Straw and concs heifer rearing

[Scholsey]

Have our weaned calves on straw and concs but haven’t really got a set age/weight when I move them into the next group which are on silage and bit of concs if needed (no maize in diet anymore).

6-7 months seems to be when I tend to move them but I tend to do it more on looking at size/frame rather than eartags.

What age/weight do you move your heifers onto silage based ration?

 

[Princess Pooper]

We normally feed ad lib straw and work up to 3kgs/head after weaning at around 7 weeks and change to silage and 2kg/head at 20 weeks. However, this winter we knew we would be short on silage so we spoke to nutritionist about keeping them on the 3kg and straw through to turnout and he said that would be fine and we would probably never look back.

They're 7-8 months old now and going out to graze in a couple of weeks time but I agree with him I think we'll do the same next year even if we don't have to (I think we will be very short of silage again so we will have to!)

We also asked him about the same ration for the bulling / in-calf heifers over last winter and he said no problem ( we did this for the last part of the winter but they did have silage for the first couple of months after housing).
The cake we feed is our winter dairy cake - 18% protein HDF.

 

[buffalo_soldier]

12 weeks when it's introduced, they will be fully TMR by 20 weeks here.

Interestingly, I've had to keep a batch on straw/cake due to numbers this winter and I've found it a complete faff. I'm having to feed them 4 times a day. Where as the TMR group get fed once every 4 days.

 

[Headless chicken]

I love having my r1’s on cake and straw. Works well for us. They change when they go to grass. 6 months plus I would say as before then the rumen isn’t developed fully to digest it properly

 

[dinderleat]

I would think you would want to reduce cake as soon as you can being organic?

 

[som farmer]

we have kept calves, September born, and bulling hfrs on straw and 3kg cake, they shine, growth rates fine, look better than I/c hfrs outside, the extra cost of keeping the hfrs in over summer( they will go out when feed stocks are enough) should be weighed against the cost of indifferent grass keep, with the cost of driving to see them every day, I have always wanted to turn cattle out for summer, but looking at what is in, and what is out, I really don't know.

 

[PREES]

We have reared our Sept to Nov born Brit Fr heifers on straw plus 3kg conc this year and we turned them out a week or so at 190 - 220 kgs looking good. Now curious to see how quickly they adapt to a grass only diet?

 

[Stuart1]

We used to have them on silage/haylage plus nuts after weaning. Around a year ago we changed over to straw and 2kg of nuts, the difference is night & day! Will definitely be keeping them on straw

 

[Celt83]

Always put straw in the racks here with calves from day one, but find wheat straw better than barley for better weaning.

Onto 3kg 18% + straw for six months then onto ad-lib silage and 16% or out to grass (depends on time of year)

I used to put them on haylage/hay but they used to get bigger bellies than what Santa’s got!

Not sure if it’s the best system, but it works for us.

 

[SJM]

Are people leaving a bale of straw at the feed fence until it’s gone or replacing and feeding fresh each day?

 

[som farmer]

Are people leaving a bale of straw at the feed fence until it’s gone or replacing and feeding fresh each day?

no, that is the biggest mistake you can make, the stem in straw, is not the same as hay, its of no feed value,
so if you leave the bale till its all gone...…..we just bucket up the stalks and use them for bedding, or put a feeder in the bedding area, and move the feeder. an uncle of mine could never work out why he couldn't get his hfrs to calve at 2 yrs. first, he said it isn't 3 or 4 kgs of cake, they mean 3 or 4 lbs. second, barley straw is too good for hfrs, wheat straw is fine, but they must eat it all before the next bale goes in. his 3 yr hfrs, were not much bigger than my 2 yr. and he would not be told.