Fattening dairy bulls on silage

[Headless chicken]

as the title suggests. Anyone doing it? How quickly can you finish them? Any idea of kg of silage required?

 

[Full of bull(s)]

as the title suggests. Anyone doing it? How quickly can you finish them? Any idea of kg of silage required?

Very few any more, not quickly enough and a fecking lot in that order. Age and weight limits on bulls have finished that method. I used to know a few who did, finishing at 700-800 kilos at 18-24 months using good clamp silage and top dressing with barley or potatoes.

 

[tommy tucker]

It used to be possible with the stockier British friesian but those genetics have been lost. Anything with Holstein in it needs corn and lots of it I'm afraid

 

[Werzle]

Big grazing bullocks at 3 yr old is what we need to go back too

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Very few any more, not quickly enough and a fecking lot in that order. Age and weight limits on bulls have finished that method. I used to know a few who did, finishing at 700-800 kilos at 18-24 months using good clamp silage and top dressing with barley or potatoes.

It was probably the tatties and barley that finished them...

 

[Headless chicken]

Very few any more, not quickly enough and a fecking lot in that order. Age and weight limits on bulls have finished that method. I used to know a few who did, finishing at 700-800 kilos at 18-24 months using good clamp silage and top dressing with barley or potatoes.

I was thinking more 600kg Live at maybe 14 months? But then I’m no beef farmer by far. The thought process has just come about after speaking to my cake rep earlier about the dairy cow ration and he told me forgetting f**king around fixing cake and thinking about what we’re going to feed them get your silage right and pay me as little as possible. He’s not bloody wrong!

It used to be possible with the stockier British friesian but those genetics have been lost. Anything with Holstein in it needs corn and lots of it I'm afraid

We run fleckvieh crosses so very similar but I geuss more continental which would need more.

Big grazing bullocks at 3 yr old is what we need to go back too

14 months is long enough to wait to see any money 3 years would kill me

 

[Kevtherev]

Any wholecrop silage?

 

[Headless chicken]

Any wholecrop silage?

Yep wheat and barely wholecrop is easy as is grass. A little bit of concentrate no problem too but then I wonder if you feed a bit so end up using the wagon you loose some benefit

 

[gone up the hill]

NON starter!

 

[Full of bull(s)]

I was thinking more 600kg Live at maybe 14 months? But then I’m no beef farmer by far. The thought process has just come about after speaking to my cake rep earlier about the dairy cow ration and he told me forgetting fudgeing around fixing cake and thinking about what we’re going to feed them get your silage right and pay me as little as possible. He’s not bloody wrong!



We run fleckvieh crosses so very similar but I geuss more continental which would need more.


14 months is long enough to wait to see any money 3 years would kill me

I would nip them and try that. The dairy in them will stop them getting too thick too soon, the age limit goes away and if it doesn’t work they will be good stores to cash with the shape from the fleckveih

 

[Werzle]

I was thinking more 600kg Live at maybe 14 months? But then I’m no beef farmer by far. The thought process has just come about after speaking to my cake rep earlier about the dairy cow ration and he told me forgetting fudgeing around fixing cake and thinking about what we’re going to feed them get your silage right and pay me as little as possible. He’s not bloody wrong!



We run fleckvieh crosses so very similar but I geuss more continental which would need more.


14 months is long enough to wait to see any money 3 years would kill me

Those big ole 3yr old bullocks finished off the grass would work out cheaper to feed than the intensively finished 14-16mth beast and would taste better but thats progress i suppose

 

[michael N123]

Those big ole 3yr old bullocks finished off the grass would work out cheaper to feed than the intensively finished 14-16mth beast and would taste better but thats progress i suppose

When you’ve got bills to pay 3 years is to long

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I was thinking more 600kg Live at maybe 14 months? But then I’m no beef farmer by far. The thought process has just come about after speaking to my cake rep earlier about the dairy cow ration and he told me forgetting fudgeing around fixing cake and thinking about what we’re going to feed them get your silage right and pay me as little as possible. He’s not bloody wrong!



We run fleckvieh crosses so very similar but I geuss more continental which would need more.


14 months is long enough to wait to see any money 3 years would kill me

Very hard on add lib barley. Impossible on silage .why a dairy man wants to do beef is confusing .a,good way to lose any money you make on dairy , I was on a big specialist beef unit yesterday .he says hes ready to give up before he has to

 

[Full of bull(s)]

Very hard on add lib barley. Impossible on silage .why a dairy man wants to do beef is confusing .a,good way to lose any money you make on dairy , I was on a big specialist beef unit yesterday .he says hes ready to give up before he has to

If you are going to ad-lib them the key is to sell them before they have eaten too much. Below are bulls I sent yesterday @ £2.95/kilo flat rate, the numbered column is the age in months. Three or four older ones were 8/9 months old when I bought them the others 4/5 months. They averaged just over 1.75 kilos/day, some doing over 2. Tempting to think keep them longer if they are growing so well but too many grind to a halt, go lame etc between now and 550 kilos/12 months old and wipe out your margin.

 

[Raider112]

If you are going to ad-lib them the key is to sell them before they have eaten too much. Below are bulls I sent yesterday @ £2.95/kilo flat rate, the numbered column is the age in months. Three or four older ones were 8/9 months old when I bought them the others 4/5 months. They averaged just over 1.75 kilos/day, some doing over 2. Tempting to think keep them longer if they are growing so well but too many grind to a halt, go lame etc between now and 550 kilos/12 months old and wipe out your margin.

You buy bull calves in Carlisle?

 

[Full of bull(s)]

You buy bull calves in Carlisle?

No all stirks direct from farms. Some from that area, but UK100 numbers seem to stretch a long way east in some areas it’s deceiving. About 20 miles from the North Sea in this case!