Autumn calving cow milk yields

crashbox

Member
Livestock Farmer
The calving date is the one I often question. We calve 8th August so everything can calve outside. Would we be better to calve a month later, house everything after calving and get a bigger lift in yield at turnout?
Pros and cons?
Surely if you're set up for it and don't suffer milk fever, a lot of health benefits to calving outside.

Out of interest, how do you prevent the milk fever? Dry cow rolls + standing hay?
 

In the pit

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Pembrokeshire
I calve 1 sept onwards ,all outside on standing hay and kilo of cow cake in the parlour. Cows in at night in oct and in day and night nov and settled couple of weeks before serving
Back out as soon as I can mid jan this year mid march last year
 

Carlowmann

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Carlow Ireland
I calve 1 sept onwards ,all outside on standing hay and kilo of cow cake in the parlour. Cows in at night in oct and in day and night nov and settled couple of weeks before serving
Back out as soon as I can mid jan this year mid march last year
Do you serve cows in November i was thinking starting 1st December .
I'd like to keep the day to day stuff to milking plus 1 other job , December January milk feed calves and serve cows and replacements.
February ,bull in , slurry spreading, sell late calvers and be ready for grazing when conditions allow not often before 1st March and out full time 1st April
Milking and silage for the summer
All slurry spread ,straw in , sheds ready and little holiday with the long haired friend before calving starts then just focus on calving and getting cows and calves off to a good start .
Not there yet but sometimes i will get there
 

Farmer Keith

Member
Location
North Cumbria
16 Aug this year was around 20th July 5 years ago, keep sneaking it later and seems to work better. Cows milk better in the spring and allows for a better work/life balance in the summer. I think we’ll still there tbh, much later and there’s a risk of having to calve inside this far north.
 

frederick

Member
Location
south west
The calving date is the one I often question. We calve 8th August so everything can calve outside. Would we be better to calve a month later, house everything after calving and get a bigger lift in yield at turnout?
Pros and cons?
I calves 12th Sept and start wagon immediately. I will graze by day of weather is ok. Trouble is you just grow too much grass in September and October and I don't want sheep.
Grazing actually works best with a small spring herd that graze until December but that was to much work.
This year plan on keeping the empties at grass in oct and November put a bit of condition on them probably won't bother milking them.
 

In the pit

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Pembrokeshire
I don’t start feeding silage in autumn until it starts turning wet which is normally October and then full time silage 2/3 weeks before serving .
Start serving 24 nov and try and have bulls in Xmas eve
 

crashbox

Member
Livestock Farmer
So.whatbare the cross breeds, kiwi cross?

If you're starting with holsteins, cross to fresian then Jersey? (I know someone will say sell and buy but TB...)
 

Carlowmann

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Carlow Ireland
If you're on a white water contract no cow will touch a holstein, the only time to even consider crossbreeding is to add some health traits if you're having problems in a specific area (eg fertility)
Liquid contract no bonus for solids but a bonus on all litres for 4 winter months
Health and fertility i like to keep at the top of the charts but push out max litres from 1st November.
Was 50 /50 then went all spring then back to 50 / 50 about 15 years ago now it suits to go all winter
Herd is 50 . 50 fresian x holstein
I'm thinking the 8000-8500 litre Holstein cow would suit me
 

In the pit

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Pembrokeshire
Liquid contract no bonus for solids but a bonus on all litres for 4 winter months
Health and fertility i like to keep at the top of the charts but push out max litres from 1st November.
Was 50 /50 then went all spring then back to 50 / 50 about 15 years ago now it suits to go all winter
Herd is 50 . 50 fresian x holstein
I'm thinking the 8000-8500 litre Holstein cow would suit me
Might have a problem with them blowing over in the wind at turnout and not holding condition
Possible go for an Irish grazing animal
 

DairyNerd

Member
Livestock Farmer
Liquid contract no bonus for solids but a bonus on all litres for 4 winter months
Health and fertility i like to keep at the top of the charts but push out max litres from 1st November.
Was 50 /50 then went all spring then back to 50 / 50 about 15 years ago now it suits to go all winter
Herd is 50 . 50 fresian x holstein
I'm thinking the 8000-8500 litre Holstein cow would suit me

Might have a problem with them blowing over in the wind at turnout and not holding condition
Possible go for an Irish grazing animal

If you want a simple system then i wouldn't go for a Holstein, they produce milk at the expense of basically every other trait you want in a cow on a simple system. Not saying they dont have a place but its not that.

I have mainly Irish Freisian cross Jersey's, probably too far the other way for you. Got a few Irish holstein cross Irish freisian, they are decent too. I bought for solids but you can buy irish cows with lower solids, great grazing animals. Calved 30 out of 45, started 25th March, no milk fever cases, all calved easily, helped 1 set of twins but didn't use the jack. Currently averaging 25 L from 1.5kg cake, it's my first year on my own so i dont think i'm doing anything spectacular but they are great little cows and would highly recommend.
 
Location
Cornwall
If you want a simple system then i wouldn't go for a Holstein, they produce milk at the expense of basically every other trait you want in a cow on a simple system. Not saying they dont have a place but its not that.

I have mainly Irish Freisian cross Jersey's, probably too far the other way for you. Got a few Irish holstein cross Irish freisian, they are decent too. I bought for solids but you can buy irish cows with lower solids, great grazing animals. Calved 30 out of 45, started 25th March, no milk fever cases, all calved easily, helped 1 set of twins but didn't use the jack. Currently averaging 25 L from 1.5kg cake, it's my first year on my own so i dont think i'm doing anything spectacular but they are great little cows and would highly recommend.

What solids are they doing?
 

Jdunn55

Member
Why are people mentioning jerseys? They are the lowest yielding cows you can have in terms of litres, obviously solids are different but this is a white water contract!!!

Forget the jerseys
As a pedigree British friesian breeder forget them too

Holstein all the way, full steam ahead
Block calve in september-October
Graze until the end of October by day, house by night, pump the cake into them, if you can grow maize do it, multicut grass, wholecrop if no maize
Plenty of concentrates

Out grazing by day as soon as you can once you have finished serving and start cutting cake back
Enjoy the summer

Sounds like my idea of a dream
 

frederick

Member
Location
south west
Why are people mentioning jerseys? They are the lowest yielding cows you can have in terms of litres, obviously solids are different but this is a white water contract!!!

Forget the jerseys
As a pedigree British friesian breeder forget them too

Holstein all the way, full steam ahead
Block calve in september-October
Graze until the end of October by day, house by night, pump the cake into them, if you can grow maize do it, multicut grass, wholecrop if no maize
Plenty of concentrates

Out grazing by day as soon as you can once you have finished serving and start cutting cake back
Enjoy the summer

Sounds like my idea of a dream
It's surprising if you really want to pump the milk out how grazing 10 days to long in the wrong weather and then transitioning to silage can really damage the rest of the winters lactation.
 

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