What to do with empty heifers

frederick

Member
Location
south west
What do fellow block calvers do with there empty heifers.

I have 7 out of 94. In the past we have run two groups and just carried them over. I would expect most of them to still get in calf. I expect half of them did and then lost the embryo too late to try again.

So I would normally have sold the few empty at 24 months nearly fat. My current ones are now 15 months and I want gone.
Store ring or straight to slaughter?
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
we have tended to sell them as bullers, if not I/c by end of service, but they are pee'd away, having seen some come back, through the dairy ring, freshly calved ! The strict blockcalvers, would say get shot, but as with the cows, we will leave the bull in, and sell I/c when you have reached 'end block day'. Not ideal, but cost effective, anything I/c has got to be worth more than empty.
 

Werzle

Member
Location
Midlands
What do fellow block calvers do with there empty heifers.

I have 7 out of 94. In the past we have run two groups and just carried them over. I would expect most of them to still get in calf. I expect half of them did and then lost the embryo too late to try again.

So I would normally have sold the few empty at 24 months nearly fat. My current ones are now 15 months and I want gone.
Store ring or straight to slaughter?
The way things are you will probably mug them away doing either atm
 

frederick

Member
Location
south west
20200401_150708.jpg

No jersey. Some Normandy.

Probably 425 kg
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
Why are you selling her she’s a spring calver ?
long time since we had 1 as bad as this, iv'e had some evil bitches over the years, another week of it, she will be rising up the scale. Rope tight round her gut, and back legs tied to kick rail, and neither easy to do, it's simply not worth the risk of injury, she's calved 8 days, a few more, she will be in a shed, with bb bull calf. We have a couple of others, by same bull, quiet as lambs.
What irks, she is very nicely marked, and looks a picture, as long as you don't look at her back legs, they are a bit bloody, from kicking, before we can get the rope on ! she might have a bit of jackhammer, in her breeding.
 

Agrispeed

Member
Location
Cornwall
Yeah that's a Normade thing. I have 4 or 5 crosses and they are incredibly headstrong, they make jerseys look civil. They are by far the most friendly cows I have, but if they don't want to do something, you might as well give up. I've seen them climb walls, or just refuse to move for hours if they don't want to go somewhere. An absolute pain, but quite endearing!

I always found that they are always very difficult when stressed, fine normally but a slight thing and they will quickly get a bit loopy. French influence I suppose.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.0%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 35.1%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,291
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top