Dairy Chitchat 3

whelan2

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Didn't no, as haven't been kn the house today.
Friday evening now so can't do much till Monday. Knackery adamant it has been sent on and even said to me that the women from the dept that rang her was very rude even though the issue is supposed to be on the depts side

Had a similar problem last year. I sent a letter and copies of the paperwork the knackery gave me and rang the Dept a day or so later. All was sorted. Knackery were adamant they had sent the stuff too

freedominacup

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Didn't no, as haven't been kn the house today.
Friday evening now so can't do much till Monday. Knackery adamant it has been sent on and even said to me that the women from the dept that rang her was very rude even though the issue is supposed to be on the depts side

Have all of your ducks in a row before you contact them on Monday. Get an email address and forward documents to them. Look for confirmation that they have been received by return.

Buford T. Justice XIX

freedominacup wrote: »

Have all of your ducks in a row before you contact them on Monday. Get an email address and forward documents to them. Look for confirmation that they have been received by return.

I wonder if that section will have a no notice inspection and delay of money seeing as they appear to be unable to carry out their work to a minimum standard?
No, blame the guy at the end of the line and move him up into getting flagged for inspection because the dept can't do their job:rolleyes:


We have this at least once a year, always if there are two animals being collected, there seems to be a 90% chance the second animal won't be taken off the CMMS database.

Keepgrowing

whelan2 wrote: »

Very good article on contaminated milk powder causing bloat in calves http://www.lornasixsmith.com/the-mystery-of-the-bloat-inducing-milk-powder/

“Mind you, naturally enough, I hope all those people I dealt will die horribly painful deaths from horrendous cases of gastroenteritis!”

As charming in print as in person I see

whelan2

Keepgrowing wrote: »

“Mind you, naturally enough, I hope all those people I dealt will die horribly painful deaths from horrendous cases of gastroenteritis!”

As charming in print as in person I see

I ignored some bits but interesting to read about what caused the problem. Every day is a learning day

Keepgrowing

whelan2 wrote: »

I ignored some bits but interesting to read about what caused the problem. Every day is a learning day

Agreed but I’d take all she says with a large pinch of salt

kevthegaff

Back playing abit of hurling to night, having a beer waiting on a cow to calve. Not sure do I need to see a psychiatrist..

Keepgrowing

Update on calf shed.

Installed auto feeders on 25/2, 3 days short of our deadline of Mar 1.

First calved in 26/2. Have 3 of the four pens full and all going well so far. The machine has alerted us to two calves going off their grub 12 hrs before we’d normally notice it. Shot of antibiotics and back to normal at next feed. No need to remove calf. Each pen has an ad-lib meal feeder.

We found the younger we started a calf the easier it was to train them ie 90% were self taught.

With a 1:20 slope on the floor the usage of straw is remarkably low. 2 round bales per pen weekly. 1 Monday and Friday.

The double Yorkshire boarding on the sides have kept it ventilated yet fraught free. Gables are fully sheeted.

Mooooo

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Update on calf shed.

Installed auto feeders on 25/2, 3 days short of our deadline of Mar 1.

First calved in 26/2. Have 3 of the four pens full and all going well so far. The machine has alerted us to two calves going off their grub 12 hrs before we’d normally notice it. Shot of antibiotics and back to normal at next feed. No need to remove calf. Each pen has an ad-lib meal feeder.

We found the younger we started a calf the easier it was to train them ie 90% were self taught.

With a 1:20 slope on the floor the usage of straw is remarkably low. 2 round bales per pen weekly. 1 Monday and Friday.

The double Yorkshire boarding on the sides have kept it ventilated yet fraught free. Gables are fully sheeted.

Do you clean out and replace straw or just top it up,? Have bark mulch under straw here big help in stretching it out

Jb1989

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Agreed but I’d take all she says with a large pinch of salt

Why?

Keepgrowing

Jb1989 wrote: »

Why?

Not here!!

ted_182

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Update on calf shed.

Installed auto feeders on 25/2, 3 days short of our deadline of Mar 1.

First calved in 26/2. Have 3 of the four pens full and all going well so far. The machine has alerted us to two calves going off their grub 12 hrs before we’d normally notice it. Shot of antibiotics and back to normal at next feed. No need to remove calf. Each pen has an ad-lib meal feeder.

We found the younger we started a calf the easier it was to train them ie 90% were self taught.

With a 1:20 slope on the floor the usage of straw is remarkably low. 2 round bales per pen weekly. 1 Monday and Friday.

The double Yorkshire boarding on the sides have kept it ventilated yet fraught free. Gables are fully sheeted.

Are the gables facing N & S or W & E, is there a curve sheet at apex?

whelan2

Nice heifer calf born last night from my only red and white cow

Timmaay

Disaster morning on nearly every level. 2 dead calves, mastitis, fussy heifers, and of course the one milking I had no help for. My march quote the last 2 yrs has been "I fcuking hate march", today is a good day to bring it back this year.

