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Dairy Chit Chat- Please read Mod note in post #1

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  • #4292
    pedigree 6
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,559 ✭✭✭pedigree 6


    whelan2 wrote: »
    2013 came after a brutal 2012. Some parts of the country didnt get it as bad. My biggest mistake was getting sheep in to graze ground we hadnt been able to graze from august 2012, no regrowth, no grass, no silage, no money...... at least we have grass here now and silage

    My father used to graze sheep here over the winter.
    Never had grass here till may. Never again.;)


  • #4293
    whelan2
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 30,784 ✭✭✭✭whelan2


    pedigree 6 wrote: »
    My father used to graze sheep here over the winter.
    Never had grass here till may. Never again.;)
    Had them in before and had great regrowths, it didnt work out well in 2013. Havent had them in since.


  • #4294
    kowtow
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,135 ✭✭✭kowtow


    whelan2 wrote:
    Had to get vet here this evening, cow that had twins on tuesday, went downhill very fast. Thought she might have displaced something. Retained cleanings, she had nothing hanging from her, she was out grazing yesterday. On noroclav now, first held cleanings of 2016


    We have one the same way. Twins last Thursday noroclav, anti inflammatory, ketovit, rumen booster + a large expresso twice a day.

    Seems to be keeping her eating just about but she's well shaken, thankfully still on her feet...


  • #4295
    Milked out
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,433 ✭✭✭Milked out


    pedigree 6 wrote: »
    I don't know whelan2. In spring 2013 the ground was dry and as far as I was concerned on the farm here it was a normal spring. I had the cows out grazing everyday or most days and out fulltime on the last week of march. I hadn't a clue what the rest of the country was going through as didn't affect me.
    There was Nolan transport lorries coming off the boat in rosslare with fodder to the west of Ireland when I had all the stock out fulltime here and I wouldn't have had the grass if I hadn't of spread the fert early.
    This year here the cows were only out for 15 half days or 3 hour grazings.

    The difference this year is wet conditions and cool weather in spring.
    The grass is there but the cold weather is turning this grass yellow especially where no fert spread.
    Nationally some farmers are ploughing ground up trying to graze it as well as damage done by trying to spread slurry. This will no doubt affect the land for rest of the year.
    Some farmers have extra stock this year and not budgeted or expected to have more grass in diet and stretched fodder stocks further and are starting to run short now. The only difference might be there might be more fodder for sale this year in the country. But with low milk prices and buying fodder and not being able to spread slurry and cost of expansion it could turn into the perfect storm for people.

    I myself will have enough fodder and bedding till 2nd week of april and I usually have some left over every year but i'll be barely scraping by this year.

    2013 will be forever etched on my brain anyway. 2012 only gAve poor wet silage and poor low yields of maize with cows housed early in 12. Made 20 bales of silage in 2012 and that was due to the harvester not being able to travel that part of the silage field. No surplus at all. spring 13 came and maize ran out in feb and condition just fell off the cows with the ****e silage and got cows out best I could but destroyed paddocks and grass didn't grow back and was travelling the country looking for feed. Firing straw liquid feed ration in to the feeder. Had to give last of straw and all I could get to cows had none left for calves. Felt like it would never end . Only for the generosity of neighbours with a load of silage here and there I'd have been rightly stuck. What saved us was the milk price was someway reasonable. Not having feed and not being able to get it made me sick to my stomach something I hope to never see again. It knocked the confidence right out of me for a good bit after it too. At least this year there is silage in the pit and for sale if needed and grass in the field for when the dry days do come.


  • #4296
    Milked out
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,433 ✭✭✭Milked out


    whelan2 wrote: »
    Had to get vet here this evening, cow that had twins on tuesday, went downhill very fast. Thought she might have displaced something. Retained cleanings, she had nothing hanging from her, she was out grazing yesterday. On noroclav now, first held cleanings of 2016

    put all cows with twins on once a day and give them a shot of oxytocin straight after calving.here Other than that The worry I would have like you with them would be a displacement or something like that. Hate twins. Was going well up until the last couple of cows here a few with metritis. Seemed standard calvings but had to mix cows so maybe that contributed.


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  • #4297
    Milked out
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,433 ✭✭✭Milked out


    whelan2 wrote: »
    Had to get vet here this evening, cow that had twins on tuesday, went downhill very fast. Thought she might have displaced something. Retained cleanings, she had nothing hanging from her, she was out grazing yesterday. On noroclav now, first held cleanings of 2016

    put all cows with twins on once a day and give them a shot of oxytocin straight after calving.here Other than that The worry I would have like you with them would be a displacement or something like that. Hate twins. Was going well up until the last couple of cows here a few with metritis. Seemed standard calvings but had to mix cows so maybe that contributed.


