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In this third and final Thrive slaughter performance quiz, we focus on a batch of heifers that were drafted off grass in mid-September, having received 3kg/day concentrate for just over five weeks at pasture.
Overall in 2021, the heifers averaged a carcase weight of 269kg at just over 19 months old.
Winter management
Now that all the 2020-born stock have been slaughtered, the focus turns to the 2021-born stock.
The target with this group is to achieve an average daily gain of between 0.75kg and 0.80kg/day over the winter period. This is higher than a standard winter for weanlings.
However, when targeting a slaughter age of between 18 and 20 months, we need cattle to be growing slightly quicker during the first winter period.
Keep up to date with the Thrive dairy calf-to-beef programme with online updates every Wednesday and Saturday evening on www.farmersjournal.ie.
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