GrasstoMilk

https://youtu.be/7mUkOVFiCjA

Well worth the half an hour to watch it.
A very brave move

whelan2

Timmaay wrote: »

Disaster morning on nearly every level. 2 dead calves, mastitis, fussy heifers, and of course the one milking I had no help for. My march quote the last 2 yrs has been "I fcuking hate march", today is a good day to bring it back this year.

Only 22 days left in March

older by the day

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

https://youtu.be/7mUkOVFiCjA

Well worth the half an hour to watch it.
A very brave move

Every fecking time I go watching a video on YouTube, i end up watching "idiots driving machinery" or something totally unrelated, 2 hrs later wondering where my nite went

visatorro

Timmaay wrote: »

Disaster morning on nearly every level. 2 dead calves, mastitis, fussy heifers, and of course the one milking I had no help for. My march quote the last 2 yrs has been "I fcuking hate march", today is a good day to bring it back this year.

That's farming, good days always come as you know. Feck the loss about it. When the tank is full in June and your getting 40 cent you won't remember today !!

Keepgrowing

Mooooo wrote: »

Do you clean out and replace straw or just top it up,? Have bark mulch under straw here big help in stretching it out

In the new shed we bed on the old bed. The slope in the floor is 1:20 so very dry underneath. I other sheds that don’t have slopes we clean out every Monday, lime and re bed with fresh straw daily till following Monday. All these areas will be re configured this summer and slopes floors done. We used wood chip here to fore but slope way ahead.

Keepgrowing

ted_182 wrote: »

Are the gables facing N & S or W & E, is there a curve sheet at apex?

Gables are North/South
Vent at apex. Yorkshire on east/west sides. Lit smoke bomb yesterday and all travelled through apex despite wind outside. Each of the four pens have access to and outdoor area via sliding doors

Keepgrowing

Kept them in yard for 2 hours.
Got them out to paddock, trick is when to collect them???

mahoney_j

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Kept them in yard for 2 hours.
Got them out to paddock, trick is when to collect them???

Simillar here out till after rugby bar weather changes smashing day now windy sunny and dry .ground really in savage order considering weather put mine in at 9 last night at start of milking this am I said in for day but locked away from feed just in case ,wise move went to move wire and check ground if I didn’t I’d proably of left them in

simx

Crypto has arrived

trixi2011

simx wrote: »

Crypto has arrived

Got it here in brand new sheds bastard

Keepgrowing

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Gables are North/South
Vent at apex. Yorkshire on east/west sides. Lit smoke bomb yesterday and all travelled through apex despite wind outside. Each of the four pens have access to and outdoor area via sliding doors

Bringing in now. Milk at 3 back out then till 8. Playing it by ear

Keepgrowing

trixi2011 wrote: »

Got it here in brand new sheds bastard

Halocur, halocur, halocur

Timmaay

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Halocur, halocur, halocur

For all calves without crypto yep, for calves who have already got it parafor parafor parafor.

Keepgrowing

Timmaay wrote: »

For all calves without crypto yep, for calves who have already got it parafor parafor parafor.

Agree for affected calves but for all others

Halocur for 1 week for every calf in the place and every calf born for the next few years, simple as that

Buford T. Justice XIX

Keepgrowing wrote: »

Agree for affected calves but for all others

Halocur for 1 week for every calf in the place and every calf born for the next few years, simple as that

May not have to do it forever, Salesian Ag college giving 4L of colostrum at birth with 2 years and no Halocur in that time.
https://twitter.com/SalesianAg/status/1099349584491487232?s=19

blackdog1

Timmaay wrote: »

For all calves without crypto yep, for calves who have already got it parafor parafor parafor.

I would acually forget the halocur and just use parafor on everything. i found halocur just slowed down the onset from 14 days to 21 days. better off putting calves into a clean disinfected area, give parafor in there milk from 3-8 days. put them on powder milk from 5 days on too. Do you vaccinate for rota? i found a huge improvement when i started vaccinating.

Timmaay

Yep, rota vaccination costs 10e/cow so not cheap, but in comparison to the alternative of losing a dozen calves alongside the cost of treatment, and time and effort, I'd never not vaccinate again.

Gawddawggonnit

jaymla627 wrote: »

No Laois, a pallet does 150 cows nearly 4 months to be fair though, definitely working here, took it out as a expirement when housed and bf dropped dramatically and cows started throwing up cud balls once put back on it bf went up and cud balls stopped, silage wasn’t changed

What’s Lactaid?

Gawddawggonnit

blackdog1 wrote: »

No around 26. I feed well on the 2 shoulders but during the summer they are just on 3kg a cow. As I said above yield will improve when I get in fty.. At the moment I'm changing my whole in parlour feeding system and bin shop hopefully not long now. I could buffer all year but the body and mind needs a break.

Fair going on a grass based system. You must be pushing for 8+k litres?

Gawddawggonnit

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

https://youtu.be/7mUkOVFiCjA

Well worth the half an hour to watch it.
A very brave move

Considering that, at most, you’ve got a 120day growing season, leaves a very loooong winter.
Spent some time checking out Manitoba in ‘04 and just couldn’t see myself in that lifestyle. Everyone has a heated workshop and spend months of the winter fiddling at something just to get out of the house. Brave indeed.

