I'd be putting 3 bags of heiferlac and circa 700kgs of meal into the heifers here in their 1st year, you have to grow their frames to get their full potential, when you see 450kgs and less incalf feb calving heifers at the current sales alot of men could do with feeding their youngstock alot better rather then listening to aidan saying good grass is all your heifer calves need
Present day if derogation goes altogether, it's probably a better option to put an extra 2 ton of feed to get to a 8000 litre cow, than have a land rental cost of 400 a cow for the extra 5000 litre cows if your short of ground, especially if you haven't the infrastructure to expand in the first place
If he drying off cows doing 40l I would love to know what he's doing.
I have a few cows that were dried in 12th December, not in calf, only average silage, no nuts till two weeks ago and there are two still leaking a drop.
And the best day in their life 30l would keep them going.
I do like to give 8 weeks dry.
Is it more profitable to go for another cow with 5000 litres than suffering the cost of raising the yield of the exiating cow above the 5000
Crikey and I'd struggle to get the father to dry off anything milking more than 10 litres...surely a cow cow milking 40 litres would have problems drying off..but I'm open to learning otherwise
Yep anyway at cows any length of time will agree with that I think
Ye but if I get a clear test after and then another one in 6 weeks I’m grand
they don't even bother with the letter any more you might get a text message to say your locked up the ifa should take a test case to the high court any one has a right to make a living and its been taken away from farmers with tb
My neighbour sent cows to factory last Friday …one with suspected legions ….he’s last test was early October ….I’ve got no letter yet but sweating they’ll lock me up now ….annual test end march and hate testing this time of year due to possible abortion and getting locked up and having to keep all calves
Would you not be terrified of one of the mart cows going down in a tb test, would be some ball-achce getting locked up coming into the spring, your own vet might let you away with a ropey one, once their gone out of your hands, it's Russian roulette
I’m tb testing next week that’s why I’d 30 out today- going to the factory tomorrow with another batch- heavier finished cows and 2 canners
anyone who bought my stock would have to tb test them within 30 days- however the heavier ones will be hung up this evening I’d imagine
Not enough money in it tbh- the first 5000 litres from forage is the cheapest
Her TB test is nearly up. Would you have to test her if you bought her. It's a risk and a pain. I would always try and breed a few heifers, they might be the best cows in Ireland, but at least you know what you have. SCC, temperament, TB status
david irwin from redhouse holsteins told us last nite he gives each cow a 10week dry period.. he would be drying off a cow who would still be doing 40litres.... i was a bit shocked.. but he was adamant performance/yield in next lactation would suffer if cows didnt get 10weeks dry....
intakes double what teagasc tell us....
Just out of interest what's your opinion of indoor 11k plus systems like in the North? Or does it all just depend on milk price
Talking to one man recently who wanted to cut feed costs next year. I'm not a nutritionist but he was pushing hard to get the yield was hard to see where he could shave on costs
That's some feeding, what precautions would be needed to protect against acidosis at that kind of level..or what would average kg intake per day be then..must be alot higher than the 18kgs teagasc tell us will keep cows going
The lad from Redhouse Holsteins gave a presentation to the KHFB last night. Feeding 6000 Kgs concentrates and I think it was 13000 Litres herd average.
Only drying off march calvers this week
42 days dry is the norm here
35kg silage
20kg maize
5kg brewers
What’s in your typical mix for the Milkers in Nov/Dec when you’ve the autumn calvers and cows you’ve carried over milking alongside the fty in parlour?
Yeah of course
most efficient way of utilising forage and purchased concentrates
No don’t do private sales
just telling lads the truth which it seems hurts.
as it quashes a lot of myths
Gwizz stan,you don't half sound like a fella that has a good bit of stuff to sell.sher maybe I m wrong
Have you no diet feeder ?
Ok the cows were sold last year
Mine get no meal from June to September as calves
all these myths about high yielding cows needing huge looking after
feed to yield is all that required
The likes of the well bred pedigrees are making the money due to their breeding lines and the vast amount of feed they’ve received to get to their size. I remember relief milking for a guy who sold incalf heifers every spring for big money like what’s been quoted above, his spring heifer calves were getting 3.5kg of a 19% heifer grower ration by mid May thought it madness, you’d want to be getting mad money for them when it comes to selling them.
Incalf heifers like the above that lads where histroricallt breeding for sale to turn a few quid at a time of year to boast cashflow is now as much a liability and cost as a dairy bull calf, given where rearing costs are at, points to a serious lack of new entrants/expansion when the above aren't clearing 1350-1400 especially when incalf to sexed
Snap shot of sale in nenagh today .these are some of a bunch of 30 3 way cross fr/je /nor red in calf heifers all due early feb to sexed semen ..lots went for 1000/1100
