What are people feeding sucklers over winter?

[hubbahubba]

Just so I don't hijack another thread. What are people feeding cows through the winter that are incalf and feeding april/may born calves till there weaned in February. I normally work with 25kg 12% protein single cut silage, 2kg straw chopped and mixed through it and 2kg barley. Plus a square feeder with adlib straw in it.

Now the cows are on slats and a 14% protein silage I am thinking along the lines of 100% silage. Calves will be creep fed as normal.

Backend calvers will be similar diet maybe just an extra 1 or 2kg of barley out a bag at night over there silage.

Thoughts appreciated.

 

[GTB]

Do you always make work for yourself?

Our spring calvers get adlib round bale silage and nothing else. The calves are creeped from housing to weaning. Weaned last year in March, first calves born mid April. Been doing this for years now. Works well. If there is an individual cow that's lean we will wean her sooner though but it's only ever the odd one.

 

[GTB]

Should have added, Autumn calvers on Ad lib clamp silage with some whole crop. They get a sprinkling of beef nuts when we are scraping the yards out just to help move them about...

 

[hubbahubba]

Do you always make work for yourself?

Our spring calves get adlib round bale silage and nothing else. The calves are creeped from housing to weaning. Weaned last year in March, first calves born mid April. Been doing this for years now. Works well. If there is an individual cow that's lean we will wean her sooner though but it's only ever the odd one.

I have weaned later others years but now i calf heifers in february and sheep are normally inside then so i need to get the calves weaned earlier and into there slatted shed so it frees up the calf creep shed...

 

[Weasel]

We wean spring calves in November and house them, the cows go back out and fed straw until Xmas time then brought in and fed straight silage.

Backend calvers are housed end of November and fed a silage/straw mix, and fed a barley blend along with minerals, calf's fed with good haylage and plenty feeding in calf creep.

 

[sheepwise]

Just so I don't hijack another thread. What are people feeding cows through the winter that are incalf and feeding april/may born calves till there weaned in February. I normally work with 25kg 12% protein single cut silage, 2kg straw chopped and mixed through it and 2kg barley. Plus a square feeder with adlib straw in it.

Now the cows are on slats and a 14% protein silage I am thinking along the lines of 100% silage. Calves will be creep fed as normal.

Backend calvers will be similar diet maybe just an extra 1 or 2kg of barley out a bag at night over there silage.

Thoughts appreciated.

I would still put a kilo of straw if you can afford to at current prices.

 

[Weasel]

Should have added, Autumn calvers on Ad lib clamp silage with some whole crop. They get a sprinkling of beef nuts when we are scraping the yards out just to help move them about...

We have to give our backend calvers plenty cake or they don't hold their condition.

 

[Bopeep1981]

Should have added, Autumn calvers on Ad lib clamp silage with some whole crop. They get a sprinkling of beef nuts when we are scraping the yards out just to help move them about...

Love a bit of food bribery. Works wonders with children too!

Autumn calvers get haylage / silage and mineral buckets. Creep for calves when old enough. Spring calvers are weaned at housing in November, and get ad lib hay or haylage, depending on condition.

 

[hubbahubba]

I would still put a kilo of straw if you can afford to at current prices.

I was always thinking the straw is to mostly to help dry them up to save bedding but now there on slats what am I gaining? Slowing down there digestion to take more goodness out the silage?

 

[rhuvid]

Spring calving cows shouldn't need anything more than silage. Yes 1st calvers,older cows, poorer cows may get some rolled barley. Most calves (march to start of May born) are sold off the cow beginning of November. Cows on straw or poor hay then till Xmas, an then silage. Later calving cows with calves still suckling get silage, these then weaned start of new yr. Calves are creep fed. Cows get Precalver buckets start of yr.

 

[beltextexel]

Just getting bales of haylage here while they're march/April calves are still on them. (Inside now). Calves have access to creep feed. Will wean them soon to save silage as cows will winter on ad lib straw with 2 kg of rape meal and minerals. Found when we fed in calf cows on silage that the calves get too big inside the cow and have difficult calving. Also use a lot less straw for bedding when they come off the haylage.

 

[ladycrofter]

I was always thinking the straw is to mostly to help dry them up to save bedding but now there on slats what am I gaining? Slowing down there digestion to take more goodness out the silage?

Think they need the hard fibre to keep things working properly. Can't speak for silage, we feed haylage but the cows also have straw in a ring and eat it even when they have haylage in front of them. No hard feed other than to call them in.

 

[GTB]

We have to give our backend calvers plenty cake or they don't hold their condition.

What breed? We sometimes have to feed cake to the heifers but we now calve the heifers in August/Sept a month before the cows. This makes a huge difference to getting them back in calf at the same time as the cows.

 

[Adam@Rumen]

Lots and lots of minerals


Ours are getting adlib silage, cake sprinkled on top twice a day, suckler minerals & lump rocksalt

 

[Adam@Rumen]

Love a bit of food bribery. Works wonders with children too!

Autumn calvers get haylage / silage and mineral buckets. Creep for calves when old enough. Spring calvers are weaned at housing in November, and get ad lib hay or haylage, depending on condition.

Should be cheaper to feed a powdered mineral rather than a bucket?

 

[Sharpy]

Ad lib silage to cows still suckling, 1lb cake for easy movement in shed.
Ad lib haylage for in calf cows. Again a lb of cake for management.
All cows have access to red rock salt and will be bolused at the start of November.

 

[Weasel]

What breed? We sometimes have to feed cake to the heifers but we now calve the heifers in August/Sept a month before the cows. This makes a huge difference to getting them back in calf at the same time as the cows.

Sim-luings, we calve heifers a month before the cows aswell.
Ours are housed in a cubicle shed, maybe that doesn't help them keep their condition?

 

[marshfarmer]

Hay and fodder beet

 

[Weasel]

Lots and lots of minerals


Ours are getting adlib silage, cake sprinkled on top twice a day, suckler minerals & lump rocksalt

Know some farmers who never give their cows any minerals or bolus them, they never get any bother either

 

[GTB]

Sim-luings, we calve heifers a month before the cows aswell.
Ours are housed in a cubicle shed, maybe that doesn't help them keep their condition?

Ours in cubicles too. But we house them as they calve. Usually inside about a week after calving. Start calving the cows on Oct 1st.