Wildsurfer

What pushed you to move Dawg, and do you ever regret it?

K.G.

Timmaay wrote: »

Yep, rota vaccination costs 10e/cow so not cheap, but in comparison to the alternative of losing a dozen calves alongside the cost of treatment, and time and effort, I'd never not vaccinate again.

first time doing it and so far so good.bovigen at 7.50 makes it more affordable

blackdog1

Gawddawggonnit wrote:

Fair going on a grass based system. You must be pushing for 8+k litres?

Last year was the exception not the rule.. I feed an extra tonne of crimp because of the draught. Normally I'm at 7500+ a year but hopefully I'll improve on that significantly when I get fty in the next few years

farmersfriend

Timmaay wrote: »

Yep, rota vaccination costs 10e/cow so not cheap, but in comparison to the alternative of losing a dozen calves alongside the cost of treatment, and time and effort, I'd never not vaccinate again.

We got rotavirus in the calves last year, the amount of work, stress and expense is definitely worth 10e a cow. Vaccinated all cows this year, half way through calving and all is well. Definitely a no brainer

Buford T. Justice XIX

We had a bad dose of scour in a few calves this weekend and had to drip 2 with it. The vet took a sample and said it was most likely that it was rotavirus but he'd ring today with the diagnosis. Luckily, it isn't rotavirus but coronavirus so I'll be vaccinating for corona and rota virus from now on anyway.

Mooooo

Vaccinated all cows in Jan with rotavec, all going well touch wood but it's this time of year when pressure can come on them so hopefully it'll steer clear.

Buford T. Justice XIX

Mooooo wrote: »

Vaccinated all cows in Jan with rotavec, all going well touch wood but it's this time of year when pressure can come on them so hopefully it'll steer clear.

I've a bit of reading up to do tonight. And try to source some short dated vaccine as well.

alps

Any chance a 1ml, or half rate vaccination would work?

blackdog1

alps wrote:

Any chance a 1ml, or half rate vaccination would work?

No but if you want to save money you could take the chance of just doing half and save beistings from them and feed it to the calves whose mothers aren't vaccinated.

Timmaay

Cows only gone out, to a paddock beside the parlour, and I left the gap open so hopefully will be all back in for the morning. It's only the 11th yet, however with the rubbish enough forecast for the next week, and the rest of the 1st round paddocks all either have big covers on them or are very wet paddocks, either way the cows will plough alot of grass into the ground. Fair chance I'll be sneaking into rd2 about Paddy's day. Little bit of a gamble because growth has slowed up against what it was during most of Feb, but I'd rather that than put the cows back on grass silage.

Mooooo

Timmaay wrote: »

Cows only gone out, to a paddock beside the parlour, and I left the gap open so hopefully will be all back in for the morning. It's only the 11th yet, however with the rubbish enough forecast for the next week, and the rest of the 1st round paddocks all either have big covers on them or are very wet paddocks, either way the cows will plough alot of grass into the ground. Fair chance I'll be sneaking into rd2 about Paddy's day. Little bit of a gamble because growth has slowed up against what it was during most of Feb, but I'd rather that than put the cows back on grass silage.

Some bastard of a night down here, driving wind and rain since 4, and still at it. Be no out for a few days down here I'd say

Gawddawggonnit

Wildsurfer wrote: »

What pushed you to move Dawg, and do you ever regret it?

Price and availability of land made up my mind. No regrets other than not going further east.
Achieved more here in a few years than I would in a lifetime in Ireland.

When the natives ask the same question the stock answer is, culture, food, quality of life etc...but that’s just bullshyte!

RedPeppers

Found one of our Aax bulls in with the cows last June and could see he served three of them. Anyways they have all calved now and I have three Friesian looking heifer calves. Happen to anyone else before? And what would you do with them? Presume they worth nothing to sell.

Gawddawggonnit

Hard to disagree with this article from Andy Doyle...

I hope it’s legible.

jaymla627

Gawddawggonnit wrote: »

Hard to disagree with this article from Andy Doyle...

I hope it’s legible.

Maize is the cornerstone of a good dairy ration to be fair, you can’t readily go chucking in barley/wheat to replace it, due to acidosis risk, protein is another problem last years beans/pea crops where an absolute disaster,yield wise so relying on these to replace soya-bean meal is another folly.
Totally agree re bringing in palm kernal but it’s gas mentioning glanbia and a closed looped system, if they could cotton seed and palm kernal would be the mainstay of their rations if they thought lads wouldn’t kick up when performance starts to suffer, they still manage to get a nice bit into their rations though to save a few quid

MF290

Gawddawggonnit wrote: »

Hard to disagree with this article from Andy Doyle...

I hope it’s legible.

Only thing is the last paragraph, says we're importing 1.5mt of feed and that jumped to 4.5mt in 2018. Figure is closer to twice 1.5mt of feed being imported a year.