Prionnsias Creedon September/October 2024
Performance
- Finishing 2023 born heifers
- Liveweight’s from 2024 born heifers
- Store heifers intended for finishing
Animal Health
- Dosing/vaccination programme on the farm
- Dealing with rumen fluke
- Faecal egg testing and selecting a dosing product
Performance
The first batch of heifers were housed in the past two weeks for finishing. They weighed on average of 460 kg’s and the plan is to have these finished prior to Christmas. They received an oral dose of Tramazole 10% at housing. Prionnsias intends to take a faecal egg test in five to six weeks’ time and administer a second dose to treat internal parasites if required. They are on a diet of silage and 5 kg’s of a 14% finishing meal.
There is a second batch of 2023 born heifers housed recently as well and they weighed on average of 415 kg’s. Similar to the finishing group they received Tramazole 10% at housing and will be faecal egg tested again in a few weeks’ time. This group are on a diet of silage and 2 kg’s of a weanling mix meal which has 17% protein content. This second group were lighter so Prionnsias intends to grow these animals further and switch them to a finishing diet in early January.
Some of the 2024 born heifers are housed on the farm with the second batch still at grass. The group that are housed are on silage along with 1 ½ kg’s of 17% protein meal. They were faecal tested in late September and results showed that they tested positive for rumen fluke. They received on oral dose of Zanil in early October to treat for rumen fluke along with other internal parasites. Pre housing this group also received Tramazole 10%. Similar to the other batches of cattle housed and with the issue of rumen fluke on the farm, a faecal egg tested will be completed on these stock and dose accordingly should issues arise.
Picture 1: A group of finishing heifers which currently weigh 460kgs liveweight
Picture 2: 2023 born heifers housed recently weighting on average 415 kgs
Animal Health
Rumen fluke has been an issue in cattle on the farm this year for Prionnsias. To treat for rumen fluke affected animals were treated with Zanil. With regular faecal egg sampling Prionnsias is keeping a tight lid on the problem. It’s good practice on all farms to carry out regular faecal egg sampling as a measure to identify any internal parasites. Fresh samples can be pooled and animals should be tested in batches of ten.
The 2024 born animals this year received two rounds of Bovilis Bovipast RSP, four weeks a part prior to housing. Animals had full immunity two weeks after receiving the second booster. Prionnsias commented that he had no pneumonia issue from last winter since they were vaccinated against respiratory diseases.
Picture 3: 2024 born heifers out grazing for another two-three weeks and vaccinated with Bovills Boviplast RSP ahead of housing
Grassland
There is two groups of stock still out grazing on the farm. The first bunch is a group of 2023 born heifers which have about one weeks grass left in front of them. They have an average liveweight of 375 kg’s when weighed recently. When housed they will receive silage and 2.5 kg’s of 17% protein meal. Prionnsias mentioned that they will be the last group to be finished in the spring next year and will keep them on a growing diet until reach a liveweight of around 470 kg’s – at that stage they will switch over to a finishing diet. The plan is to have all 2023 born heifers finished out of the shed.
The second group of stock currently still grazing is a group of 2024 born heifers. They will remain at grass for another two to three weeks, weather permitting. They receive 1.2 kg’s of meal daily along with access to straw as a fibre source. They weighed on average 206 kg’s when recently weighed. There isn’t a huge demand for grass early spring so Prionnsias is happy to graze later into the backend and close the farm at a lower farm cover.
Picture 4: The third group of 2023 born heifers out grazing for another week