at it late.

mr.stonewall

Always let out in small batches of 10. Easier to control the smaller numbers. Small corner fenced with 2 high ditches and a strand of electric. Then the corner is made with 3 strands of polytape ( floursent type. Small corner no more than 1/4 acre. Daytime is the only time to let them out.
I put out the same meal trough and keep a bit of hay with them and them move them on after 3-4 days.
Always handy to have a few bodies even big or small . Have only 1/4 out, due to the weather and will put most out this week

mahoney_j

Reggie. wrote: »

Just released calves last night and had to usual madness. Left them in a crush for their eyes to acclimatise to the light and such and then let them into a small paddock. Had the usual ramming of fences and such (louth cattle....no manners)

Paddock is about a quarter of an acre. Cant make up my mind if the paddock is too small or too big for them.

Just wondering what ritual have you got for letting out calves for the first time? Or is it hope for the best when the gate opens.

Outside of checking fence ,making sure shock on etc feed the calves as much as they want 1/2 hours pre turnout ,full bellies slows them down

_Brian

mahoney_j wrote: »

Outside of checking fence ,making sure shock on etc feed the calves as much as they want 1/2 hours pre turnout ,full bellies slows them down

We’re more hungry cattle stop and eat no matter what sort of perspective. Interesting to see alternative ideas.

Castlekeeper

_Brian wrote: »

We have a good closed yard.
They get that first probably for a week in and out of shed. Divided with white wire straight to the mains fencer. If they knock the wire just stick it back up. They quickly learn not to touch or lick the white wire.

After that let them off hungry, bring meal trough from yard out to field so first stop is to stand at trough to feed.

We don’t let them off to field on evening, if it goes wrong it’s a pain to be at it late.

+1 here, have them used of space, light, and wire, before they're left near a field. No issues in years.

A clever look lad around here thought it would be a good idea to sedate them first once. He gave them a little too much and they just lid down. Came to in the dark and he was still gathering them 2 days later.

davidk1394

I leave them out into a big pen for a few days in a row. Then the day they are going out I feed them and then leave the milk feeder at the gate so they stand around the feeder first and then run. The field has a wall down one side and a lane at that side and a lane at the other side also. 2 strands of electric wire surround the field. 2 calves jumped through the wire but turned around and jumped back in. After an hour or so they settle down

K.G.

First lot this year were the worst ever.had to pull 5 of them out a drain and one of them cleared it.last lot yesterday were no problem.

Reggie.

K.G. wrote: »

First lot this year were the worst ever.had to pull 5 of them out a drain and one of them cleared it.last lot yesterday were no problem.

They do be a terror. Before we let them out all I do be thinking is lets get this over with

Wildsurfer

Spent years nearly afraid to leave off calves as they could end up anywhere but a few years ago we put up sheep wire around a half acre paddock with a strand of electric inside it. Its very satisfying seeing them getting a shock off the fence wire as they bounce back off the sheep wire! That said they did cause mayhem during the recent Thunder in a bigger paddock they were in.