Christmas Day might be only one day but the season is a little longer. If talking to a retailer then it starts in July.

For me, the time I enjoy is from Christmas eve until the new year.

I try to streamline the farm to allow some time for family and the usual round of parties.

Last year was the first year I delayed the AI until January and it certainly helped. Watching cows and heifers bulling can take as much time as calving season. It also made more sense than drying cows during the July grass growth.

Weaning

Restricting calvings to October and November has left me with a very easy to manage herd. All heifers are now well used to the parlour and all cows settled into work. It is far easier to manage the calves too.

Calves are penned firstly by age but more importantly by drinking speed as I don’t use individual pens.

Eight is the ideal number on a ten teat feeder. I keep the heifers and bulls together on milk replacer at first until they are drinking properly. Then I separate them to opposite sides of the house where the bulls switch to waste milk. These were sold off farm at around four weeks of age to a local beef finisher who produces bull beef.

The heifers remain on milk replacer as part of the recommended johnnes control program. They are offered ad-lib coarse ration at first and then calf nuts. Feeding straw was in short supply this harvest so roughage is some of the milking cow’s TMR.

Peak milk replacer feeding is at six litres per day in two feeds. At six weeks I gradually change to three litres once-a-day. Twice-a-day is best to ensure maximum intakes and also to monitor calf health.

However I find they won’t really eat properly until they get the milk replacer OAD.

Weaning is around eight weeks but not until they are eating 2kg per day. The most of them are now weaned so calf feeding only takes a few minutes.

Jobs have been reduced and those left are routine. There will be no breakdowns and no bulling heifer stuck in a cubicle for the next 10 days. Every toy will have all parts in the box and the correct batteries.

At least I will have the refuge of the milking parlour twice a day if it doesn’t work out.

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Farmer Writes: Harold Kingston