Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

alps

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119962391#Comment_119962391

Beautiful animals

Mooooo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119962391#Comment_119962391

Any issue with colouring selling as calves? Are they comparable to black and whites in performance.

Couple of fleckveihx here and performance wise the black and whites are better and don't eat as much. Most calves off the x come black and white as well so bull calf gets not much extra, down here anyway. Sold a couple of culls and had a a fleckx in them and wasn't the top price either. Weighing calves help but if sold in groups it won't go beyond the average really

ginger22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119962501#Comment_119962501

Purebreds come Charolais colour, cross breds come black. Sell better than holstein/fresians.

Have anyone ever used a gas blow torch to free plastic water pipes? Pipes are definitely going to freeze with the upcoming daytime temperatures. You could have water flowing slowly overnight but if it’s not filling something it’s a pure waste of water weather it’s your own or public.

GrasstoMilk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119968992#Comment_119968992

Red infered light in the pump house to keep it thawed and a roll of 3/4 inch pipe then to feed a trough or 2 in the yard

pure waste of time to even attempt to try thaw out pipes going to every shed

young stock wouldn’t need water if silage is damp, don’t bother giving them meal for a few days

Tonynewholland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119968992#Comment_119968992

Blow torch is a waste of time. Boiling water is your only friend if frozen. If it does get very cold I always leave water running nothing else works if it gets cold enough

Injuryprone

I rigged up a fitting to connect the air compressor to the water pipe, takes about 10 minutes in the evening to blow out the pipes serving the parlour. Works pretty well. Cows will usually keep their troughs going

K.G.

Our milk tank has little plastic spinning sprinklers in it for washing but they keep on sticking.you can free them out by giving them a few pushs but its a real pain in the hole.i ve replaced them with new and even got a local engineering crowd to tidy them up but they still stick.today though was the first collection that we didnt fill it up to thespinners and i noticed they were all fine,maybe its a coincidence.either way anbody else had this problem and how dis you sort it

older by the day

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119969051#Comment_119969051

I found in the right cold. If the pipes get blocked it's a waste try to free them till the thaw. The blow torch weakens the plastic unless you're careful. And it loosens the grit and blocks the ball cocks.

kevthegaff

Borrowed a gator to see how it goes on the hills, couldn't believe how good it was and felt safe also

straight

Cull cow market seems to have picked up a good bit. I can't sell mine until January because I'm on the edge of going over 6500kg for the top band.

I thought not drying off the cows with icbf would dilute my number but they are using AIMs which means they are counting any cow that has ever had a calf. Makes sense to the "experts" I guess.

mahoney_j

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119991269#Comment_119991269

It’s on 3 year average not just this year ….wouldn’t be loosing too much sleep about going over it …if that close now you’ll be over next year

martinnn1997

Have a weanling with pneumonia/ Ibr with the last week. Treated myself on Tuesday and Got vet got Thursday gave him some draxin and nuflor and anti inflammatory, was flying the day after chewing cud like mad ect. Since Saturday he isn't good again, eating very small amounts and fairly lifeless. Temperature normal

Any tips , anyone know anything else I could give him?

older by the day

I suppose the animal was done for lungworm. I had a weanling with pneumonia a few weeks ago. The first thing the vet gave her was albex, then antibiotics and steroids. Very wet November. Fine after a few days

tanko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119993655#Comment_119993655

What has your vet recommended?

blackdog1

Dexamethasone for pneumonia is a must at that age. Keep in straw bed and treat for colic too I reckon. Haylage or hay and give them a dose of bread soda. Sometimes stomach issues can be overlooked. Did you check if their passing dung?

martinnn1997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119993812#Comment_119993812

Yeah, animal done for lungworm

martinnn1997

Must give a shot of dex, animal is passing dung fine. Not chewing the cud though.

Good loser

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119994469#Comment_119994469

That sounds like a stomach issue rather than lungs.

fulldnod

anyone any experience with cow brushes, are they worth the money, so far i priced condon, o donnell and delaval

Lios67

Bought one last year from O’Donovans , they love it and it’s lovely to see that

Wildsurfer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119998109#Comment_119998109

Have a delaval one a good few years and never had any trouble with it. It is a motor that it is running nearly constantly over the winter so I presume given the present cost of electricity it adds up on to nice increase on our bill. But as said above it is nice to see them using it, you feel like you're giving something back to the cow for her produce

K.G.

Land rental price is getting out of hand.are lads working off this years figures going foward.bidding war near us and one of the bidders is supposed to be from 70 miles away.i am pessimistic by nature but maybe it just been my experience over the years but this type of behaviour usually is a prelude to a big bang.surely guys recognise the trends and can see this .i know the period from 06 to 10 left us fairly battered (big spend,grants held up and milk price crashed). I could honestly say in the spring of 10 was the brokest i have ever been in my life.i am afraid history will repeat itself ,it always does

mahoney_j

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120002311#Comment_120002311

You’ll get nothing around here less than 400/acre…pure total and utter madness …all been driven by extraordinary high milk price this year and lads panicking /not knowing full story regards nitrates /banding .

I’ve been looking for land …too dear and too far away so I’ve recently secured a very good guy to contract rear my calves and replacement heifers

straight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120002311#Comment_120002311

I can only see the demand for land getting more extreme. Some lads still don't realise the reality of banding or cuts to derogation.

Then you have wealthy investors that can dump their money in land and leave the fool of a farmer do all the work while paying their mortgage.

Also you have all these "charities" buying land to rewild and plant trees.

Forestry grants are rising to drive the floor price of land to 8k. The outcome of this LULUCF or whatever it's called commission will only add more fuel to the fire in my opinion.

I tell lads I had to stop milking early to stay under the 6300 litres and they are just baffled by it. No way would they do that and the price of milk is the usual response.

Price of milk will never go back to 30 cent again. The whole world supply is being destroyed by climate change and climate regulations.

mahoney_j

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120002421#Comment_120002421

Banding is there now with all its flaws but we have to work with it ….if anywhere near the threshold beteween middle and top you may just drive on into the high band ,forgot about chasing cow nos and cull the goats etc ….pure ball ache re going back to when quotas were here and watching supply ,having to dry early etc

Mooooo

Wouldn't be so sure of prices staying high either. Worldwide economic down turn is on the way. Recent meeting from ecb some think they are hinting at base rates above 4.5% by end of 23. They want to hammer inflation back and to do that they'll hammer everything else. Last crash in 09 base price wasn't long halving.

There will be a lot of upheaval yet

straight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120002432#Comment_120002432

I stayed under it this year with alot of heifers but just about. I won't be doing that again. They set the level too low so I'll drive on now to 7 to 8 thousand litres. Will feed the cows 1kg extra all year this year and see how it goes. Might look into maize or beet or eurnagold for the springtime.

straight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120002850#Comment_120002850

Nobody knows what will happen but I'd be optimistic this time. World population is growing fast, climate change and climate regs are hurting supply. People have to eat something and all those nut juices and non meat alternatives have been found out.

farmertipp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120003124#Comment_120003124

I'd say long term effects of such a diet have yet to be found out