exmoor dave
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- Location
- exmoor, uk
That's smart bodgineering David
I don't think it would keep a high density cattle mob in drink, but for a few sheep should be fine
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That's smart bodgineering David
SpendthriftGravity
Cut down drench bottle as a trap
Went on a farm visit about 2 years ago, spring calvers, went OAD because of labour shortage.must admit, cant quite get my head round oad, if you get 4000 litres of milk oad, and you can get 5500 tad....Friend of ours was milking 170 mainly flech xs oad, organically, av about 3000 litres, for various reasons, he installed 2 robots, the last parlour tank, to the first robot tank, doubled the litres, and rose to 7000 cow, same quality. We had a chap come to buy some cows, for oad, he wanted hol type cows, giving 35 litres plus, then backed out, because they were not milky enough
Oad probably works better, the lower your 'gearing', as in my friend, he bought the robots outright, big difference.
I would say it could stand being a fair bit longer and thicker yet but see what others think? If you leave it too long the problem becomes getting round it fast enough first time to stop any of it getting well past it's best. It's a big learning curve for us all and there's no right answers, just degrees of wrong ones.New herbal ley, intending to chance my arm at mob grazing for the first time, is it too early to graze it yet?
Jersey/jersey x we have found to be the best. ie a cow that is 450 kg they'll peak at 24-28 litres, but we have had some brown swiss x comfortably doing 35 litres.Went on a farm visit about 2 years ago, spring calvers, went OAD because of labour shortage.
Said that although yield dropped say 10%, solids increased by the same proportion, so they were no worse off! Constituent contract of course.
I can see the appeal of OAD for the last part of the lactation if you have a tight block, but not with anything giving plenty of litres...
@onesiedale what breeds do you prefer for OAD? What do you reckon is the max yield without the cows being uncomfortable?
Any system works better with lower gearing!Oad probably works better, the lower your 'gearing', as in my friend, he bought the robots outright, big difference.
I do always like the look of brown Swiss. What is their body weight in comparison. i.e do they produce any more milk per kg of body weight than the Jerseys?Jersey/jersey x we have found to be the best. ie a cow that is 450 kg they'll peak at 24-28 litres, but we have had some brown swiss x comfortably doing 35 litres.
Regarding comfort, the cows find their own level . The whole system is about reducing stress for cows, people, grass, soil and of course finances.
Apart from land finance, maybe? If "the land" belongs to all, then so does "the money" to "buy" it with. Or at least that's my view on itAny system works better with lower gearing!
We have always had a brown swiss steer in the mob, purely because of their beautiful nature and leadership.I do always like the look of brown Swiss. What is their body weight in comparison. i.e do they produce any more milk per kg of body weight than the Jerseys?
You could give it a light prune, personally I wouldn't yet. It depends on how gently you can go (that is, how much stock density you can muster)New herbal ley, intending to chance my arm at mob grazing for the first time, is it too early to graze it yet?
Should that question be how many cows on how many acres to make a living on an ultra low cost system .How many cows would you need to milk in an ultra- low cost system to make a reasonable living I wonder? I see several dairies in the UK doing this, admittedly retailing their own milk as a premium product, on under 30 cows. That seriously changes the workload.
Both of these are good and different questionsShould that question be how many cows on how many acres to make a living on an ultra low cost system .
good job I like cheese then in itApart from land finance, maybe? If "the land" belongs to all, then so does "the money" to "buy" it with. Or at least that's my view on it
Going to be interesting times ahead when you consider there's close to 25% more money in the world than 12 months ago, I certainly can't see "savings" buying much you more than a block of cheese
Made a wee start on the fencing today so we have somewhere to put our new calves for a start.
Bit worried about them gorging if they have been living on soil and supplement.
The wires really have a good amount of "give", this fence is only about 200m long, with a single spring assembly.Single wire down the middle
It's all a bit rough yet because I'm waiting for a roll of insultube, so I just made do with short lengths of LDPE pipe for now, and I'll fix it up properly later. The big idea here is that everything can slide up and down, because I don't really know how big these animals are yet.
these handles are brilliant though, hold about 8 feet of wire on the bobbin so you have spare incase you need some to knot a broken wire one day, and you can adjust the tension on the spring
Doing their usual excellent job
I was told that the wire has to be tight so it runs under the insulating hair or wool and touches the skin, thus giving a harder kick.I'd bé interested to hearing thé opinion down thérè on thé use of springs. Thérè are a few kiwi lads over here in France selling some décent fencing Gear. Théy are well against thé use of springs in HT fencing. Their argument is that thé HT is supple enough as is and that thé breaking point of thé Spring is less than thé dire anyway.
I went on an afternoon to sée thèm fencing. Interestingly they tighten thé fence a LOT. Which is thé opposite as to what de do AT home as thé current stops thé animals, not thé wire itself.
Besides, when thé wire is tight it breaks under pressure, so i dont get thé point. Which is why I originally wanted springs anyway.