Eamon & Donnchadh McCarthy September/October Update 2023
Latest updates
- Update on autumn calving
- Bull selection for the autumn herd
- Scanning results from the spring herd
Reducing stress at weaning & IBR results
- IBR testing completed on the farm
- Weaning has started for the bull calves
- Weaning process on the farm
Latest weights & slaughter performance, plus adding value to finished stock
- Latest cattle weights
- 3 heifers slaughtered at end of August
- Eamon & Donnchadh have joined the Kepak/Tirlán Twenty20 Club
Breeding
19 females from the autumn herd have now calved from 18th July to 1st September. One cow went down after calving and another calf had a large calf that needed a good pull put other than that there were no major issues.
Breeding for the autumn herd will start on 5th October. 12 cows have been selected for breeding to maternal bulls and 11 cows will be bred to more terminal bulls. Two cows have been selected as culls; one which showed up positive for IBR and a second that had a difficult calving.
The maternal bulls selected are SI4147, SI4250, AU4683 and SA4604. The 5 heifers and 7 cows selected for breeding to maternal bulls have a minimum replacement index value of €123 which stretches up to €184. Their daughter milk figures range from 3.6kg to 18.2kg and the carcass weight ranges from -2.3kg to 31.6kg. The bulls selected are individually chosen to produce a replacement that is better than its mother, so if she is low in milk a bull with a higher milk index will be used etc.
SI4147 (Curaheen Gunshot P) is €170 on the replacement index. He has a daughter milk figure of +8.2kg and a daughter calving interval of -3.48 days. Carcass weight is good at 32.9kg and the cow calving difficulty is 7.2%.
Figure 1: Eurostar figure breakdown for SI4147 (ICBF)
SI4250 (Lis-Na-Ri Gucci) has a replacement index of €161 with a daughter milk figure of +6.4kg and a daughter calving interval of -3.56 days. The carcass weight figure is 19.4kg and the beef cow calving difficulty is 3.1%.
AU4683 (Turloughmore Magnificent) has a replacement index of €209. His daughter milk figure is +3.2kg and the daughter calving interval is -7.76 days. He can be used on the milkiest cows in the herd as he does not add as much milk as the previous bulls. His carcass weight is 18.8kg and he has a beef cow calving difficulty of 2.7%.
SA4604 (Knottown Roy) has a replacement index of €241 which consists of a daughter milk figure of +8.3kg and daughter calving interval of -6.58 days. His carcass weight is 20.5kg and the beef cow calving difficulty is only 1.8%.
There was 1 heifer and 10 cows selected for breeding to terminal bulls. Their replacement index ranged from €38 to €130. The bulls being used on the cows breeding terminal calves are SI2152, CH4321 and CH7503. SI2151 (Curaheen Earp) is often used as replacement bull as well as for his terminal traits. He has a terminal index of €91 with a carcass weight of 22.8kg and carcass conformation of 1.56. His beef cow calving difficulty is 3.6%.
CH4321 (Lapon) has a terminal index of €160 with a beef cow calving difficulty of 5.1%. He has a figure of 41.8kg carcass weight and 2.26 carcass conformation.
CH7503 (Cloonradoon Ricky) has a terminal index of €123, a carcass weight of 35kg and a carcass conformation of 2.13. His beef cow calving difficulty figure is 9.1% so he will be used on more mature cows that have lower terminal traits.
The spring herd were scanned and showed that 2 heifers and 26 cows are in calf for the coming year. They are expected to calve between 12th February and 18th March. 37 females were bred in total (6 heifers and 31 cows) so the overall conception rate was 76%. However 6 out of 7 cows that were inseminated with sexed semen straws from SI4147 have held in calf to the first serve which is an 86% conception rate. Eamon and Donnchahd achieved this by inseminating cows that were in the sexed semen window when the AI technician arrived, rather than pre-selecting cows and hoping that the AI technician would arrive at the right time.
Animal Health
The IBR testing has been carried out by the vet as part of the National Beef Welfare Scheme. One cow out of 20 tested positive for IBR. She was a bought in cow from the autumn herd and Eamon and Donnchadh have already decided to cull her. They do not vaccinate for IBR and it is likely that she would shed the disease when her immune system is under pressure.
Figure 2: IBR blood test results showing a negative and positive cow
Anti-suckling nose paddles were fitted to the bull calves on 23rd September. They will be removed from their noses on the same day that the cows are separated from the group, and the second batch of calves will be fitted with the same devices. Their cows will be removed then a week later. The aim is to reduce stress on the bulls as they have been eating from the creep feeder since early August, weaned gradually and will have minimal changes to their environment over the weaning period.
The creep feeder will be moved over to the group of heifers and cows after this and they will be weaned using the same process. Due to the improved weight gains from creep feeding the bulls, Eamon and Donnchadh are already considering buying another creep feeder for next year that can be left with the heifer group for longer.
Figure 3: Bull calves who are being weaned with nose paddles
Performance
The 2023 spring bulls (20) were weighed on 23rd September. They averaged 312kg and gained 1.81 kg/day since 5th August since they have started on the creep feeder.
The 2022 autumn finishing bulls (7) were weighed on 26th August and averaged 508kg, after gaining 1.91 kg/day since 4th August. They are eating 10kg of a barley/15% CP ration mix and good quality silage.
Figure 4: Autumn 2022 finishing bulls
The finishing heifers (7) are eating 5kg of a barley/15% CP ration mix and are being gradually built up to 6kg/day.
Figure 5: Finishing heifers
Three heifers were slaughtered on 31st August. They averaged 347kg carcass weight and graded R+3= making €1706 per head at 24.6 months of age.
Eamon and Donnchadh have decided to join the Kepak/Tirlán Twenty20 Club to avail of the bonus prices available for finished cattle. This bonus ranges from an extra 15c/kg on cull cows to 30c/kg on heifers and bullocks. All feed inputs must be purchased from Tirlán as part of the pricing structure.