It’ll be a while before the yard develops its winter rhythm, but with the last of the cows and calves returning home last week, the pace is picking up a bit.

That bunch didn’t need much encouragement to leave the field either and I’m expecting the few dry cows that are out will be the same.

Weather for the past week hasn’t been pleasant so by the end of this week, all stock except the stock bulls will be housed.

ADVERTISEMENT

That will necessitate another bout of musical chairs in the shed as there are still finishing cattle around.

Some of those should be fit in January while a few will be around until later in the spring.

With the young stock yard stocked up, a group of heifer calves were held home to join those that returned to us last week.

Options

One option I have is to hold off weaning those last few heifer calves until there is an extra bay freed up and let them run back to the straw with their cows. I’ve a feeling the cows will nearly wean them themselves.

Another option is moving the in-calf heifers to the calving shed a few weeks earlier than usual. It will make things more comfortable for stock, however it will add a small bit extra to the daily work load.

That’s probably the best move. It’s better to take the hit on the extra jobs than prioritise convenience and end up with something going wrong.

That house is also a great place for settling stock as they can see you all the time. It’s good to have sheds that are flexible especially when there are different categories of stock around the place.

I’m still happy to outwinter the stock bulls. They’re more prone to doing something stupid when they’re in and I’ve noticed the older one get far more territorial in a pen in the shed rather than out in the field. They develop a king-of -the-castle complex when inside and can become difficult to work with. For that alone, it’s better to leave them out.

There’s a paddock near the yard for them and if space frees up in the new year, they can come in but that won’t be until calving has gotten underway.

The pair of them will need to come in for a few booster vaccines on their way to their winter quarters, but that will happen when the cows are getting their shots and as I need to treat the returnees for rumen fluke and tails need to be clipped, I’m holding out for a calm day.

Blustery weather

Sitting between two buildings, the crush is a wind tunnel and unless I’ve no other choice, I stay clear of it when there’s a breeze, especially when the hair clippers is out.

Blustery conditions could result in a few stray hairs to the eye or face so it’s best to have a bit of patience.

That December vaccine run usually marks the end of crush work for the year and I’m looking forward to the break at the end of the month.

A recharge is badly needed and the plans mentioned above will go some way to contributing to that.

Whether we like it or not, that Christmas downtime can turn into a spell to plan things for next year too so I might give a look at roofing that crush and giving myself a bit more comfort.