  • #4298
    mf240
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,890 ✭✭✭mf240


    Cows were only out at night 17 nights in 2012.

    Bought a shed of hay and ran up a bill the size of a small mortgage for meal. Meal was at a record high the same year. ya wouldn't get what grass would wipe your hole in early may 2013.


  • #4299
    pedigree 6
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,559 ✭✭✭pedigree 6


    Milked out wrote: »
    2013 will be forever etched on my brain anyway. 2012 only gAve poor wet silage and poor low yields of maize with cows housed early in 12. Made 20 bales of silage in 2012 and that was due to the harvester not being able to travel that part of the silage field. No surplus at all. spring 13 came and maize ran out in feb and condition just fell off the cows with the ****e silage and got cows out best I could but destroyed paddocks and grass didn't grow back and was travelling the country looking for feed. Firing straw liquid feed ration in to the feeder. Had to give last of straw and all I could get to cows had none left for calves. Felt like it would never end . Only for the generosity of neighbours with a load of silage here and there I'd have been rightly stuck. What saved us was the milk price was someway reasonable. Not having feed and not being able to get it made me sick to my stomach something I hope to never see again. It knocked the confidence right out of me for a good bit after it too. At least this year there is silage in the pit and for sale if needed and grass in the field for when the dry days do come.
    Just shows the difference in a small country. We had a surplus of fodder that year. We were donating fodder to the west and other parts of Ireland that year. There was a drop off point in enniscorthy mart yard and myself and father left in silage and straw to be donated to the rest of country organised by wexford IFA. As I say 2013 was normal for us here but this year is not but we'll get through it but I can see other farmers around here making a mess of their farms.


  • #4300
    Timmaay
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,392 ✭✭✭✭Timmaay


    Our only saving grace in 2013 was the 50acres of rented land beside us, which I punched a hole across to and walked the cows across to it ha. Cows were in dire condition that spring though, from getting utterly dire quality silage from 2012, water would run off the shear grab with every grab, I think the bulk tank protein hit 2.8 at one stage, calving pattern all over the shop also, and about 30cows calved down the previous December so had a diet of that. However the price of milk was good, 2bh it didn't really matter how bad things were inside the gate, you were still making money!!


  • #4301
    RightTurnClyde
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,143 ✭✭✭RightTurnClyde


    whelan2 wrote: »
    2013 came after a brutal 2012. Some parts of the country didnt get it as bad. My biggest mistake was getting sheep in to graze ground we hadnt been able to graze from august 2012, no regrowth, no grass, no silage, no money...... at least we have grass here now and silage

    Definitely finding this year worse than '13. In '13 once I got access to additional silage I could carry on pretty much as usual. Just that cows were brought in early at both milkings to load up on silage. This year I'm finding the rain and slurry and damage to fields and current milk price much harder to deal with. Think the cows are working harder this year aswell to deal with the conditions.


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  • #4302
    frazzledhome
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,278 ✭✭✭frazzledhome


    Milked out wrote: »
    put all cows with twins on once a day and give them a shot of oxytocin straight after calving.here Other than that The worry I would have like you with them would be a displacement or something like that. Hate twins. Was going well up until the last couple of cows here a few with metritis. Seemed standard calvings but had to mix cows so maybe that contributed.

    I can't recommend Oad milking enough for any weaker cows. We put any heifer that is in any way doesn't look good, any cow that had twins or big jacked calf on Oad

    Any cow that get hoof treatment is also put Oad for a period afterward. We keep two sections of a paddock that's close to the parlour for this

    We graze from calving and it's unbelievable how quickly they can rejoin their mates.


  • #4303
    mahoney_j
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,716 ✭✭✭✭mahoney_j


    The big lessons I learned in 12/13 was that u can't have enough high quality silage in the yard and I'd even go as far as saying I'd prefer look at a smaller amount of high quality stuff than a mountain of crap .dry cows won't mantainnor gain conditions ,milkers will milk off there back and weanlings will need a lot more meal .good silage allows you feed less and bulk it up with much cheaper straw .
    Give me 2013 any day over current conditions ,100% of grass utilised ,slurry got out basically whenever we wanted .i had a surplus of high quality silage ,stretched first round till April
    10/12 and then because farm was skint ,pumped with slurry and fertliser out once heat came farm was perfectly set up for year ,I had neighbours still foddering in mid May when I was making silage as they held cows in too long .current conditions don't need any more print space here ,cows out day and night but for most part on/off and at this stage it's just frusterating .
    Now with big nos calved and cows coming back in heat I've made decision to house cows depending on weather in either day or night I'm just not willing to damage paddocks at this stage ,.the half of day there out they get full whack allocation of grass and when in enough bales to last until 2/3 hours before milking .on/off will be used when nesecarry


  • #4304
    frazzledhome
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,278 ✭✭✭frazzledhome


    My memory of 2013 is that eaten silage is soon forgotten. Sold silage at 2012 prices to 4 farmers, got paid agreed amount by 2 of them and phuckin hardship from the other 2 messers.

