OUT WINTERING CATTLE

ddogsbollix

I have a couple of stock at home and was wondering would the bull calves which are soon to be weaned thrive out doors this winter. im against the whole indoor system. I hope to feed out side and i have a small barn to which the cattle could go into in the bad nights.

or would i be better off throwing them into the shed for the winter??

Bodacious

ddogsbollix wrote: »

I have a couple of stock at home and was wondering would the bull calves which are soon to be weaned thrive out doors this winter. im against the whole indoor system. I hope to feed out side and i have a small barn to which the cattle could go into in the bad nights.

or would i be better off throwing them into the shed for the winter??

As long as they are good early calves and eating meal and have shelter and well dosed they should do the finest outside IMO

F.D

if you want to tear up land and are thinking of reseeding outwinter by all means, but if you want good grass in the spring i would house them, all depends on you stocking rate i suppose. but i havent seen any outwintered yet that didnt make one hell of a mess in some part of the field

Bodacious

F.D wrote: »

if you want to tear up land and are thinking of reseeding outwinter by all means, but if you want good grass in the spring i would house them, all depends on you stocking rate i suppose. but i havent seen any outwintered yet that didnt make one hell of a mess in some part of the field

oh I agree with you F.D ideally to protect ground they should be in a shed I just took the question as it was ... Could they be outwintered with access to a shed/shelter ?
It's horses for courses, I have fairly good dry winterage with shelter and outwinter 12 sucklers with usually a couple of replacements ... Yes there are some high traffic areas poached but they'll get chain Harrow / roller in spring when cows are moved into the greener land which is never used from say Nov onwards... It's probably not everyone's cup of tea but it works for me so far.. Good healthy lively calves outside, cows are strong and not overfed at calving

ddogsbollix

Well my land would be very sheltered and dry so poaching isnt really a problem and can always roll it in spring! i was just concerned considering the weather is suppose to be very bad this winter:eek:

Birdnuts

ddogsbollix wrote: »

Well my land would be very sheltered and dry so poaching isnt really a problem and can always roll it in spring! i was just concerned considering the weather is suppose to be very bad this winter:eek:

Hard to know - at least you have a bit of shelter which helps alot and cold winters are generally drier then mild ones. I don't think cattle mind a bit of frost and snow and probably prefer it to constant wind and rain. All depends on your soil and I don't know what part of the country your in but it certainly would be a big no no for my set-up in North Mayo unfortunatly:(

Ford4000

There is no doubt in the world animals are healthier outdoors as long as they have a bit of shelter, im lucky i have sandy ground near the shore and its dry the worst day of winter. My home reared stock i rarely bother dosing as they dont need it !!!!!!

sprouty

If animals have a "dry lie" & plenty of feed they are happier outside....just leave the door of the shed open & watch them vote with their feet !! From a practical point of view though for most people outwintering in any kind of numbers is not really an option. Personally I house everything but keep the grazing seson as long as possible-easier on man& beast alike!

ravima

some of the older more native breeds can handle outwintering easier than the more delicate continentals. AA, Hereford come to mind. You wont break teh scales with them at the mart/factory, but you wond go broke either trying to fatten them up!

pat73

ddogsbollix wrote: »

I have a couple of stock at home and was wondering would the bull calves which are soon to be weaned thrive out doors this winter. im against the whole indoor system. I hope to feed out side and i have a small barn to which the cattle could go into in the bad nights.

or would i be better off throwing them into the shed for the winter??

I outwinter about 20 to 30 weanlings out every year.Good shade is very important,dry ground and plenty of silage/ haylage and meal and they will be fine.I would run them in rocky enough ground so they would be only be poching around the feeders.I find them to be very healthy been outdoors.

Tora Bora

ravima wrote: »

some of the older more native breeds can handle outwintering easier than the more delicate continentals. AA, Hereford come to mind. You wont break teh scales with them at the mart/factory, but you wond go broke either trying to fatten them up!

