Cows 365 Blog

February 2012 - Posts

• Impact of superlevy risk on BCS

  On a farm visit in County Limerick today body condition score was below .5 for all the cows in the herd. The client was facing a superlevy and had reduced concentrate supplementation. He was informed by kerry co-op last week there was no superlevy risk. He could continue with milk production and feed his cows. This was a major relief for him, but he fears that farmers could disregard any future superlevy warnings in the next three years. Dr Dan Posted Feb 24 2012, 10:21 AM by cows365 with no comments Select Tags... SaveCancel Filed under: superlevy risk [Edit Tags]

• IBR causes poor health and reproductive performance in Holstein herd

  Visited a dairy farmer in co. Clare. The cows were in a poor body condition score and showed many classical visual symptoms for IBR. There was no vaccination programme in place. Scanning revealed reproductive classifications were unsatisfactory at all stages of pregnancy diagnosis. Dr Dan Posted Feb 22 2012, 12:08 PM by cows365 with no comments Filed under: IBR Vaccine [Edit Tags]

• First calvers taking a projected time to calf

  On a farm visit to a client in. Meath today revealed. A large number of first calvers taking a projected period of time to calf and having dead calves. The mature dairy cow counterparts did not have the same problem. Further investigation revealed that the heifers were being bullied by the mature cows in a situation of restricted feed intake. The in-calf heifers should have been separated from the mature cows. Dr Dan Posted Feb 21 2012, 10:58 AM by cows365 with no comments Filed under: first calvers [Edit Tags]

• scanning of 16 yr old cow

  Visited a client today in county Cork. This client was a Holstein breeder. We scanned his cows in a lock in barrier system. On approaching the cow the client stated that she was 16 years old. This cow was scanned greater than 50 days pregnant. This cow also has her daughter and granddaughter scanned further down in the hold in the holding. Dr Dan Posted Feb 17 2012, 12:03 PM by cows365 with no comments Filed under: holstein [Edit Tags]

• Scanning in a herd where British Friesian have been introduced

  Scanned a herd of cows in County Cork. where British Friesian have been introduced into a Holstein herd. These cows have very bad temperament and are difficult to handle. Hybrid vigour will be introduced by crossing British Friesian with Holstein. Dr Dan Posted Feb 16 2012, 10:50 AM by cows365 with no comments Filed under: British Friesian, holstein [Edit Tags]

• Crossbreeding to address a severe fertility problem

  Visited a Holstein breeder who is extremely disappointed at his fertility results. He wanted an opinion on a suitable sire for crossbreeding. I suggested Ayrshire and we put him into contact with an Ayrshire breeder in Co. Cavan. The modern Ayrshire has a much stronger build than the traditional Ayrshire encountered in the past. Some red blood Holsteins have been introduced by breeders giving greater strength and milk. Dr Dan Posted Feb 15 2012, 01:11 PM by cows365 with no comments Filed under: Aryshire Cross Holstein cows [Edit Tags]

• Excellent Body Condition score and pregnancy rates.

  Visited a dairy herd outside Derry where a herd of dairy cows were presented for scanning. Over 95% of the cows were over a target body condition score of 2.5 pregnancy rates to first service was above 50% based on these figures. Overall reproductive performance is on line to meat a 375 day calving interval with a 15% investment. These figures for a Holstein dairy herd where the milk holding average is in excess of 3,100 litres. Dr Dan Posted Feb 13 2012, 01:13 PM by cows365 with no comments Filed under: excellent BCS and pregnancy rates [Edit Tags]

• Water Harvesting

  Visited a dairy herd outside Dungiven County Derry where a water harvester has been installed to trap all of the water from all of the buildings on the farm. The cost of mains water is in excess of €20,000 for this 400 acre farm. Rainwater harvesting is an environmentally friendly invention for managing a very finite resource. Dr Dan Posted Feb 10 2012, 04:36 PM by cows365 with no comments Filed under: water harvesting [Edit Tags]

• Crossbreeding in Ayrshire improves fertility

  In a herd visited today outside ballyconnell, co. Cavan. 250 Ayrshire and Ayrshire cross cows were presented for scanning. Overall reproductive performance was excellent with average herd calving interval reaching 370 days. Milk yields are approximately 1300 gallons, with 3.32% butterfat and 4.2% milk solids on average. Dr Dan Posted Feb 08 2012, 12:44 PM by cows365 with no comments Filed under: Ayrshire breed [Edit Tags]

• Excellent reproductive performance in suckler herd

  On a farm visit outside Kilgarvan, Co. Kerry today. The client presented 80 suckler cows for reproductive assessment. Of the 80 cows scanned, in excess of 70 were in calf between 20 to 100 days, with the rest being embryonic deaths, poor uterine repair post calving, or cows on heat or coming on heat. This is an excellent result. There are 3 vital factors at play : the use of AI., high meal intake and cow comfort. Dr Dan Posted Feb 07 2012, 02:39 PM by cows365 with no comments Filed under: suckler cow herd [Edit Tags]

• The dilemma of cows calving in July and August for a Spring calving herd

  Visited a dairy farmer in North Tipperary. This client presented a group of cows where calving dates were required. A number of the cows were confirmed pregnant between 90 and 190 days. This would leave them calving between July and August. These cows will put on excessive body condition if managed on grass. This client plans to fatten these cows for 5 to 6 weeks and slaughter them. Posted Feb 06 2012, 10:30 AM by cows365 with no comments Filed under: late calving cows, slaughter cows [Edit Tags]

• Problems associated with twins

  On a farm visit outside Derry, today. We scanned a herd of Holstein dairy cows for reproductive assessment. While I was there a cow was calving. The cow was previously scanned by me as carrying twins. The first calf born had all the clinical signs of being a free-martin. Just as we finished the scan she had a second calf, in the shape of a rugby ball. This mummy calf must have been a male foetus in the early stage, resulting in the female co twin. This is a classical example of the problems associated with twins. Dr.Dan Ryan @ www.cows365.ie Posted Feb 01 2012, 12:59 PM by cows365 with no comments Filed under: holstein, mummy calf [Edit Tags]

• Rolling herd average of 14,000 litres

  Visited a Holstein breeder County Clare. This herd of Holstein cow is an exception in terms of type and fertility. The rolling herd average on this farm is 14, 000 litres. One of the cows presented is in her fourth lactation and has produced over 14,000 litres. What makes the cow special is her overall strength, udder attachment and docility. Posted Feb 01 2012, 10:54 AM by cows365 with no comments Filed under: udder, Rolling herd average of 14, 000 litres, Holstein cow, docility [Edit Tags]