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Autumn-born bulls destined for finishing under 16 months should be ready to house and start the intensive feeding period.
Bulls around 10 to 11 months of age should be in the region of 400kg to 450kg and ideally eating at least 3kg/day of concentrate before housing.
Once housed, concentrate can be increased to 4kg/day, then built up to ad-lib levels within 10 to 12 days. When bulls are on ad-lib levels, do not let feeders run empty.
On a high-concentrate diet, bulls should have access to fresh water at all times. Bulls will drink around five to six litres for every kg of dry matter consumed.
Offer a good fibre source such as silage or straw. Feeding high-quality (70+ DMD) silage will help to reduce concentrate intakes, while maintaining high levels of weight gain.
Housing groups
When housing bulls, group animals based on their final liveweight before slaughter. This means bulls have adequate lying space throughout the housing period and can remain as one group.
For example, a pen of eight bulls gaining 1.5kg/day means the group has a cumulative weight gain of 84kg per week.
This means every eight weeks, the group gains 650kg of liveweight, which is the equivalent of one finished animal.
As the animals get heavier, lying space will be reduced. Overstocking pens at housing will reduce weight gain.
Ultimately, bulls will have to be removed and mixed with different animals which increases aggression and the risk of bulls being injured.
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