As quick as one bull has left the herd , another has arrived in the shape of Chloanne Marley . He is sired by End Road Oman Bronco and is out of a cracking little heifer Chloanne DP Gracious , who herself is out of Chloanne Goldwyn Gracious , the dam of the two bulls that have already gone down to Cogent Ltd. Its never an easy decision to make as to whether I keep a bull or not . Sometimes it's because of the cow family , sometimes it's because of the sire , or even just because he looks a tidy calf that will develop into a stunning bull (hopefully). I have kept this one because of his breeding , on both sides , and also because there is only one other Bronco bull registered at the moment(29/6/11) so it's nice to have an early son from a sire .
The family line has proven itself time and time again and I'm confident that Chloanne DP Gracious will out perform her herd mates to stand out as the rest have done.
Chloanne Webster Gracious is due to calve this week too , she is in calf to Morningview Legend . This will be her 7th calving and she has an impressive lifetime yield so far of 88,374 ltrs. A nice easy calving will see her well on her road to getting near being a 100t cow.
Another exciting pregnancy is Chloanne Goldwyn Gracious 2, who is now safely in calf to Coppertop Doberman. This is a mating that was suggested to me by ABS Genus, and it would be nice to get a heifer calf off her for me , but also if it were a bull then if Genus were at all interested then that would be ideal too . It's left with them that I will keep them informed as to how she is doing . At the moment she has a lactation yield of 10,865 ltrs in 201 days and she's still milking around the 38 ltrs mark every day.
Some of the girls will be getting classified at the end of next week so with any luck they will move up a point or two.
Wednesday 29 June 2011
Tuesday 21 June 2011
Chloanne Lowick
At the end of last week , our young Holstein bull , Chloanne Lowick , was finally picked up by Cogent Breeding to be taken down to their premises to begin being tested as a young sire for them! He is by the sire Morningview Legend and is out of the truly great cow Chloanne Goldwyn Gracious.
This is the second bull to be tested from the dam , who is sadly not with us due to complications after calving last year .
It's an amazing feeling when a company is interested in some of the animals and genetics that you are working with , topped only by the news that they will indeed take an animal .
If all goes according to plan , then semen should be ready from him later in the year, with the first offspring being born late summer next year .It really is a waiting game to see just how well the farmers and breeders who used the bulls liked them , or indeed didn't like them. It is the information supplied by them to the AI company that will determine whether the young bull will go on to bigger and better things , or simply not be good enough for their exacting standards.
The first bull , Chloanne Gallagher, now has 61 registered daughters in around 30 herds. I don't have figures of how many daughters could be in commercial herds but do still milk record.Our first daughters are now at the age to be running with the bull , and hopefully over the next few weeks and months more daughters will get in calve.
It is once these daughters start to calve down themselves that their figures will contribute to a young bulls proof. Getting a bull to the point of him having a proof takes a very long time and bucket loads of frustration.
We use plenty of young bull semen throughout the herd as well as using proven bulls . I feel very strongly that more farmers should use some young bull semen , even if it was only 10 or 20 straws.The genetics available now from all studs are the best on offer from around the world, and by using young sires it is a chance to get the very best from the best cow families available . With young bull semen being available from some companies for as little as £3 or £4 a straw, it really is an ideal chance to better your herd for little cost. All proven bulls have started off life as a young bull , and farmers who refuse to use young bull semen on grounds of low reliability etc should think to themselves that if we all took that attitude then no bull would get a fair chance at all .
This is the second bull to be tested from the dam , who is sadly not with us due to complications after calving last year .
It's an amazing feeling when a company is interested in some of the animals and genetics that you are working with , topped only by the news that they will indeed take an animal .
If all goes according to plan , then semen should be ready from him later in the year, with the first offspring being born late summer next year .It really is a waiting game to see just how well the farmers and breeders who used the bulls liked them , or indeed didn't like them. It is the information supplied by them to the AI company that will determine whether the young bull will go on to bigger and better things , or simply not be good enough for their exacting standards.
