John Pringle November/December Update 2024
Winter feeding
- Silage tested
- Diets Balanced
- 3 kg + meal for bull weanlings
- 1–2 kg for heifer weanlings
- Body condition scored cows and heifers – housed and fed accordingly
Winter vaccinations & dosing
- Weanlings vaccinated and dosed
- RSV, Pi3, Mannheimia haemolytica, and IBR
- Dosed for lungworm and stomach worm
- No fluke on the farm
- Spot-on for lice at Christmas
- Faecal egg samples analysed; heifers had to be re-dosed
- Cows vaccinated and treated
- Vaccines: Rota, Corona, and IBR
- Treated for lice
- First and second calvers vaccinated and dosed
- Vaccines: Rota, Corona, and IBR
- Treated for lice
- Dosed for stomach and lung worms
- Pre-calving minerals starting after Christmas
Attention turning to managing cows pre-calving
- Pre-calving minerals will be fed after Christmas
- Quality of mineral fed
- Feeding rate of 120g/head/day
Animal Nutrition
All beef animals are housed for the winter.
The suckler cows are on a diet of silage and rye. The rye was sown to try and bulk up the winter fodder. It has a similar feeding value to straw, so it’s only suitable up until Christmas, as the protein level is so low that it’s not conducive to milk production in suckler cows.
The in-calf heifers and second calvers are on silage only. They are in good condition, and as you will see later, the silage is very good, so I will monitor condition and may have to restrict feeding. There is a fine line with younger animals when restricting, as they are still growing. I don’t want them to lose condition, as they may not go back in calf. However, if they gain too much, they could have a hard calving and also fail to go back in calf anyway.
The silage samples came back, and they are all excellent:
- First cut silage is 74.9% DMD with 14.65% crude protein at 26.8% dry matter
- Second cut silage is 72.6% DMD with 13.8% crude protein at 20.63% dry matter
- Red clover silage tested at 75.3% DMD with 14.49% crude protein at 33.35% dry matter
Figure 1: Red clover silage
The plan is to feed the red clover silage to the young bulls. They are currently on 3 kg of concentrate and ad-lib silage. The intake of red clover silage is higher than that of pit silage, despite it being drier. This is expected based on research at Teagasc Grange. The bulls’ dung is looser on it, but this was also expected. When they change over to pit silage, it should firm up. Their target weight gain is 1.3 kg per head per day to reach a minimum of 500 kg on their first birthdays.
Figure 2: Bulls are on adlib silage and 3kgs meal
Their counterparts, the heifers, are on pit silage (almost 75 DMD) and 1 kg of concentrate. Their target weight gain is 0.6 kg over the winter. The plan is to get them to grass as soon as possible in the spring to ensure they are on track to bull in May and calve at 24 months. Up to weaning, they were achieving 1.14 kg/hd/day, a little behind last year. They will be weighed over Christmas, and if additional feed is needed, it will be added then.
Space: I have always been tight on space for the heifers. I am in the process of building a slatted shed, which should be ready by Christmas or shortly after. I plan to move the bulls into the shed, which will allow me to spread out the heifers, improving their growth rates over the winter.
Animal Health
All the weanlings have been vaccinated. They received two shots of Bovipast to protect against PI3, RSV, and Mannheimia haemolytica. This is a two-shot program. The first shot was given in early September, and the second in early October, giving them full immunity by mid-October, in time for housing.
With the second shot in October, I also gave a live intramuscular IBR vaccine. They are now covered for the winter against pneumonia.
To control lungworm and ensure clean lungs before housing, they received an ivermectin injection. This controls lungworm for 28 days and stomach worms for 14 days. The bulls were housed in mid-October and, “touch wood,” there hasn’t been a cough—it's a great relief.
The heifers follow the same regime but were not housed for nearly a month after dosing. They are not coughing, but I faecal sampled them to check if dosing was needed for stomach worms. I’m very glad I did because both stomach and lungworm eggs were detected, so I am re-dosing.
Figure 3: Silage and Faecal egg samples for the post
Figure 4: Faecal egg sample results
I will use ivermectin again. I can’t use levamisole, as it won’t kill the inhibited larvae. These larvae are hibernating now and will hatch in January, causing scour and a fall in performance. I want to avoid that and the extra work of handling them again.
This farm is dry and high, and so far, we have had no incidents of liver or rumen fluke. I check the beef health check reports regularly, and there have been no cases in our sheep either.
Vaccination
In 2016, we had a serious issue with scours, so I now vaccinate for rota and corona. This vaccine can be administered 3–12 weeks before calving. The recommendation is to vaccinate as close to 3 weeks as possible to ensure high antibody levels in the cows beistings.
I have a tight calving spread but split the vaccinations. It’s a one-shot vaccine, so this is manageable.
I also vaccinate the cows for IBR, with the recommendation to do so a month before calving, which fits well from a labour perspective.
Breeding
Calving begins in mid-February, so I start feeding pre-calving minerals after Christmas. This provides six weeks for the minerals to build up in the cows.
I don’t compromise here, as the correct minerals help cows calve easier, produce vigorous calves, and return to calf successfully.
I use a powdered mineral high in magnesium (17%), phosphorus (4.0%), and sodium (13%). I avoid calcium in the mix but would tolerate up to 2.0%.
With recent lime applications, high molybdenum can be an issue, so I ensure the minerals contain protected (chelated or organic) copper and zinc.
I feed 120 grams per head per day, split into morning and evening feeds, spreading it evenly over the silage to ensure all cows get their required amount. All the cows have access to feed at the same time.