Having followed Calf 541 since birth, she is now settling well at grass. A leader-follower system (where the calves get preferential grass and the in-calf heifers clean up behind them) is still in place.

With silage recently cut, dairy farmer Jamie Kealy is getting ready to put the calves onto after grass, which should help them thrive.

“They will get preferential treatment right throughout the summer. The paddock they are on today, they will remain on that for the next week. Then they are going onto after grass that was cut probably two weeks ago for silage,” says Jamie.

“With after grass they are gone away from any little bit of stem or anything like that in the grass. They are gone onto lush green grass and that will make a big difference to them.”

At this point meal starts to be reduced. At present 541 is eating 2kg of meal per day. On after grass, that will be pulled back to 1kg per day.

“They are turning into little cattle then with the heads down grazing, whereas up until now they have been picky and only getting used to grass. That is why we have been supplementing them with meal. Now you will see a big difference in them as you get into July onwards.”

Calf 541.

Weight

The calves were all weighed recently and 541 surpassed 150kg. Weighing throughout the summer is important, emphasises Jamie, as it keeps you on track to reach housing weights come winter. Housing in and around the start of November, the aim is 541 will be 220kg.

“Rather than playing catch-up at the back end of the year, I just keep them weighed right throughout the summer, then you have an idea of how you are going. I suppose if you don’t weigh them you don’t have a clue really what’s going on.

“There is no point playing catch-up over the winter period trying to get them ready for breeding. We like our heifers to be somewhere around 330kg at breeding,” explains Jamie. “I find if you can get them up to their target weight or above target weight for the winter period, it is very easy to get them going again early the following year.”

Dosing

541, along with the other calves, is continually being dosed for worms. The last dose she received was a white drench dose in recent days. Jamie alternates between drench and pour on, as he feels this is most effective.

The diary of calf 541 is an ongoing series in Irish Country Living where we follow a replacement dairy heifer calf’s development for the first eight months of life.

Read more

The diary of calf 541: weeks one to four

The diary of calf 541: weeks four to eight

The diary of calf 541: weeks eight to 12