Dairy chit chat II

whelan2 · 08-04-2018 01:11PM

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

I ordered a box from agridirect the other day. Might be worth a try?

Did you get them yet?

Track9 · 08-04-2018 01:23PM

Has anyone got a Solutions for getting rid of Pheasants .( not shooting )
They increased in numbers here over the last few years.They crap on everything, foraging for dropped nuts, bits meal etc.
P

wrangler · 08-04-2018 01:43PM

Mooooo wrote: »

This is it

yea, salt, bread soda, and glucose,.....was what we used
potassium chlorate if we could scrounge it some where as well.....;)

whelan2 · 08-04-2018 01:51PM

wrangler wrote: »

yea, salt, bread soda, and glucose,.....was what we used
potassium chlorate if we could scrounge it some where as well.....;)

These tablets are dead handy , throw one in a stomach tube , put in a litre of water and its ready by the time you get to the calf

Buford T. Justice XIX · 08-04-2018 02:02PM

whelan2 wrote: »

Did you get them yet?

No, I only ordered them with a resuscitator on Friday, I think.

K.G. · 08-04-2018 02:20PM

jaymla627 wrote: »

whelan2 wrote: »

Vet was telling me there effydral tablets are very hard got at the moment. I'm getting the last box they have. Cant be got this last 3 weeks

Had vet up last night for a swollen up calf, asked him where lads having much bother with calves his reply was everything's giving bother this year, and reckoned with increased numbers combined with poor facilities the whole lot has blew-up this year given the weather woes....
Will be interesting to see what tally calf/cow deaths come in for 2018 it could be pretty horrific

Everyone likes to bang on about increased numbers but the problems started with poor qaulity silage and has been amplified by cold stressing this year.i have tow bouths of calf sickness this year and i can relate both to two weather events.had two cases of pneumonia showing up in cows that had an issue as a calf but had sailed through previous years.had a couple of ecoli mastitis cows with cysts.my point is animals are under cold stress this year abd its showing.im led to belive that hospitals are seeing a higher rate of their older and more vulerable patients passing on.

cosatron · 08-04-2018 02:52PM

K.G. wrote: »

Everyone likes to bang on about increased numbers but the problems started with poor qaulity silage and has been amplified by cold stressing this year.i have tow bouths of calf sickness this year and i can relate both to two weather events.had two cases of pneumonia showing up in cows that had an issue as a calf but had sailed through previous years.had a couple of ecoli mastitis cows with cysts.my point is animals are under cold stress this year abd its showing.im led to belive that hospitals are seeing a higher rate of their older and more vulerable patients passing on.

Out of curiosity, did you increase in numbers from last year to this

Gawddawggonnit · 08-04-2018 03:13PM

Farmer I do a straw-for-muck swap with, rang me earlier saying he had to be rid of turkey litter today. I told him to stockpile it at his and I’d collect it later, when weather clears up...too late he says I’ve already tipped and I’m badly buried.
Off I go with a chain and the biggest tractor to hand...not a hope. He’ll have to get tracks to dig him out.
I had to scrounge some foul smelling old plastic from a local farmer to cover it. Jeep reeks and I’m drowned to the skin.
Lovely.

That’s very dry land. Last year it’d already gotten 30mm of irrigation and maize was at 5leaf stage. Cover crop is only struggling and is swimming in water. Be a while before maize is planted.

Reggie. · 08-04-2018 03:24PM

Gawddawggonnit wrote: »

Farmer I do a straw-for-muck swap with, rang me earlier saying he had to be rid of turkey litter today. I told him to stockpile it at his and I’d collect it later, when weather clears up...too late he says I’ve already tipped and I’m badly buried.
Off I go with a chain and the biggest tractor to hand...not a hope. He’ll have to get tracks to dig him out.
I had to scrounge some foul smelling old plastic from a local farmer to cover it. Jeep reeks and I’m drowned to the skin.
Lovely.

That’s very dry land. Last year it’d already gotten 30mm of irrigation and maize was at 5leaf stage. Cover crop is only struggling and is swimming in water. Be a while before maize is planted.

First a major lack of water and now too much

GrasstoMilk · 08-04-2018 05:05PM

Gawddawggonnit wrote: »

Farmer I do a straw-for-muck swap with, rang me earlier saying he had to be rid of turkey litter today. I told him to stockpile it at his and I’d collect it later, when weather clears up...too late he says I’ve already tipped and I’m badly buried.
Off I go with a chain and the biggest tractor to hand...not a hope. He’ll have to get tracks to dig him out.
I had to scrounge some foul smelling old plastic from a local farmer to cover it. Jeep reeks and I’m drowned to the skin.
Lovely.

