My fathers favourite comment when walking my herd!! "Nice bulling heifers"
All things Dairy
- Thread starter Cows 'n grass
- Start date
pine_guy
Member
- Location
- North Cumbria
Lackey
Member
- Location
- North Cumbria
Erm....yes they are, you're just looking at them from a long, long (long) way away
Spudley
Member
- Location
- Pembrokeshire
I spent an hour in the mart today waiting to sell some calves, there were a lot of 30 month plus heifers there. Our average age at first calving is 21 months, so I guess we are milking bulling heifers!
- Location
- somerset
looking back through some old farming mags, from 1950/1/2, cow size was way smaller than todays hols, a big hol would be nearly 2 of them. And yet, those cows were prize winners, at the major shows, hardly bigger than todays grass rats, but giving a bit more milk, as more farmers move away from big hols, and xbreed, moving full circle again, all we need to add, is longevity, a lot of those cows were well over 15 yrs, the record breaking top cow, was 18 yrs, and still going, (and hand milked), and getting close to 75 ton of milk. Makes one think about how far progress has taken us, the adverts in the mags, the 'latest inventions' we can see in museums, can just remember using some.
- Location
- somerset
we sell a few fresh in mkt, potential buyers mostly say, hfrs have to calve at 24 months, and then promptly bid silly money on 3 or 4 year old first calvers, if asked,' well she will make a good barrener'. The oldest l have seen, was a 5yr in calf hfr, and topped the mkt. The 2yr old hfrs, look cheap against them, and l do wonder how many farmers check the age.
As I say to all of my guys - they're dairy farmers, not beef farmers. There is a small fortune to be made calving heifers at 24 months. I'm not too upset if cows slip a little because at least they're milking and generating cash. But heifers is dead money.
- Location
- somerset
specially if they are 4 plus years. I don't expect our 2 yr olds, to give 30 odd litres, they still have a lot of growing to do, some hfrs at Y farm dispersal, were giving 40+, 24 months.
rusty
Member
- Location
- Buxton Derbyshire
Tagging , weighing
and giving the R1's a Cydectin wormer jab in the ear before turnout.
early riser
Member
- Location
- Up North
wetted yard with volume washer? Or have you actually had some of that magical stuff out of the sky?!
pine_guy
Member
- Location
- North Cumbria
What’s your protocol for lungworm if using cydectin?
Dead Rabbits
Member
- Location
- 'Merica
- Location
- somerset
1 jab of cydectin la, gives 180 days coverage v lungworm, only use it in yr 1, after that, husk doesn't seem to be a problem, used it for 8/9 yrs.
Farmer Keith
Member
- Location
- North Cumbria
Any signs of resistance from using a long acting worker every year over nearly a decade?
- Location
- M6 Hard shoulder
Think he means he has treated his 1 yr old animals for the last 8/9 yrs?
- Location
- Wormingford, Essex
Its not the animals building resistance, it would be the lungworm.
dinderleat
Member
- Location
- Wells
Think the top lifetime yield in some Holsteins is nearing 200tn so I would say things have moved on a little
I think we'd all like lungworm resistant animals!
Martyn
Member
- Location
- South west
Cows enjoying sun and grass bliss
and incalf heifers, interesting top worming, we move all our young stock groups onto new pasture on a regular 18-21day basis and we don't worm anything. We do get a little lung worm cough late season only noticed when lots of running like being move, but never treat seam to just use there immunity to get on top
of it.
and incalf heifers, interesting top worming, we move all our young stock groups onto new pasture on a regular 18-21day basis and we don't worm anything. We do get a little lung worm cough late season only noticed when lots of running like being move, but never treat seam to just use there immunity to get on top