Ger McSweeney July/August Update 2024
Outbreak of coccidiosis
- Coccidiosis outbreak in bulls
- Managing their recovery
- FEC sample results
New handling facility plans
- Plans for new handling facility
- Sketch with design
- TAMS application submitted
Breeding
Ger does not plan to scan the herd, but from the Sensehub system that he has on the farm and from observing the herd, he expects that 38 heifers/cows are in calf. Eight heifers and 39 cows were bred in total this spring, which results in a conception rate of 81% over a 9 week breeding season. This figure includes 5 females that were synchronised as they weren’t cycling and he achieved a 60% conception rate from these.
One cow that is positive for neospora is in calf so Ger plans to calve her next spring to maintain herd numbers.
Some of the cull cows have been weaned already and are being fed in the shed. Ger had started feeding them at grass but with the wet weather he found that their weight gains were back and have compensated since housing. They will be finished out of the shed on 70% DMD silage and 5 kg of ration/head/day in 2 splits, along with the finishing heifers. They are being fed for 1 month now and Ger expects them to be finished in 30 to 40 days before the other cattle will be housed. The heifers averaged 574kg on 27th August and gained 1.72 kg/day since 6th July.
Figure 1: Some of the finishing heifers
Animal Health
The in calf heifers and bull calves were affected by a severe outbreak of coccidiosis. Ger was first alerted to it from the Sensehub system and noticed one heifer was shedding blood in her dung. He contacted his vet and they were all treated with Vecoxan. Some severely affected cattle were given extra medication and thankfully they are now recovering well. Interestingly, the weanling heifers were grazing different paddocks on the farm and were not affected by the outbreak.
The weanling bulls are being fed 0.5 kg ration/head/day at grass to help their recovery and are creep grazing ahead of the cows.
Figure 2: The bull weanlings are recovering well
Ger recently submitted FEC samples for the heifers and bulls and they were low positive for coccidia. The bulls had a low stomach worm burden of 50epg which does not require treatment. Both groups were negative for liver fluke, rumen fluke, tapeworms and lung worms.
Figure 3: FEC sample results for the weanlings
Health & Safety
With the use of 100% AI on the farm and a large group size grazing together during the breeding season, Ger has been considering making changes to his handling system. The holding area in his shed is too small to manage the entire herd and splitting cows/heifers for AI is a 2 person job at present. He wanted to design a new handling facility that would;
- Be safe
- Be manageable for 1 person
- Improve cow flow in the yard
- Allow for weighing of bulls over the winter
- Tidy up an existing holding area
He is also planning for the future and may consider building another shed in a few years’ time for housing the bulls. The crush location will work very well with the shed, and it could also double up as extra calving pens in spring if required.
The TAMS Farm Safety Capital Investment Scheme is providing 60% grant funding to improve handling facilities and cattle handling areas are funded through this. Ger has submitted an application for the grant and hopes to hear back by early 2025 so that he can commence works as soon as possible.
The farm sketch below shows Ger’s design plan which includes 2 holding areas, 4 pens and a curved area in the crush to help with cow flow. He plans to be able to use the handling unit from 2 sides so the herd can enter through H1 or H2 depending on what side of the yard they are coming from.
Figure 4: Sketch of new handling unit design
Figure 5: The area where the handling unit will be developed