Grazing suckler cows and calves this spring

A lot of freshly calved Suckler cows have been turned out to grass in the last week or will be turned out soon.

It is a critical time in their production cycle as increasing grass intake quickly for both cow and calf will improve performance and reduce stress.

At turn out the most important thing to monitor is grass intake and Rumen fill.

Poor intakes of grass should be supplemented with forages or concentrates.

Now that you have calved the cow your attention must now shift to getting her back in calf again.

Most Sucklers cows will lose their body condition after calving, but this needs to be controlled in order for these cows to be able to produce enough quality milk for their calves while going back in calf quickly.

Grass quality and supply will determine if you need to supplement cows with additional forage or concentrates.

Bull Performance.

An Infertile or Sub-Fertile bull can throw your calving pattern into total disarray. Empty cows are a serious cost to any herd.

Monitor your bull’s activity closely and aim to keep accurate heat detection records. Observed heats should be recorded to watch for repeats as this will aid in uncovering any issues with fertility.

If you are buying a new bull for the coming breeding season try to get him on farm well in advance of putting him to work.

Many breeders are now getting bulls fertility tested before sale.

It gives the buyer and seller great peace of mind.

Breeding will begin soon so get your new or old bull ready for action! Bulls should be in good body condition before the breeding season starts.

Also make sure that you have sufficient bull- power for the number of cows.

An overworked bull will be no use to you.

Animal Health.

With the spring breeding season just around the corner the following should be planned for the coming weeks.

¦ Advice on Pre breeding heat detection — Take note of heat activity so you can monitor cows once breeding commences. This will also help to identify non cycling cows.

Cows not cycling need to be checked for problems to improve submission rates.

¦ More and more suckler herds are using scanning as a management tool.

¦ Pre breeding vaccination programmes should now be decided on-Consult with your Vet regarding timings etc.