Housing the sucklers

[AndrewG]

Seriously considering bringing my outwintered Angus cross cows inside, currently have 120 on one hill getting fed silage 3 times a week with feed trailers and a further 80 on another hill fed every day with a blend in troughs.

The downsides of the current system are
1. Labour, feeding the silage takes 3-4 hours each feed due to the distance out to the hill. Feeding the cake takes a further 2hrs a day again due to distance and time spent bagging up.
2. Difficult to control the amount of silage used as cows are basically ad-lib.
3. Mess made on the hill and at feed areas and subsequent loss of dung produced.
4. Gathering cows for scanning for example is a mornings work for 3 people on bikes.
5. Extra hrs on tractor and wear and tear on feed trailers and roads.
Benefits would be
1. Less silage ground needed.
2. feeding with just a loader tractor and trailers
3. Healthier cows?


My idea would be to build a slatted shed to house the all of cows after speaning in December turning out on the beginning of April for calving outside, benefits would be:

1. Less labour, feeding would only be around 1hr a day, with the option to feed extra e.g. at weekends
2. Control of cow condition and silage use
3. Valuable slurry captured which can then be spread on silage ground
4. Less mess on the hill so more grass available for calving on
5. Easier to look the cows and handier to get for treatments

Downsides

1. Fixed costs
2. Feed mixer costs
3. Would cow health suffer?
4. More silage to make

Any thoughts, am I mad?

 

[Sharpy]

Other cons
Cost
No silage going to hill so less fertility transfer via dung.
Spreading cost of dung.
Disease spread in buildings

Other pros
More grass on hill in spring due to rest from grazing.
Ability to split herd by condition score and or calving date.
Better animal welfare in extreme weather.
Staff retention

 

[Baker9]

Plus side
1 Cows inside will eat need less silage as they are inside and dry so less energy needed for maintenance.
2 Cows that are thin or over condition can be separated and feed at different levels.
3 You will have the benefit of the slurry used.
4 Fluke doing will be more effective when they are in as they can be done when they are in after 6 weeks and are clear when they go out and calve.
5 Feeding 200 cows inside will be an awful lot quicker than driving on the road to the hill.
6 Handling cattle when they are in is a lot easier if the set is organised correctly with this in mind, scanning etc.
7 This will free up your time, what else needs done when you sitting on your ass driving a tractor costing money.

Down side
1 Capital expenditure building the shed especially with slats, is there straw readily available where you are because I feel that the manure resulting is a lot better for the soil than slurry alone and the resulting build cost would be a lot less.
2 Why do you think you need a feeder wagon? you are building in costs.

Cant think of any other cons at this time. If you can get the sheds built do it.

 

[le bon paysan]

Sheds for a dry lye and open courts to stand / feed on. I would have straw for the fertility. Still probably a cheaper system than what your running now. Less tractor and man hours, and better for the cows.

 

[AndrewG]

On the feeder wagon, I'd be able to weigh silage in the ration and I think it's as efficient as running grab fulls to a barrier

Straw is a struggle in Kirkcudbrightshire!

I keep all my calves and 100 stores on straw bedding so do have some dung

 

[unlacedgecko]

Seriously considering bringing my outwintered Angus cross cows inside, currently have 120 on one hill getting fed silage 3 times a week with feed trailers and a further 80 on another hill fed every day with a blend in troughs.

The downsides of the current system are
1. Labour, feeding the silage takes 3-4 hours each feed due to the distance out to the hill. Feeding the cake takes a further 2hrs a day again due to distance and time spent bagging up.
2. Difficult to control the amount of silage used as cows are basically ad-lib.
3. Mess made on the hill and at feed areas and subsequent loss of dung produced.
4. Gathering cows for scanning for example is a mornings work for 3 people on bikes.
5. Extra hrs on tractor and wear and tear on feed trailers and roads.
Benefits would be
1. Less silage ground needed.
2. feeding with just a loader tractor and trailers
3. Healthier cows?


My idea would be to build a slatted shed to house the all of cows after speaning in December turning out on the beginning of April for calving outside, benefits would be:

1. Less labour, feeding would only be around 1hr a day, with the option to feed extra e.g. at weekends
2. Control of cow condition and silage use
3. Valuable slurry captured which can then be spread on silage ground
4. Less mess on the hill so more grass available for calving on
5. Easier to look the cows and handier to get for treatments

Downsides

1. Fixed costs
2. Feed mixer costs
3. Would cow health suffer?
4. More silage to make

Any thoughts, am I mad?

Keep less cows, but still outwinter and feed them less?

 

[hindmaist]

Don't rely on subsidies to pay for the shed.

 

[unlacedgecko]

What about an outdoor woodchip corral?

 

[hindmaist]

Instead of making expensive silage,make lots of lovely hay every summer....I'll get ma jaiket!

 

[hindmaist]

What about an outdoor woodchip corral?

I think that ship has sailed.

 

[unlacedgecko]

I think that ship has sailed.

What do you mean?

 

[Dave6170]

Didnt someone on here say £1800/cow for slatted shed.? Thats only £360000 for 200 cows!

 

[unlacedgecko]

Didnt someone on here say £1800/cow for slatted shed.? Thats only £360000 for 200 cows!

And I've never seen figures for sucklers to make an operating profit...

 

[AndrewG]

Never had a slatted tank built, but at £1800 a cow I don’t think I’d bother, I’d like to think nearer £500/cow but I could be well out, what price is an 11ft slat?

Remember wood chip corrals being all the rage when I was at college 15 years ago, knew of a few put in but none being used now, it’s simply far too wet.

 

[bobk]

And I've never seen figures for sucklers to make an operating profit...

I've never seen the sense in one cow one calf unless the land's free .

 

[bobajob]

Basically suckler farming in the uplands/ hills produces a saleable calve off poor quality forage and rough grazing, limited options what can be done with the land.

So one well reared calve is better than nothing, wether that makes sense or not

 

[czechmate]

I've never seen the sense in one cow one calf unless the land's free .

Said like a true diary farmer

 

[Sethieboy]

Cow health is definitely better outside!! Outwintered my sucklers on kale and bales this winter, best thing for them, the cows that have been out have had no issues at all in comparison to my cubicle housed cows regarding health. Didn't even have to turn a key on to feed them.

 

[CharcoalWally]

What do you mean?

If you put up a woodchip corral , [ I don't think anyone one does now , to my knowledge ,] you'd never have SEPA off your back in high rainfall areas.

It was going to be the Next Big Thing 20 odd years ago , but it soon died a death. Frankly , with the Winter's we get on the West these days , it would be a most miserable way to keep cattle. Far better to let suitably bred cows that can stand the weather range over the hill foraging whatever they can , with us making up the nutritional shortfall.

Successful outwintering is largely about having the right kind of cattle for the environment anyway.

 

[unlacedgecko]

If you put up a woodchip corral , [ I don't think anyone one does now , to my knowledge ,] you'd never have SEPA off your back in high rainfall areas.

It was going to be the Next Big Thing 20 odd years ago , but it soon died a death. Frankly , with the Winter's we get on the West these days , it would be a most miserable way to keep cattle. Far better to let suitably bred cows that can stand the weather range over the hill foraging whatever they can , with us making up the nutritional shortfall.

Successful outwintering is largely about having the right kind of cattle for the environment anyway.

I'd say that's true of any stock class anywhere.

Rainfall is a problem I'd agree. I recently saw cows outwintered in woodchip corrals in Norfolk.