Out wintering dairy cross cattle

[Loftyrules]

Advice required
Looking to get a few calves/youngstock to slowly fatten up on grass at home. Have plenty of permanent pasture and am not in a rush to fill the freezer.
Ideally I’d like to get them as calves and bring them on or weaned youngsters.
Not much available on the purebred native breed front and I’ve been offered dairy cross herefords.
Question I have is will they outwinter ok with grass and hay.
I don’t want to:
1) Grow stubble turnips
2) Spend a fortune on corn or concentrates to keep them going.

I don’t mind giving them some cake when the weather gets really rough but as they’re ideally fit the home freezer I don’t want to throw a fortune at them.

Opinions welcome or if anyone is selling purebred natives please let me know

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

They will be fine outside.
They need somewhere sheltered and dryish to lay.
Used to be thousands of Friesians and Hereford crosses outwintered.

 

[Jonp]

My Hereford X BF sucklers outwinter fine. As long as they have gained good condition over the summer/autumn they can afford to loose some over winter.

 

[Loftyrules]

@Jonp thank you. If they’re born now, would they be young to outwinter this year coming or would they be ok?
@Frank-the-Wool thanks, plenty of tall hedges and trees for shelter so could be ok

 

[Jonp]

My calves are born in April, I wean them off their mothers in December. The cows stay out in their winter field and I have the calves at home where they can come and go from the shed as they please. Spend most of their time outside but if the weather turns grim I know they have shelter and food. I can make sure they are growing.
Calves born now I would suggest would be a little young to outwinter this year.

 

[Nearly]

At 6 months old in Jan they might be at the small end of the size scale to outwinter.
A field shelter (cattle box body) will make the difference between growth or weight loss over the winter.
I'd be finding the corner of a shed or buy some stores come October.

 

[Loftyrules]

Thanks all. I have a 12ftx15ft stable in a barn they could use come December/January for a few months if needed. I do have a large pen but would be a bit of work to make it cattle proof but could be doable too (tractor might have to live outside)

 

[Loftyrules]

At 6 months old in Jan they might be at the small end of the size scale to outwinter.
A field shelter (cattle box body) will make the difference between growth or weight loss over the winter.
I'd be finding the corner of a shed or buy some stores come October.

Sorry to be dull, is January the time to be bringing them back in?

 

[Nearly]

Sorry to be dull, is January the time to be bringing them back in?

Just an example of coldest month here.
If you have a shed then feed them there and give them the option to go in or out.
Fodder beet or waste veg is good feed if you aren't trying to mop up all the pish with bought in straw.

 

[Loftyrules]

Just an example of coldest month here.
If you have a shed then feed them there and give them the option to go in or out.
Fodder beet or waste veg is good feed if you aren't trying to mop up all the pish with bought in straw.

Thanks, gives me a few months to look for a shelter for the field and if worse comes to worse get them in and stick them in the barn for a month or two and back out in March

 

[Rossymons]

Just an example of coldest month here.
If you have a shed then feed them there and give them the option to go in or out.
Fodder beet or waste veg is good feed if you aren't trying to mop up all the pish with bought in straw.

How cold is cold? I know I'm in the tropics down here in Cornwall but it's not the cold temperatures that are a problem but wet conditions that make outwintering a nightmare.

EDIT - Sorry, meant for @Loftyrules

 

[egbert]

Advice required
Looking to get a few calves/youngstock to slowly fatten up on grass at home. Have plenty of permanent pasture and am not in a rush to fill the freezer.
Ideally I’d like to get them as calves and bring them on or weaned youngsters.
Not much available on the purebred native breed front and I’ve been offered dairy cross herefords.
Question I have is will they outwinter ok with grass and hay.
I don’t want to:
1) Grow stubble turnips
2) Spend a fortune on corn or concentrates to keep them going.

I don’t mind giving them some cake when the weather gets really rough but as they’re ideally fit the home freezer I don’t want to throw a fortune at them.

Opinions welcome or if anyone is selling purebred natives please let me know

If you're looking for native bred suckled calves/yearlings, speak to Westcountry markets serving Bodmin/Dartmoor/Exmoor.
Plenty of hill cows still about (for now)...not all put to conti bulls.

 

[M-J-G]

I'd be thinking with the Hereford in them they'd handle the weather ok, particularly so far south.
I've found that cattle that are less than 6 months will struggle in a tough winter if they aren't on their mother unless you're feeding them fairly well, maybe down with you they'll do better.

Older than that seems fine as long as they get adequate nutrition.
We keep Simmental and native x Sim suckled calves outdoors without issue.
A couple of kg of barley & soya and reasonable silage has them through the winter in strong flesh.

 

[Farmer Keith]

Outwintered everything here for as long as i can remember here, dairy heifers and tried most beef breeds. In fact I’d go so far as to say they do better for it. Maybe growth rates tail off a little in the depths of winter but once the days start to lengthen/warm up they more than compensate for it.

No need to worry about the cold or bad weather, when the beast from the east was on the outwintered cattle were the most contented group of stock on the farm. Hours digging sheep out before I got to them and they were just chewing the cud in the blizzard. That’s what you get for evolving to suit an ice age I suppose.

 

[Loftyrules]

How cold is cold? I know I'm in the tropics down here in Cornwall but it's not the cold temperatures that are a problem but wet conditions that make outwintering a nightmare.

EDIT - Sorry, meant for @Loftyrules

Sunny Monmouth so not the coldest or most exposed, we do live in a slight bowl/valley

 

[Rossymons]

Sunny Monmouth so not the coldest or most exposed, we do live in a slight bowl/valley

If theres a decent bit of shelter, soils not too heavy and you're not too wet then you crack on.