Calving problems as season goes on
Where possible, keep older calves away from younger ones, because the contact can be a significant cause of transfer of bugs.
Keep calf beds clean and dry, with plenty of straw.
Ensure that calving boxes are cleaned out regularly (ide-ally between each calving), and that they are limed and disinfected.
A lot of suckler herds have more calving difficulties than normal.
I spoke to a man working in a knackery, and he is seeing a far greater number of casualties, due to difficult calvings. This is a result of very big calves.
He also said that dairy herds are having higher than normal calving difficulties.
Interestingly, I attended a meeting before Christmas, at which a vet said that he was not looking forward to the spring-calving season, because of the excellent quality silage made in 2013.
Big calves are not the only issue; many cows are over-conditioned, and the birth canal has large fat deposits, which restrict the birth of the calf. This issue needs to be tackled immediately, by diluting the energy supplied from good quality silage.
The addition of straw to dry-cow diets will be the most practical method of doing this, on most farms.
This will also slow down silage usage.
If you know the quality of your silage, it will be easier to determine the amount of straw to feed.
With fodder disappearing rapidly around the country, the hope for many farmers is that grazing is not too far away.
Unfortunately, opportunities to get out and spread slurry and fertiliser have been few and far between.
As a result, it looks like most will have another late spring. As I have mentioned over the last few weeks, it is essential to plan for a prolonged indoor feeding season.
There is a decent cover of grass on many farms, if they weren’t grazed very late in the back-end of 2013.
This means that when the weather settles, turnout can commence very quickly.
However, those who turned out stock too quickly, last year, learned a harsh lesson when they ran out of grass.
It is also important to avoid damage to paddocks while trying to graze them tightly.
Any damage, at this time of year, will reduce the paddock’s overall yield for 2014, and beyond.
You need to consider care-fully what you are purchasing as a fodder source, before cash changes hands.
Assess the requirements of your stock before you buy silage.
Work out the cost per tonne of dry matter of the feed you are buying.
Then, assess its energy and protein content, relative to other, available forages and concentrates.
You also need to consider how you will feed what you purchase. Some materials are more difficult than others to get in front of your stock evenly, and without bullying occurring.
For many, the simplest route will be straw and meal.