    One guy hasn't spoken to me since because I wanted payment for the silage despite the fact he agreed the price. Greedy phucker wanted to take all te put and leave nothing for his neighbours. A fifth got silage from us for free as he couldn't afford to buy it but he was man enough to say so before he'd take it.

    I'll never sell silage again.


  • #4305
    Buford T. Justice XIX
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,633 ✭✭✭✭Buford T. Justice XIX


    2013 wasn't too bad here. Ground was dry and cows had a pick of grass and silage and a good bit of ration. This year is going to be tough, cows out full time and causing a bit of damage but still on old pastures so should recover well when/if slurry and fertiliser goes out.

    Straw was scarce here in 2013, I remember queueing from early morning at the creamery for a big square bale of English straw for the calves and it had to last all week. I was OK for silage as I bought 80 silage bales in November before they got scarce and dear.

    We could really do with a dry day or two right about now.


  • #4306
    jack o shea
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 607 ✭✭✭jack o shea


    Timmay, did you vaccinate the cows for rota before and giving them a 2nd shot now?


  • #4307
    visatorro
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,849 ✭✭✭visatorro


    I remember we had a good bit of crap silage, no shortage of mouldy straw either either. Ran up a hefty five figure some extra of meal. Was a fair kick in the stones. But we still weren't as bad as some lads. Milk price really saved us. I think there was a good beef price aswell.


  • #4308
    frazzledhome
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,278 ✭✭✭frazzledhome


    My longer laying memory of that yer was an ETTG programme featuring a guy in Leitrim who's cows were going to the elder in ground in May and he with no feed. I really felt for him as he was doing his best


  • #4309
    frazzledhome
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,278 ✭✭✭frazzledhome


    Back tanking slurry today and can actually go into paddocks. Ground tender but ok if careful. Won't be able to let young lad off at it as ground needs care.


  • #4310
    mahoney_j
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,716 ✭✭✭✭mahoney_j


    Came across someone by chance with maize bales for sale .there tested with 30.5% starch and just under 37% dm .hes looking for 55 euro a bale plus delievery per bale .thinking of buying 25 bales .reasoning behind it is cows only going out once per day till weather settles down a bit and I've about 2/2.5!weeks and less of very good bale silage left .after that it's put silage which is 73 plus Dmd and nearly 40% dm but I know it won't feed as good as bales .price seems ok and I'd be happy with test results .opinions ????.weather no sign of settling with more heavy rain middle of next week .these may not be there if left another week


  • #4311
    jaymla627
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,128 ✭✭✭jaymla627


    mahoney_j wrote: »
    Came across someone by chance with maize bales for sale .there tested with 30.5% starch and just under 37% dm .hes looking for 55 euro a bale plus delievery per bale .thinking of buying 25 bales .reasoning behind it is cows only going out once per day till weather settles down a bit and I've about 2/2.5!weeks and less of very good bale silage left .after that it's put silage which is 73 plus Dmd and nearly 40% dm but I know it won't feed as good as bales .price seems ok and I'd be happy with test results .opinions ????.weather no sign of settling with more heavy rain middle of next week .these may not be there if left another week

    Would a mid day feed of say 3 kgs of meal not be a better option was doing this anyday cows where indoors fulltime, was going with a 3 way mix of soya hulls/beet pulp/and soya bean meal in equal parts worked out at over 19% protein and was coming in at 235 a ton, seriously good value when you see some of the crap millers are using to make up their high p rations


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  • #4312
    C4d78
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 334 ✭✭C4d78


    After getting Rotavirus in calves here again this year. This is despite vaccination and stomach tubing every calf 3L of colostrum within 2-3 hrs of birth. They are recovering fairly fast.
    Is it common to get Rota even after vaccination and making a good effort with hygiene?
    Without the vaccination would they get hit harder with the virus or what are people's experiences after vaccinating?


