Cows gorging cake

Jdunn55

Member
So in the latest antics of why I've had a f**king enough, a portion of the milkers (25ish) escaped last night and have broken through my gates (and of course bent them in the process) ans then helped themselves to a tonne of dry cow rolls, 1-2 t of calf cake and half a tonne of grass seed
Do I need to worry about anything? They seem OK this morning, just look out for acidosis, or is there something more to worry about?
 

Milkcow365

Member
Location
Sw Scotland
This will probably be of no help now but things I’ve learnt in my short dairy career.if you do everything right generally things go ok if that’s checking on that calving cow a extra time, sticking a bottle under a old cows skin as a precaution so she’s not flat out in morning, colostrum into calves ASAP every time, checking they gates twice maybe 3 times (we used to have cows escape a lot from the sheds) last thing before leaving check the gates, get that concrete grooved when you see it getting slippy,change that rubber pipe when you see it’s dodgy, check that problem out when you hear a noise that’s not just in tone in the parlour, lift that cow that’s went lame ASAP and she won’t be lame for long, feed the cows at the same time every day milk the cows at the same time feed the calves at the same time do your paper work as you go along, it’s constant but if you do it all right the number of “disasters” becomes far less and nearly non existent we all have random problems but there probably not as random as you think and can all link back to a chain of events that something wasn’t done right.

hopefully there’s no issues with your cows that have eaten all the grub just a few extra litres in the tank
 
If your real worried drench them with bicarb or limestone flour
But ring the vet and ask first

I had 70 get on top of 70 ton of barley last xmas day ,they had 24 hours in there
Luckily didnt lose 1 but the yard looked like I'd sowed corn on it for 2 days





If they do start dying check you have straying on your insurance
 

Bald n Grumpy

Member
Livestock Farmer
This will probably be of no help now but things I’ve learnt in my short dairy career.if you do everything right generally things go ok if that’s checking on that calving cow a extra time, sticking a bottle under a old cows skin as a precaution so she’s not flat out in morning, colostrum into calves ASAP every time, checking they gates twice maybe 3 times (we used to have cows escape a lot from the sheds) last thing before leaving check the gates, get that concrete grooved when you see it getting slippy,change that rubber pipe when you see it’s dodgy, check that problem out when you hear a noise that’s not just in tone in the parlour, lift that cow that’s went lame ASAP and she won’t be lame for long, feed the cows at the same time every day milk the cows at the same time feed the calves at the same time do your paper work as you go along, it’s constant but if you do it all right the number of “disasters” becomes far less and nearly non existent we all have random problems but there probably not as random as you think and can all link back to a chain of events that something wasn’t done right.

hopefully there’s no issues with your cows that have eaten all the grub just a few extra litres in the tank
Your right but s**t still happens
 

Jdunn55

Member
Are you sure there was only 25? because 1tonne of drycow rolls and 1tonne of calf pellets is 80kgs per cow. I would be concerned.
To be honest i don't know how many there were, there was only 5 in the shed with the cake when I got there, there was 60 in the cubicles still up could have been out and brought themselves back in, and the other 20 were 2 miles away on the main road grazing

The cows seem fine atm but I don't know how long they've been out for, I did my final check at 11pm last night so had to be between then and 5am this morning
There's a hell of a lot of wasted cake though so I'm hoping they'll be OK?
 
To be honest i don't know how many there were, there was only 5 in the shed with the cake when I got there, there was 60 in the cubicles still up could have been out and brought themselves back in, and the other 20 were 2 miles away on the main road grazing

The cows seem fine atm but I don't know how long they've been out for, I did my final check at 11pm last night so had to be between then and 5am this morning
There's a hell of a lot of wasted cake though so I'm hoping they'll be OK?
The blessing this year is most cake is just a pelleted pke nut as prices are where they are. So you'll probably be fine. 🤣
 

Jdunn55

Member
This will probably be of no help now but things I’ve learnt in my short dairy career.if you do everything right generally things go ok if that’s checking on that calving cow a extra time, sticking a bottle under a old cows skin as a precaution so she’s not flat out in morning, colostrum into calves ASAP every time, checking they gates twice maybe 3 times (we used to have cows escape a lot from the sheds) last thing before leaving check the gates, get that concrete grooved when you see it getting slippy,change that rubber pipe when you see it’s dodgy, check that problem out when you hear a noise that’s not just in tone in the parlour, lift that cow that’s went lame ASAP and she won’t be lame for long, feed the cows at the same time every day milk the cows at the same time feed the calves at the same time do your paper work as you go along, it’s constant but if you do it all right the number of “disasters” becomes far less and nearly non existent we all have random problems but there probably not as random as you think and can all link back to a chain of events that something wasn’t done right.

hopefully there’s no issues with your cows that have eaten all the grub just a few extra litres in the tank
You're 100% right, the problem is this farm needed and still needs a lot of work to get it to being functional, I've spent an absolute fortune on it so far and just can't afford anymore, I'm paying a massive rent on the place under the condition that everything would work correctly but it's not, the landlord has said they'll sort the major issues in the next tax year so it's just trying to get through until then, an example being the parlour feeders either don't work at all or else work for about a week and then need to be taken apart and put back together, which I'm having to do weekly on most of them, the ones that don't work at all, I asked venture to look at and their exact words were that they're beyond repair and need replacing, this is one of the things the landlord is sorting in April but have to wait until then

