Herd Tasks: Your weekly farming checklist
Most, if not all stock, are now housed so now is the time to discuss the correct dosing protocol for your herd with your vet.
- Most, if not all stock, are now housed so now is the time to discuss the correct dosing protocol for your herd with your vet.
- Ensure that whatever dose you use is used correctly, at the right time and that you are targeting the parasites present in your herd. Consider dung sampling as an aid and discuss the correct vaccination protocol with your vet.
- Group dry cows according to Body Condition Score at housing and feed accordingly if necessary.
- Ideally, dry sucklers should need no body condition adjustment post-dry-off. If they do, then they have been underfed before their calf was weaned.
- Don’t stock pens too heavily to avoid bullying of fresh cows and injury to young calves.
- Driving intake must be your priority to boost milk and fertility performance. Consistent feeding indoors is the way to achieve this as we are now halfway through November and AI season for Autumn 2023 calving is underway.
- Early spring cows are now dry, and many more will be dried off each week going forward. Set up a dry cow diet appropriate to prepare these cows for their next lactation.
- Youngstock will often be underfed concentrates when forages are poor. Make sure you grow them as well as possible - gaining weight on young animals is much cheaper than on older ones. Protein is key for these animals.
