How to boost weanling thrive over the winter
Gordon Peppard analyses 10 factors that can impact on potential weight gain before the Spring turnout to grass
FARMERS are often disappointed with how their animals perform over the winter period, with average daily gains of as low as 0–0.3kgs per day commonly reported when stock are turned out to grass for the spring.
To maximise performance over the animal’s lifetime, it is essential that weanlings achieve a minimum growth rate of 0.6kgs per day over the winter housing period.
If stock are growing at 0.25kgs per day or less, they can become stunted. This will have serious consequences on the lifetime gain and finishing performance of these animals.
So how can you ensure that your animals meet this target?
There are a number of key factors to understand.
POTENTIAL
Growth potential depends on a combination of gender and breed. Bulls will have a higher growth potential than steers and steers higher than heifers. Continental animals will have a higher growth rate than dairy bred stock.
OF FINISHING PERIOD
It is important to have a defined finishing period. When animals reach the end of this period they are slaughtered as the laying down of fat consumes more energy than lean tissue deposition, slowing the rate of gain in the late finishing period.
Heifers generally require 70– 90 days finishing, steers 90–120 days and bulls 100–150 days.
DRY MATTER INTAKE
Low dry matter intake is one of the primary causes of poor thrive in beef cattle.
Dry matter intake is largely influenced by the dry matter (DM), dry matter digestibility (DMD) and preservation of the silage.
Dry matter intake can be estimated by weighing blocks of silage/silage bales and using a silage analysis to determine the dry matter of the silage.
Weanlings should achieve dry matter intakes of at least 2pc of body weight on grass silage based diets. For example, a 300kgs weanling will require 6kgs dry matter per day. Higher intakes can be expected on concentrates or where high DM forages such as maize and whole crop are used.
TATION SUPPLEMEN-
Meal feeding rates are determined by silage quality. Farmers routinely feed the same level of concentrates year in year out with no knowledge of silage quality. Silage testing is essential.
Without a silage analysis, you are completely in the dark on the amount and level of protein that is required in the concentrates you are feeding.
Table 1 presents the supplementation rates required for weanlings and finishing steers / heifers offered grass silage.
It is recommended to front load meal feeding in the first half of the winter, reducing meals towards the turnout date.
Parasites can have a detrimental effect on performance over the winter period.
The main stomach worm of concern over the winter is Type 2 Ostertagia. The Levamizole (clear drenches) based products are not effective against this type of stomach worm. Ensure that the stomach worm treatment used will also kill lungworms.
When dosing for fluke ensure that the flukicide used kills the stage of liver fluke that you have.
It’s a good idea to rotate flukecide from year to year.
The main external parasites are biting and sucking lice and in some cases ticks. The key to controlling external parasites is to treat all animals in the house at the same time. Otherwise the lice will spread from the untreated animals back onto the treated animals.
Adequate ventilation, air movement and freedom from draughts are also important.
SUPPLY
Reduced water intake will depress feed intake and consequently performance.
Beef animals require approximately 6 litres of water per kg DM intake. For example a 300kg weanling eating 2pc of body weight — 6kgs of dry matter per day —will require 36 litres of water.
This will fluctuate depending on dietary specification, environmental temperature and rate of gain.
Water troughs should be in-
DISEASES
Nutritional diseases like acidosis, diarrhoea, lameness and liver abscesses can be inter-linked and need to be controlled.
Acidosis can occur in beef cattle on a high concentrate diets. Causes can include lack of fibre in the diet, rapid introduction of starchy and sugar based feedstuffs, sudden changes in concentrate type and irregular feeding. Affected animals show signs of kicking at the belly, grinding of teeth, go off their feed and develop signs of colic. Associated problems include diarrhoea and laminitis.
Access to a good fibre source, straw or haylage, is critical to