The annoying part about last nights antics is I spent all day yesterday working on the electric fencing and by milking time I had it kicking around the yard brilliantly (I know it was working because I got belted turning the dirty water system off), the reason they got out was because my bull took a fancy to a heifer and just obliterated anything in his path to get to her (2 broken feed barriers this morning as well) the cows know where the feed shed is as they have escaped into their twice before, after the first time I ordered 2 custom 20' gates at £250 quid each to stop the gap thinking I was being clever (they escaped again inbetween the gates arriving though) fast forward to today and the gates proved to be no obstacle for them :(
 

Whitewalker

Member
You're 100% right, the problem is this farm needed and still needs a lot of work to get it to being functional, I've spent an absolute fortune on it so far and just can't afford anymore, I'm paying a massive rent on the place under the condition that everything would work correctly but it's not, the landlord has said they'll sort the major issues in the next tax year so it's just trying to get through until then, an example being the parlour feeders either don't work at all or else work for about a week and then need to be taken apart and put back together, which I'm having to do weekly on most of them, the ones that don't work at all, I asked venture to look at and their exact words were that they're beyond repair and need replacing, this is one of the things the landlord is sorting in April but have to wait until then

The annoying part about last nights antics is I spent all day yesterday working on the electric fencing and by milking time I had it kicking around the yard brilliantly (I know it was working because I got belted turning the dirty water system off), the reason they got out was because my bull took a fancy to a heifer and just obliterated anything in his path to get to her (2 broken feed barriers this morning as well) the cows know where the feed shed is as they have escaped into their twice before, after the first time I ordered 2 custom 20' gates at £250 quid each to stop the gap thinking I was being clever (they escaped again inbetween the gates arriving though) fast forward to today and the gates proved to be no obstacle for them :(
Our last bull was close to the breeders and it was a bit hairy to say the least , he had to go . I’m not missing a bull at the moment.
 

Bramble

Member
They’ll be fine (probably). One of our bins emptied 12 tonnes of cake out overnight over the out of parlour feeders once. Pretty much covered the feeders, there were a couple of cows asleep on the top of the pile when we discovered them in the morning.

All we’re OK though, just very loose for a few days🤢
 

Bramble

Member
You're 100% right, the problem is this farm needed and still needs a lot of work to get it to being functional, I've spent an absolute fortune on it so far and just can't afford anymore, I'm paying a massive rent on the place under the condition that everything would work correctly but it's not, the landlord has said they'll sort the major issues in the next tax year so it's just trying to get through until then, an example being the parlour feeders either don't work at all or else work for about a week and then need to be taken apart and put back together, which I'm having to do weekly on most of them, the ones that don't work at all, I asked venture to look at and their exact words were that they're beyond repair and need replacing, this is one of the things the landlord is sorting in April but have to wait until then

The annoying part about last nights antics is I spent all day yesterday working on the electric fencing and by milking time I had it kicking around the yard brilliantly (I know it was working because I got belted turning the dirty water system off), the reason they got out was because my bull took a fancy to a heifer and just obliterated anything in his path to get to her (2 broken feed barriers this morning as well) the cows know where the feed shed is as they have escaped into their twice before, after the first time I ordered 2 custom 20' gates at £250 quid each to stop the gap thinking I was being clever (they escaped again inbetween the gates arriving though) fast forward to today and the gates proved to be no obstacle for them :(

You’ve got a generous landlord if his paying for some parlour feeders. Most would regard them as equipment, similar to a tractor, and expect the tenant to pay. Maybe depends on your level of rent though
 

Jdunn55

Member
You’ve got a generous landlord if his paying for some parlour feeders. Most would regard them as equipment, similar to a tractor, and expect the tenant to pay. Maybe depends on your level of rent though
The landlord is brilliant but the place needs a lot of investment in certain areas, I offered to pay for the feeders but I would take them with me when I leave which would mean they wouldn't have a working parlour, what I said to them when we were negotiating is that for the rent I'm paying, I don't mind maintaining anything at all but I'm not replacing anything (unless it's my fault its broken of course)
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
shite happens, usually when you can least afford it. We lost two bulls, through a freak action, rolling barley, some crept around the blockwork and girder, just a tiny gap, but enough for two bulls to kill themselves, despite vets best attempts.
Would out of parlour feeders be a better option, can be picked up 2nd hand reasonable.
Yard gates, l get a lot of stick from son, he says its a waste of time, but every yard gate, has a length of chain, bolted onto gate, with a spring hook, to either wrap around a post, or a hook. Cheap to do, highly effective, and a hell of a lot better than string. And once done, or replaced, never gets mentioned, only when he sees new chain and fixings, in my truck.
Bulls, and sexually aroused cattle, are quite determined to meet, and a large determined bull, takes an awful lot of stopping. Best kept inside, when you don't need to use him, can save a lot of hassle and cash.
 

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