That’s very dry land. Last year it’d already gotten 30mm of irrigation and maize was at 5leaf stage. Cover crop is only struggling and is swimming in water. Be a while before maize is planted.

It'll be last week of April at the very earliest before maize will be sown over here I'd say! That's if the weather stays good! A lot of ploughing to be done yet fir spring cerals never mind the sowing.

Lovely evening walking cows in for milking,all very content and lying down. Got away for a few hours today aswell. Great to finally get a break

Timmaay · 08-04-2018 05:19PM

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

It'll be last week of April at the very earliest before maize will be sown over here I'd say! That's if the weather stays good! A lot of ploughing to be done yet fir spring cerals never mind the sowing.

Lovely evening walking cows in for milking,all very content and lying down. Got away for a few hours today aswell. Great to finally get a break

Didn't sow the maize till May 1st last year, was plenty soon enough, very good crop. But yeh great day, amazing how quick everything springing to life, the sycamore leaves opening up and willow catkins growing unbelievably quickly.

K.G. · 08-04-2018 05:19PM

cosatron wrote: »

K.G. wrote: »

Everyone likes to bang on about increased numbers but the problems started with poor qaulity silage and has been amplified by cold stressing this year.i have tow bouths of calf sickness this year and i can relate both to two weather events.had two cases of pneumonia showing up in cows that had an issue as a calf but had sailed through previous years.had a couple of ecoli mastitis cows with cysts.my point is animals are under cold stress this year abd its showing.im led to belive that hospitals are seeing a higher rate of their older and more vulerable patients passing on.

Out of curiosity, did you increase in numbers from last year to this

The exact figure is 3.6%of an increase

Mooooo · 08-04-2018 05:35PM

Timmaay wrote: »

Didn't sow the maize till May 1st last year, was plenty soon enough, very good crop. But yeh great day, amazing how quick everything springing to life, the sycamore leaves opening up and willow catkins growing unbelievably quickly.

Our contractor would always wait till ground conditions are right, mucking it in as he called it never works out in his experience

Mooooo · 08-04-2018 05:39PM

Had a displacement op there on a cow, vet was saying a serious amount of them happening, anyone feeding a lot of ration or after getting loads of maize try and make sure enough roughage and fibre in diet be it straw or whatever.
On another note vet had a veterinary student with him, from the states, will make a super vet some day she was very good in fairness to her

Gawddawggonnit · 08-04-2018 06:55PM

Reggie. wrote: »

First a major lack of water and now too much

Feast or famine.

GrasstoMilk · 08-04-2018 06:57PM

Cows all tail painted tonight. 2 weeks till breeding kicks off here. Won't be long coming around!
Heifers will be coming home off silage ground as soon as grass takes off here. All to be tagged with moocall tags for the moocall heat.

Hopefully take the guesswork out of them and get rid of all the fooling around with scratch cards and kamars!

Gawddawggonnit · 08-04-2018 07:09PM

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

It'll be last week of April at the very earliest before maize will be sown over here I'd say! That's if the weather stays good! A lot of ploughing to be done yet fir spring cerals never mind the sowing.

Lovely evening walking cows in for milking,all very content and lying down. Got away for a few hours today aswell. Great to finally get a break

Weather looking up for ye.

130mm forecasted for next five days here.
In Irish terms we’re at the 20th of May here. That land was destined to be planted to peas late Feb, early March...
All machines are ready for action, tyre pressures even!

Nothing but hassle here today. Drains from auto-feeder blocked this evening...the honk!

Daughter has her first race ride next weekend down south. Think I’ll make a weekend of it. Bolloxing around is tiring.

mahoney_j · 08-04-2018 08:03PM

Mooooo wrote: »

Had a displacement op there on a cow, vet was saying a serious amount of them happening, anyone feeding a lot of ration or after getting loads of maize try and make sure enough roughage and fibre in diet be it straw or whatever.
On another note vet had a veterinary student with him, from the states, will make a super vet some day she was very good in fairness to her

I bet she was !!!!!

Keepgrowing · 08-04-2018 09:04PM

Grass growth is surging ahead. Paddock I walked yesterday has 100 more on it today. I'd say gr. could be hitting 50-60 today. Glad of early N now. If only we could get a few dry days together to allow ground soak. Soil temps were 10c at 10am and 12c at 5pm

If it stays dry here I'd say well be cutting out buffer and then consider dropping parlour feeding to normal levels.

Wildsurfer · 08-04-2018 09:24PM

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Cows all tail painted tonight. 2 weeks till breeding kicks off here. Won't be long coming around!
Heifers will be coming home off silage ground as soon as grass takes off here. All to be tagged with moocall tags for the moocall heat.

