- Location
- Fife
What's your system?
The ideal suckler cow
- Thread starter FarmerDanny1989
- Start date
west coast angus
Member
Exactly!
west coast angus
Member
All the S’s - Simmy, Saler, Stabliser or Shorthorn.
- Location
- People's Republic of South Yorkshire
We never creep fed until last few weeks before we brought in to wean off so were already getting used to the barley so did not loose condition weaning off.
If you need to creep on summer grass then something wrong somewhere... just adding to your costs.
- Location
- People's Republic of South Yorkshire
As I said above, we can not winter out as fields cut to pieces as old open cast clay soil. So no matter what breed we had it would be winter indoors.
But we found blondes do fine on average grass. Probably genetics where breed originated as it's not lush grass area.
No breed suits all farms.
Thats why so many breeds.
All depends on your market and system and if it makes a decent profit per cow.
Can't remember if I said me tuppence worth...
South Devons if the ground will stick it, bred pure, bulls drawn from commercial Dartmoor men.
(if you're running 400 cows, you should hardly ever be needing to buy a bull mind)
Galloways where the ground won't stick SDs (a rhetorical point, given what you seem to have been up to).
Avoid the new fangled things, feed em nothing, sell whatever is surplus.
No good for breeding replacement hfrs though
- Location
- People's Republic of South Yorkshire
Last years...
Calf indoors over winter.
Just on mother's milk and silage adlib (so grass...) same as mother gets.
Turn out in April at 3-4 months so then can grow well on spring grass as at that age eat plenty themselves.
September wean off so to avoid August bag weaning earlier.
Into barley yard where end up on adlib rolled barley in trough and straw in a ring to eat.
Cow goes back out if weather ok once she dried off on straw and water .
Then back in once land starts to cut up.
Cow on straw and odd licks till calfs
M-J-G
Member
Subtract the 3rd one and you'd be cooking
M-J-G
Member
Big body builder chicks with 5 o'clock shadow
- Location
- Scottish Borders
Bought some Salers cows a couple of years ago to try but just can't get on with them. There's no doubt they calve well and rear a decent enough calf, even if they are a bit leggy. But find them an absolute nightmare to get a finish on - chalk and cheese in comparison to my Angus and shorthorns. And there's absolutely no demand for them through the store market. Therefore they all went to the charollais this year and there will be no more Salers cows bred here
choochter
Member
- Location
- aberdeenshire
Ideal suckler cow, you ask? Well, here she is....
Here's her wee sister, due Feb
Friendly too
Their mum's on the right, oh hang on, no, her on the left, thats the ideal suckler cow...
Twenty year old cow, someone wanted? That's her on the left, had 14 calves
So, in conclusion, the ideal suckler cow is the one you breed yourself to suit your own ideals.
The End.
Here's her wee sister, due Feb
Friendly too
Their mum's on the right, oh hang on, no, her on the left, thats the ideal suckler cow...
Twenty year old cow, someone wanted? That's her on the left, had 14 calves
So, in conclusion, the ideal suckler cow is the one you breed yourself to suit your own ideals.
The End.
- Location
- People's Republic of South Yorkshire
Why?
Subtract the 3rd one and you'd be cooking
I was covering all bases, not sure on what system OP is running, might be mad for figures and Finishing DW.Again - wasn’t sure on the system OP’s running, Saler x Char stores seem to sell well.
I’ll concede the 4S’s and shorten to the 2S’s. The modern Simmy or Shorthorn reign supreme in this part of the world.
- Location
- Scotland
Looks a vary good calf and cow is earning her keep!
Are these pedigree blondes?
How do you find they finish?
Iv just started using blondes and I had my first calves on the ground in the spring and they have excelled all my other breeds and iv recently just bought a stock bull and have a lot of semen in the tank also.
- Location
- Scotland
There some cows and the calves look good too.
iv never tried these but I’d like to!
How well do they finish etc?