Come to the Burren, Co Clare. Everything there is outwintered including continentals of all kinds. Mostly charolais and charolais crosses. These charolais come off the winterages in March, with a lean, mean, healthy, and sporting a serious fleece of hair.
You should see how they thrive on the summer ground afterwards.

bogman_bass

There is no doubt that outwintered animals hit the ground running when the go on spring grass. If you can stock them lightly enough then its the business. Everything here is outwintered bar cows. Hairy cattle make good money in the marts come springtime

Bodacious

Tora Bora wrote: »

Come to the Burren, Co Clare. Everything there is outwintered including continentals of all kinds. Mostly charolais and charolais crosses. These charolais come off the winterages in March, with a lean, mean, healthy, and sporting a serious fleece of hair.
You should see how they thrive on the summer ground afterwards.

Thats class i must take a spin down there this winter for a gander... that scheme they launched with the concentrates only to encourage cattle to eat more roughage vegetation was a great idea IMO are you in that?

and if not are your cows like mine they do great wandering/foraging in Nov/Dec until the first bale is split then they are camped out by the feeders?!!

Bizzum

Tora Bora wrote: »

Come to the Burren, Co Clare. Everything there is outwintered including continentals of all kinds. Mostly charolais and charolais crosses. These charolais come off the winterages in March, with a lean, mean, healthy, and sporting a serious fleece of hair.
You should see how they thrive on the summer ground afterwards.

+1
We used to outwinter cattle years ago, We used to calve cows outside in spring too. I never knew what a scour was that time. Cattle love to be out, I've never noticed a breed that didn't like it.
If numbers are relatively small it can work well.
If you're dealing with large numbers of cattle, it's hard to beat a shed.

redzerologhlen

Tora Bora wrote: »

Come to the Burren, Co Clare. Everything there is outwintered including continentals of all kinds. Mostly charolais and charolais crosses. These charolais come off the winterages in March, with a lean, mean, healthy, and sporting a serious fleece of hair.
You should see how they thrive on the summer ground afterwards.

Its hard to beat the winterage. People do be wondering how cattle survive on them at all...I do wonder how the people with cattle in sheds for 5 months of the year do survive:rolleyes:

sh1tstirrer

It must be around 10 years ago since I went for a drive to Dingle through the Connor pass. It was January We stopped at the beach in Castlegregory some farmer had several pens of about 15 cattle in the sand dunes and was drawing silage to them with a trailer. The cattle were happy out. I suppose that has been stopped since with the nitrates nonsense.

redzerologhlen

sh1tstirrer wrote: »

It must be around 10 years ago since I went for a drive to Dingle through the Connor pass. It was January We stopped at the beach in Castlegregory some farmer had several pens of about 15 cattle in the sand dunes and was drawing silage to them with a trailer. The cattle were happy out. I suppose that has been stopped since with the nitrates nonsense.

I know a few people that winter cattle on sand dunes all the time. From my experience of outwintering cattle the elements dont bother them in the slightest, We have a winterage up a mountain looking straight out onto the atlantic, it's as bleek a spot as you will find in the country and the cows are quiet content in it, They respond by growing a fleece of hair. We didnt feed silage to the cows in I dont know how long. We just give them about 1 and a half kilos of nuts and minerals from feburary on and they do the finest. The weather wont bother cattle for the winter. What will bother them is if they are up to their neck in scutter around feeders for the day because they get cold in it and they wont thrive but if they are on dry ground and you keep the troughs and feeders moved your flying it and cattle will be a lot healthier and fitter for sure.

LostCovey

sh1tstirrer wrote: »

It must be around 10 years ago since I went for a drive to Dingle through the Connor pass. It was January We stopped at the beach in Castlegregory some farmer had several pens of about 15 cattle in the sand dunes and was drawing silage to them with a trailer. The cattle were happy out. I suppose that has been stopped since with the nitrates nonsense.

Well, yes, it has largely been stopped, but not just because of the "nitrates nonsense".

Other things that went against running open air feedlots in sand dune systems included:

- in some cases, ownership
- planning
- SAC/SPA designation
- erosion
- damage to rare plants

LostCovey

6600

There's that cleared up then!

pakalasa

The burren is a class place. The limestone is so near the surface that the rock acts as a huge reservoir of heat. There's also endless amounts of sheltering rocks for any young calves.
You'd wanna see those yelllow charolais being sold in the springtime. Buyers just go mad for them. Long fleeces of hair and healthy out. We bought them in the past. They'd put on 300 kgs, no problem over the summer.