  • #4313
    whelan2
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 30,784 ✭✭✭✭whelan2


    C4d78 wrote: »
    After getting Rotavirus in calves here again this year. This is despite vaccination and stomach tubing every calf 3L of colostrum within 2-3 hrs of birth. They are recovering fairly fast.
    Is it common to get Rota even after vaccination and making a good effort with hygiene?
    Without the vaccination would they get hit harder with the virus or what are people's experiences after vaccinating?

    How long are they gettng the vaccinated cows milk for?


  • #4314
    C4d78
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 334 ✭✭C4d78


    whelan2 wrote: »
    How long are they gettng the vaccinated cows milk for?

    They get first 2 feeds only from their own dam and after that transition milk is pooled and they're on this for next few feeds and then they stay on whole milk till weaning.
    I thought the first feed over 90% of the vaccine was transferred to calf. Am I wrong in this?


  • #4315
    orm0nd
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,325 ✭✭✭orm0nd


    jaymla627 wrote: »
    Would a mid day feed of say 3 kgs of meal not be a better option was doing this anyday cows where indoors fulltime, was going with a 3 way mix of soya hulls/beet pulp/and soya bean meal in equal parts worked out at over 19% protein and was coming in at 235 a ton, seriously good value when you see some of the crap millers are using to make up their high p rations

    +1
    never buying a ready made ration or nut again, from any source,

    started getting our own mix made up & the results really showing, yields up but more important solids well up


  • #4316
    whelan2
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 30,784 ✭✭✭✭whelan2


    C4d78 wrote: »
    They get first 2 feeds only from their own dam and after that transition milk is pooled and they're on this for next few feeds and then they stay on whole milk till weaning.
    I thought the first feed over 90% of the vaccine was transferred to calf. Am I wrong in this?
    12 days of rotavec treated biestings according to the leaflet . Was talking to vet about it this morning, he said thats the most common mistake people make. Vaccine is expesive without doing it right


  • #4317
    blackdog1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,185 ✭✭✭blackdog1


    C4d78 wrote: »
    After getting Rotavirus in calves here again this year. This is despite vaccination and stomach tubing every calf 3L of colostrum within 2-3 hrs of birth. They are recovering fairly fast.
    Is it common to get Rota even after vaccination and making a good effort with hygiene?
    Without the vaccination would they get hit harder with the virus or what are people's experiences after vaccinating?

    I had the same trouble. The odd calf was getting it. Put up netting so no crows/magpies and cats are kept out . Problem seems to be nearly gone after it. Also kept them on fresh cows milk longer


  • #4318
    jaymla627
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,128 ✭✭✭jaymla627


    orm0nd wrote: »
    +1
    never buying a ready made ration or nut again, from any source,

    started getting our own mix made up & the results really showing, yields up but more important solids well up

    Are you able to get it made up as a nut our feeding it as a ration can get rations made up to any spec I want but not nuts, rations won't work here through Orby feeders with blocking and when feeding high yielders find they're not able to get all their feed in during milking


  • #4319
    mahoney_j
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,716 ✭✭✭✭mahoney_j


    jaymla627 wrote: »
    Would a mid day feed of say 3 kgs of meal not be a better option was doing this anyday cows where indoors fulltime, was going with a 3 way mix of soya hulls/beet pulp/and soya bean meal in equal parts worked out at over 19% protein and was coming in at 235 a ton, seriously good value when you see some of the crap millers are using to make up their high p rations
    Thought about that but cows are already getting close to 6 kg fty in parlour and loading another 4 kg may cause digestive upsets I feel .maize forage I feel would be a better supplement to compliment what grass and wraps I'm getting into them .i fed wholecrop through spring last year and was massively impressed with it as a buffer feed .nobe this year but I might look at purchasing some for next year


  • #4320
    jaymla627
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,128 ✭✭✭jaymla627


    mahoney_j wrote: »
    Thought about that but cows are already getting close to 6 kg fty in parlour and loading another 4 kg may cause digestive upsets I feel .maize forage I feel would be a better supplement to compliment what grass and wraps I'm getting into them .i fed wholecrop through spring last year and was massively impressed with it as a buffer feed .nobe this year but I might look at purchasing some for next year

    With soya hulls/beet pulp you'll have no worries that way but are great sources of fibre/energy and can be feed at very high rates


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  • #4321
    Timmaay
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,392 ✭✭✭✭Timmaay


    frazzledhome wrote: »
    Back tanking slurry today and can actually go into paddocks. Ground tender but ok if careful. Won't be able to let young lad off at it as ground needs care.

    Same, huge amount of drying with the wind yesterday. Back out with a row of heifers tonight. 1/2 the farm has no urea yet either ffs, need to get that out today also.


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