Hopefully take the guesswork out of them and get rid of all the fooling around with scratch cards and kamars!

Well fair dues to be able to get into breeding mode in the midst of this weather. Can you talk us through moocall heat, pricing etc. I think I read it has to be used in conjunction with a vasectomised bull with a transponder?

Mooooo · 08-04-2018 09:33PM

Ground that got fert and slurry beginning to move more noticeably than ground that just got slurry which has just greened up really. Ground that got nothing yet is just stagnant

GrasstoMilk · 08-04-2018 09:36PM

Wildsurfer wrote: »

Well fair dues to be able to get into breeding mode in the midst of this weather. Can you talk us through moocall heat, pricing etc. I think I read it has to be used in conjunction with a vasectomised bull with a transponder?

I just haven't let the weather get on too me tbh, taking it as it comes. I let stuff get to me this time last year and it affected the running of the farm a lot and I promised myself I'd never let it happen again.

Also have been lucky that we didn't have to worry about sourcing fodder until last week and luckily also a neighbour had a big pit for sale

This is our plan for it here. Tag all our heifers, stick the collar on one of the teasers and let him into them. The collar records which animal the teaser is interacting it and determines if she's bulling or not and sends you a text.
I'll know in the morning before I go milking what's bulling and I can send the tech a text saying how many I've on
It will save me all the messing around we do with kamars etc that work some years and don't others.
It's 1500€, the price of one extra heifer incalf and I can switch it to the cows if I wish to

whelan2 · 08-04-2018 09:38PM

Does it just send you one text that the teaser was with animal x or do you get multiple texts about the same animal?

the_blue_oval · 08-04-2018 09:44PM

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

This is our plan for it here. Tag all our heifers, stick the collar on one of the teasers and let him into them. The collar records which animal the teaser is interacting it and determines if she's bulling or not and sends you a text.
I'll know in the morning before I go milking what's bulling and I can send the tech a text saying how many I've on
It will save me all the messing around we do with kamars etc that work some years and don't others.
It's 1500€, the price of one extra heifer incalf and I can switch it to the cows if I wish to

Does it work with the eid tags or is it a special tag just for the moocall?

GrasstoMilk · 08-04-2018 09:45PM

whelan2 wrote: »

Does it just send you one text that the teaser was with animal x or do you get multiple texts about the same animal?

Just the one as far as I'm aware whelan.

Specific moocall tags Blue

alps · 08-04-2018 09:51PM

K.G. wrote: »

The exact figure is 3.6%of an increase

No wonder the country is full of cows.....I hope both of them are good....

Mooooo · 08-04-2018 09:52PM

Have 2 vasectomised bulls here, will split heifers initially just to manage outfarm and grass and put one with each group and a chinball. As heifers are served I will move them in with the aa stock bull. But of a size difference in heifers as autumn born heifers there as well so splitting will hopefully give smaller ones a chance. Will get a kg of meal in the yard to get em used to coming in for ai. Vasecomtised bulls are older than normal so will see how they go. Getting a second stock bull and will leave one with heifers till end of breeding unless the other comes under pressure with cows

Say my name · 08-04-2018 09:53PM

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Grass growth is surging ahead. Paddock I walked yesterday has 100 more on it today. I'd say gr. could be hitting 50-60 today. Glad of early N now. If only we could get a few dry days together to allow ground soak. Soil temps were 10c at 10am and 12c at 5pm

If it stays dry here I'd say well be cutting out buffer and then consider dropping parlour feeding to normal levels.

Did a walk of the farm today and with the visible difference in growth on the paddocks between yesterday and today I left the cows out tonight.
They may be in again tomorrow night or a few nights time but for now that's a days
or half a days silage saved.
Hopefully getting the last of the fert out tomorrow on the wettest of the farm if it stays drying the way it is today.
Springs and drains are still in full flow. Only positive is is it should dry out faster than not.

The weight of this winter/spring is gradually being lifted.

Dakota Dan · 08-04-2018 09:59PM

I've a sand pit on the farm usually fills with water in a wet winter. It filled this winter emptied a month ago and is half full of water today.

Say my name · 08-04-2018 10:09PM

Dakota Dan wrote: »

I've a sand pit on the farm usually fills with water in a wet winter. It filled this winter emptied a month ago and is half full of water today.

I see that (from the radar) that yous got heavy rain today.
Ye were kind of caught in no mans land with high pressure to the west and east of Ireland and ye were just in the middle with a ridge of low pressue and then drawing warm moist air up from Spain and Portugal.

Dairy chit chat II

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