Early Calving/Creep Area

ABitofsense

So I have moved my calving from mid March onwards where cows and calve and are let out nearly immediately back to starting any day now where i will have cows with calves in a new creep area that I've build onto the slatted shed. People that calve sucklers early, how do you manage the creep area, straw bedding changes etc, cows nutrition while in (nuts with silage, what kind of nut?) and general tips and tricks to ensure all stay healthy.

whelan2

Our creep area is very simple, a chain onto a gate and round feeder. Calves walk out through this to a trough of meal. One cnut of a cow was going down on her knees and getting out under the chain to eat the meal but I put a pallet on the round feeder side to stop her.

Hard Knocks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058333750/early-calving-creep-area

We have straw bed in creep area which we keep topping up. Calves in morning & evening. Leave a supply of fresh water, forage & some nut. Better folk will advise on cow nutrition

Who2

I’ve a creep running the length of the shed at 3.6m deep with a creep gate every second pen and a wall where Theres no creep, this allows for extra shelter for the calves. I’ve a Condon gate feeder hung in the creep area to get them nibbling a bit of crunch.

The creep area will get two clean outs over the winter but loads of straw under the calves at all times, I’ve tried skimping and you have too many sick calves. The cow and calf pairs stay on straw bedding for around ten days or until I believe they are strong enough to put up with a bit of hassle any less and like above I had too many sick calves.

this year I’m feeding the cows 1kg of a 16% weanling nut along with ad-lib silage, but it’s more so the fact I intend running a vasectomised bull with the cows and I’m hoping to tighten the earlier calving cows into a very short period. I used to never feed any but a little helps.

a crystalix easy breather is no harm in with calves either, a bucket will do them a long time and even if it saves one calf from getting I’ll it will have paid for itself.

patsy_mccabe

I've the head gate of a calving gate set up as a creep gate. Tied with a bit of twine to stop the moving bar from closing too much. Simple but it works.

White Clover

When I had sucklers, I used to use a modified stabiliser off of a tractor to hold the gate going between the creep and slats. 2 slightly modified rsj gate hangers on the gate and gate closing post. I could extend the stabilizer as calves got bigger and also raise (slide) up the rsj gate hangers as calves got taller.