regolith
Well-known member
So supposing you run a 300-cow, seasonal calving dairy with daily walking distances up to 2 miles from milking shed to pasture... you do 5 and a half or 6 weeks AI for heifer replacements and want to give the cows 12 - 15 weeks mating to ensure a 90 - 95% in-calf rate
but the bulls go lame within a few days.
Would you:
a) go 100% AI next year
b) keep the bulls near the milking shed and run them with the herd at night only (in closer paddocks)
c) keep the bulls near the milking shed, identify on-heat cows and put them in with them for the day
d) send the bulls out with the herd for no more than one or two days at a time before swapping them for a fresh team.
e) any other ideas? Would you change anything about the bulls?
I'm pretty sure it's the walking distance alone that is the problem, because the three bulls I've had on the farm since mid-October have been working a separate herd of 40 - 60 low producers and lame cows, grazed no more than a couple-hundred yards from the milking shed. One arrived lame, the other two were sound until I put them with the main herd in early December (leaving the lame one with the lame cows). I came back from the first half of holiday a week later to three lame bulls.
The vet is coming to look at one of the replacement bulls tomorrow. He's supposedly done two four-day terms with the herd with a two day rest between - except that both the new bulls jump gates, fences, whatever to get back to the herd.
The next plan is to set a second hot wire inside the fence and (wrecked) gate of their paddock and see if that stops them.
Vet and farm owners have advised leaving them behind in the paddock when cows leave. We've tried...
Right now I'm attempting to send just one bull out with the herd for one day, swap him over for another sound one. Sounded like a nice idea yesterday when I had four sound bulls and a gate that would shut. This morning I had two (29 being exhausted and limping again from his previous day's trek) and the one who was supposed to be resting chose to be today's bull by means of wrecking the gate and served four cows in twelve hours all on his own.
but the bulls go lame within a few days.
Would you:
a) go 100% AI next year
b) keep the bulls near the milking shed and run them with the herd at night only (in closer paddocks)
c) keep the bulls near the milking shed, identify on-heat cows and put them in with them for the day
d) send the bulls out with the herd for no more than one or two days at a time before swapping them for a fresh team.
e) any other ideas? Would you change anything about the bulls?
I'm pretty sure it's the walking distance alone that is the problem, because the three bulls I've had on the farm since mid-October have been working a separate herd of 40 - 60 low producers and lame cows, grazed no more than a couple-hundred yards from the milking shed. One arrived lame, the other two were sound until I put them with the main herd in early December (leaving the lame one with the lame cows). I came back from the first half of holiday a week later to three lame bulls.
The vet is coming to look at one of the replacement bulls tomorrow. He's supposedly done two four-day terms with the herd with a two day rest between - except that both the new bulls jump gates, fences, whatever to get back to the herd.
The next plan is to set a second hot wire inside the fence and (wrecked) gate of their paddock and see if that stops them.
Vet and farm owners have advised leaving them behind in the paddock when cows leave. We've tried...
Right now I'm attempting to send just one bull out with the herd for one day, swap him over for another sound one. Sounded like a nice idea yesterday when I had four sound bulls and a gate that would shut. This morning I had two (29 being exhausted and limping again from his previous day's trek) and the one who was supposed to be resting chose to be today's bull by means of wrecking the gate and served four cows in twelve hours all on his own.