Spring is here in more ways than one!
Cows have been out in the fields since mid March, munching away at the first Spring flush of grass. And the calving season is well underway toowith over 140 to down calve before the end of May!
Grass is growing well, milk production is up and overall quality good! So far so good!
We aim to Spring block calve most of our cows each year, for efficiency and to make the most of our grass. We run a grazing system where our herd is outside at grass for 9 months of the year!
Once the cow has calved, she feeds the calf her own colostrum for the first day or two, then I become step mother to all the babies when they move to the calf pens, feeding milk powder mixed with warm water twice daily, every day, 2 litres in the morning and two litres in the afternoon. A very satisfying job too. After 8-10 weeks I wean the calves onto calf rearer pellets, fresh water and straw to munch at. When the warmer weather comes, they will be out in the paddock in front of our house, so they can nibble at some Spring grass too. It's fabulous to watch the calves racing around outside just before bedtime, playing chase, skipping, tumbling, racing about before they settle down for the night in a huddle, keeping close contact for warmth and security.
Baby calves develop rapidly in the first six months of life, gaining kilos of weight every day. The happier they are the healthier they are and develop into big strong heifers in preparation of calving them at 24 months old. So the baby calves I'm rearing this spring, will produce a calf of their own in Spring 2019, and then produce milk for the tank. More milk in the tank equals more money in the bank! Happy Spring time!
