I know it's a short boundary but watching Abell and Lammonby clear the apartments and then land one in the Church was worth the admission fee alone tonight!
All things Dairy
- Thread starter Cows 'n grass
- Start date
I know it's a short boundary but watching Abell and Lammonby clear the apartments and then land one in the Church was worth the admission fee alone tonight!
Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
my fault this time though... If theres a way to ruin my day it's this, luckily the Stanley knife became handy 
Milking 14 times a week is starting to get a bit excessive!
Dian Landman
Member
Martyn
Member
- Location
- South west
What's happened to your milking team. Honestly give it three years things will settle down! I can remember having heaps of fencing to salvage hardley as much these days.
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That’s an easy fix, come back when you have one with 2 lambs, 8 corner posts, 3 reals and a tree connected to 1800 meters of wire!
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- Location
- God's side of the border.
September next week, definitely time to start having Saturday afternoons off.
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Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
That’s an easy fix, come back when you have one with 2 lambs, 8 corner posts, 3 reals and a tree connected to 1800 meters of wire!
still annoying, my best is having my sheep decide to cross the main road between helston and penzance (edit: not falmouth) and my electric fencing being strung across the road... 
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Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
I came to a mutual decision with one that it wasnt working, I milked every evening he was here for a month, left him for 2 weeks (gradually didn't just decide one day he can do it) and he rang me to say he didn't want to do it and gave me no notice, I wasnt upset as I was going to give him his 2 weeks anyway as he was starting at 4:30 (cows in the yard ready to go) and wasnt leaving until half past 10 to milk 70 cows... I milk 70 in 1 hour - 1hour 15 plus another 15 for wash down
The parlour was always in a state after he milked (had to keep washing the clusters before I could start the next morning - despite asking him to clean them properly several times as an example) cows werent being milked out properly or at all sometimes, werent being fed etc
The other one is still here but also works for someone else and when their herdsmen goes on holiday he is meant to cover them and the agreement was I then can have him on other days when I'm busy to make up his time (in agreement with the over farmer)
Except that isn't working because hes doing extra for them and no extra for me, I wanted him monday and tuesday as we've been on hay/silage and wasnt allowed him as they needed him for milk recording monday and the herdsmen had an evening off on tuesday... he then proceeds to text me on Wednesday morning and say hes off sick for the rest of the week, hes also on holiday next week, he also covered the herdsman for the first week of august...
So out of the massive 12 milkings he was meant to do this month, hes done 5, and guess who's done the other 57...
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Martyn
Member
- Location
- South west
You will find you get to a point you can do it in your sleep I did 300+ milking last twelve months other than when in hospital with young daughter for four days and neighbors stepping in, also now once a day for upto dry off. Can you have a dry month to give yourself a break? Allows you to catch up on lots and fresh for calving down as well as holiday time.
- Location
- Pembrokeshire
He’s calving ayr
- Location
- somerset
pity you spoilt the pic of some nice grass, by leaving rubbish about, some farmers in devon and cornwall are losing their milk contracts, for appearance !
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seriously, it's bloody annoying, when they get through the fence, serious when they keep doing it, they soon learn they can do it all the time.
Is it just 1 cow going through, the rest following ? If it is, especially if she's overweight, long time calved, and not certain if i/c ..... one solution is sell it, not worth the hassle/time, or, what we have found can work, is to fix a chain round her neck, so as she puts her head down, to go through, chain touching ground, gives a better earth, =bigger shock. If pushing stakes over, to get through, either cull, or buy stakes that are live. Looking at your 'mess', its thin wire, is it carrying the pulse at full power? we mainly use a thicker wire now, with 9 live wires through, not the normal 4 or 6, being thicker, it's a more 'deterrent' looking, and the main thing to check, is the fencer, earth, and hot wire taking the pulse out.
Good luck, but you need to sort it, otherwise it's a problem that grows, and you haven't got time to keep doing it.
We have a 'new' problem to deal with, took on 56 acres this year, near/round the village, lots of little foot path gates, only been out x2, but we have closed those gates, many times that.
- Location
- Pembrokeshire
Put in kissing gates
Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
I don't mind the actual milking it's more the fact that it means I cant get on with other stuff, the cows are much more relaxed and no one kicks clusters off when it's just me milking all the time anyway
As in the pit has said I'm calving all year round atm, once I have some heifers calving I'll tighten the block up a lot, wether ill dry off completely I don't know but needs must at the minute
I've got 10 acres of third cut left to do and then I'll just have 100 acres of fourth to do next month and I'll be done with silage for us atleast but probably have a 1000 bales to do for other people still
Then got hedetrimming to do next week and slurry after that and then it should calm down as I'll be done in terms of field work for this year
Going to look for someone more experienced who can be full time next January in preparation for calving, lambing and silage even if I have to pay more and going to do first cut in the clamp so should be ok I'm hoping!
Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
This happened when I was winding the bloody stuff up, never have a problem normally but managed to tangle itself up somehow
I do have a cow who is able to tell if a fence is on or off by sniffing it, it's a royal pita!
- Location
- South Molton
Perhaps it maybe easier to find someone to drive the tractor rather than milk?
Jdunn55
Member
- Location
- Helston, cornwall
- Location
- South Molton
Labour is issue most places unless you can justify someone fulltime.
apprentice?
Robots an option?
Just throwing ideas at you sorry
Martyn
Member
- Location
- South west
Was down your way this week, met three class tractors on with picking kit all with mobile phones stuck to there face, must be massive headache to manage.
- Location
- somerset
finding good labour is a nightmare, there are to many jobs advertised, and we cannot offer accommodation. lad that helps us, claims to have worked for loads of contractors, but cant remember any names, got his HGV ticket, but doesn't really want to drive, milked cows, been to college, but cant remember which one, and can do loads of things, in reality, load of ballcocks, and is not capable of working a full day -unless it happens to be something he's enjoying doing. On the other hand, in the winter, he can scrape out, straw down and properly load the TMR. Definitely a few pence short of a pound, rant over.
But, it doesn't help with the work, we can usually get a lad or two in tanking, or shite spreading, and perhaps the answer, for us, and similar, concentrate on the cows, and contract in, the outside work.
But, it doesn't help with the work, we can usually get a lad or two in tanking, or shite spreading, and perhaps the answer, for us, and similar, concentrate on the cows, and contract in, the outside work.
- Location
- somerset
we have good friends down there, 1 used to drive the mobile library round 2 days a week, he found the summer, to be 'interesting' to say the least. Am told it's horrendous to drive anywhere at the moment.