The first bull , Chloanne Gallagher, now has 61 registered daughters in around 30 herds. I don't have figures of how many daughters could be in commercial herds but do still milk record.Our first daughters are now at the age to be running with the bull , and hopefully over the next few weeks and months more daughters will get in calve.
It is once these daughters start to calve down themselves that their figures will contribute to a young bulls proof. Getting a bull to the point of him having a proof takes a very long time and bucket loads of frustration.
We use plenty of young bull semen throughout the herd as well as using proven bulls . I feel very strongly that more farmers should use some young bull semen , even if it was only 10 or 20 straws.The genetics available now from all studs are the best on offer from around the world, and by using young sires it is a chance to get the very best from the best cow families available . With young bull semen being available from some companies for as little as £3 or £4 a straw, it really is an ideal chance to better your herd for little cost. All proven bulls have started off life as a young bull , and farmers who refuse to use young bull semen on grounds of low reliability etc should think to themselves that if we all took that attitude then no bull would get a fair chance at all .
Wednesday 15 June 2011
Perfect Grazing . . . . . .So Far !
With us now into mid-June , silage is now a distant memory , and we are now watching the grass growing (all be it slowly)ready for 2nd cut . The ground is very dry and we have really only had one day of any real rain . On the grazing side of things the cows are keeping on top of all the grazing strips this year . I have never seen them eat the grass the way they have this year , no waste at all so far. Obviously this is a great sign , it means they are utilising the grass very well , but it also means that I have not had any strips to cut and bale , and this in turn will have an effect as to how much extra grass we will need to find to bale later on .We had a bountiful supply of bales just before turnout , but these were sold . . . . . a decision that could very well come back to haunt us .It is now looking like we may have to open up our silage pit quite soon , to ensure that we can continue to buffer feed the cows through the summer.
With all this food that the cows are eating , it is pleasing to see positive results, not just in the bulk tank, but also in the condition of the cows and also in the fertility of the herd , which has remained fairly high. Also our nutrition advice is spot on at the moment , and we are achieving FCE figures of 1.5 , which at this time of year and for a herd grazing outside , isn't too shabby.
We are focusing more and more on the state of grazing grass , and trying to tackle any weed issues we have . These tend to be field specific , and we are trying to get rid of the dreaded Chickweed , easy to kill but at the expense of the clover in the sward. Some of our fields will have been in the same grass for quite a number of years now , and that is something we may have to address, obviously newer and better varieties come along , and it is unrealistic to expect a 4 or 5 year ley to last 6 or 7 years without some form of drop in quality and performance.
Overall the cows have had the best Spring/Summer that I can remember , nice and dry , no mud to have to contend with , and I really think this has all had a knock on effect to the cows health . Somatic cell counts continue to be the lowest we have had , and that too is a general indication of the status of the herd health. Long may it continue . Rain at night , heat in the day , surely not too much to ask for ?
With all this food that the cows are eating , it is pleasing to see positive results, not just in the bulk tank, but also in the condition of the cows and also in the fertility of the herd , which has remained fairly high. Also our nutrition advice is spot on at the moment , and we are achieving FCE figures of 1.5 , which at this time of year and for a herd grazing outside , isn't too shabby.
We are focusing more and more on the state of grazing grass , and trying to tackle any weed issues we have . These tend to be field specific , and we are trying to get rid of the dreaded Chickweed , easy to kill but at the expense of the clover in the sward. Some of our fields will have been in the same grass for quite a number of years now , and that is something we may have to address, obviously newer and better varieties come along , and it is unrealistic to expect a 4 or 5 year ley to last 6 or 7 years without some form of drop in quality and performance.
Overall the cows have had the best Spring/Summer that I can remember , nice and dry , no mud to have to contend with , and I really think this has all had a knock on effect to the cows health . Somatic cell counts continue to be the lowest we have had , and that too is a general indication of the status of the herd health. Long may it continue . Rain at night , heat in the day , surely not too much to ask for ?
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