Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

I was replying to this comment. So apologies, I take it you and your family have had to work hard to get to where you are now, so why the constant snide comments against fellow farmers trying to do the same? Is 150 cows too many, or is it above 200, 300? What is your magic number where you don't make smart comments about them? Are you taking into account how many wages are being taken from a farm, how many successors there might be etc?

I had a suckler come for one this afternoon to replace a calf that died on him, left with six, I was delighted

Have guy coming Monday that buys ours for shipping

awful backlog now, all the shippers are only taking a few from every farm to take the pressure off and not have a massive load of calves going at once

Got a visit from L214 last night. A note pinned to the chicken house door condemning factory farming…even though it’s empty with over a year!

Another note on the bulk tank condemning intensive dairy that produces antibiotic laced milk. Tested the milk in the tank for antibiotics in case they had fired in antibiotics but it was clear. Cops couldn’t have given two fcuks.

Getting quiet a few cows with very sore eyes any idea what might be causing this or is it a contagious infection or something. There not sick but very uncomfortable and unsteady because there sight is affected. Had a couple before and the vet told us put tubes in the eye which cleared it up.

I put antibiotic tubes in the eye of 3 yesterday but 2 more with sore eyes this morning.

Family story of a grand uncle who during the civil or independence war had a note pinned to a monkey puzzle tree outside the household warning he would be shot signed the IRA.

Himself and his brother shifted very quickly from wexford to Belfast.

Your post just reminded me of that again.

May the baxtards have no luck. Phuckers. Tramps.

Ye feeding round bales, they would be opened and fed out straight away, never heard of that before but everyday is a school day. Would you cut of the whole end of a bale or just put a slit in the plastic?

Chances are it could be that or mould on the bales so.

OK thanks for that, I'll give that a go and I'll be a bit more fussy about any spots of mould aswell. Hope that might solve it.

We had a layer of mould in our entire pit of silage this year, cost me 2 lost calves/abortions and alot of sick cows before we copped it

3rd cut was way too dry and it didn’t seal onto the 2nd cut properly and left a layer of air in it, I knew myself when it was being picked up it was too dry

A myco toxin binder sorted us out but still get the odd sick cow or one with an infected eye

weve collars on the cows and only for them we’d have had a lot more aborted calves, they flagged them up the minute they were off form

Are you sure they are not getting silage eye from rubbing there heads off the bales. Do you spread out the bales or leave full infront of the cows. Never heard of the gas thing and we have feeding bales for close on 20 years

I'm not sure what's causing it to be honest, I'm assuming it's something to do with the silage. We spread out the bales in front of the barrier, fresh silage every day. Another thing is it would be silage from very old pasture, not reseeded in over 30 years anyway. Cut first week June, so there be bit of stem and seed I suppose.

I know a guy that destroyed two artics of milk when that happened. It happened over the weekend so he’d no warning…cost him a few quid because he’d no insurance.