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Post by carragheendexters on Aug 9, 2013 7:59:31 GMT -5
We've had a horrid week. The bloat season has started early and with a vengeance. We're struggling to manage our cows at the moment.
We had a very dry spring , summer and autumn, 3 or 4 inches of rain in 8 months. Now we have had rain since May and a fairly mild winter, so the pasture is really taking off. We have sub clover coming up everywhere and pasture grasses so rich and lush.
We have 11 paddocks and usually rotational graze, but due to the conditions we have been grazing our Lucerne (alfalfa) paddock for a few hours every afternoon ,as we had no feed and at night the cows go in a sacrifice paddock where they are fed pellets. In the morning they go on to rough hay to fill them up before going onto the Lucerne. They have been on bloat blocks for the last 8 weeks. On Wednesday morning I found 3 very distressed, very bloated cows. We got them yarded and treated just in time and the outcome was good. So we moved them out of the night paddock into another paddock with no clover. Next morning another bloated, treated her and she is ok. Now we have no where to put our cows, too much lush feed everywhere, they are bloating on grasses, not the clover.
We've now changed to bloat drench in their water instead of the blocks to increase the amount they are ingesting. We are twice daily feeding chaff mixed with canola oil, and as much rough hay as they will eat. We're running out of things to do to prevent the bloat. We are thinking of rumen boluses but hate the idea of giving them antibiotics every day for 3 months (how long the boluses last)
Our neighbour lost 2 steers on Thursday, he didn't find them in time.
I hate to think what spring is going to be like if it's this bad already.
regards Louise
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Post by tonhou on Aug 9, 2013 15:08:20 GMT -5
Louise, you are obviously come from down under! We had similar conditions in NZ, but not as bad as 4 inches in 8 months. Are you still feeding the lucerne for a few hours, because it seems to me that that is going to trigger bloat very quickly. How much supplement do you have - any haylage or silage? Can you keep them on short feed paddocks with supplement until the grass starts to harden up a bit with more grasses and less legumes (clover & lucerne)?
When the conditions are bad for bloat it is very difficult - you need some good drying conditions and no dews for a bit.
All the best.
--Tony
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Post by lakeportfarms on Aug 9, 2013 15:47:17 GMT -5
Louise, I know you mentioned you rotationally graze (in 11 paddocks), but have you thought about strip grazing within the 11 paddocks that you have set up? We practice this during our grazing season, and you can adjust the amount that they consume and the time they consume it very well if they are trained to the hot fence. We set up several strips ahead of time, and in some cases have moved they 3 or 4 times/day, using as little as 4 or 5 foot (1.5 meters) strips at a time. This in combination with the precautions you are taking with bloat blocks (in case some of them may get past the wire) would help you immensely, I think. Look for the pigtail type temporary step ins that are very durable and easy to run the wire into when setting up the new lines. We were using the Zareba brand but have been switching over to the Gallagher brand. I'm not sure what you'll have there in Australia, but you must have something similar www.youtube.com/watch?v=meMLLmUhd8g |
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Post by midhilldexters on Aug 9, 2013 17:59:40 GMT -5
oh I feel your pain, I had the same problem this year. I had to spray and kill off some of the clover there was too much of it and not enough grass. Even so the grass was very lush to.
I checked animals what seemed like every hour, constantly watched them with binoculars from the house, and administered so much mineral oil this year, even with two bloat blocks out, I should have had shares in the mineral oil company. I was paranoid as two years earlier I had almost lost a heifer from it. Not only had the stomach stretched out so much it had come up and was higher than her spine. She was in pain, walking backwards ( think that is a sign of major pain or distress) vet had already been called but was two hours away pulling a calf. I got what I could down her and was prepped to use a trocar and cannula. Within 10 minutes of getting the oil in her I could see it start to go down, I was amazed and was able to cancel the vet. It made me very aware of how careful you need to be, and just how quickly it can happen. I do believe some lines may be more prone to it than others! not sure if other have noticed that? Good luck to you, it sounds like you are doing all you can.
Carol K
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Post by carragheendexters on Aug 11, 2013 18:31:27 GMT -5
Hi everyone, yes Tony, we are in Oz, Central West NSW. The cows are getting plenty of rough hay both before and after they come off the Lucerne. I've just sourced a supply of good quality cereal straw so will get them eating that too. We've worked out it's not the legumes causing our grief, they're tucking into all of the new rye grass, 4-6 inches high, a classic for causing bloat. Yes, the problems is also lots of dews and not many frosts at the moment, and the pasture isn't drying off much before nightfall, so it is perpetually wet. We only graze after lunch when it is a little dryer. Once the season moves on and the grasses start maturing it will be better. It's still early though, just coming into spring. The other problem is it is getting harder and harder to get hay, after such a long dry spell there is less and less around. I am now having to go to Lucerne hay, so this is where the straw will have to help. Anything to get them ruminating. Hi Lakeportfarms, that is the next thing on our list. We are going to strip graze the Lucerne, but there is so much feed and too few cows, we only have 12 cows and calves here at home at the moment, the others are on agistment. A 6ft strip will last a couple of days. We have Gallagher here, I like the pigtail stepins, though they are a little too high for calves, ours walk straight under the wire. I am going to get some of those plastic ones with several different height options, and put 2 wires across. I've already got some but not enough to cross the width of the paddock. Other problem is it's not the Lucerne causing the problem, but the rye grass in their night paddock. Next option is to slash the night paddock and get rid of the grass. Hi Carol K, it's awful to see isn't it. They are in so much pain and distress, my poor girls were kicking at their stomach and straining to urinate and defaecate to ease the pressure. Once treated they go down so quickly, belching in your face as you give the oil, GREAT SMELL, BLECH! It happens just so quickly, they go down as you are watching them. I'm not sure about lines, but I do know it is the gutsy grazers in my herd, and the ones who are fussy with hay. Just not eating enough fibre and eating too much green. They're now drinking the water with the drench in it, took them a day or two to get used to it, and have upped the strength to what the directions say on advice from the vet. So here is hoping we can keep things controlled. Now another downside to this great feed. We breed milky, high production cows, and they are now producing TOO MUCH MILK?  The calves can't keep up with it, just drinking out a couple of quarters and the others are bulging and dripping milk everywhere. So now it looks like we may have mastitis risks or need to start milking. We don't have time to hand milk so many cows. Always one problem or another, keeping cows is so much fun isn't it? regards Louise |
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Post by carragheendexters on Aug 27, 2013 7:56:42 GMT -5
Hi Everyone,
well, so far no more bloating cows, we seem to have it under control for the moment. Though as a local famer friend reminded me, it isn't even spring yet?
The bloat treatment in the water is being accepted by the cows and they are now happy drinking the water, took some effort though, we've had to give them town water which they love over their usual bore water (which they tolerate) to get them to drink sufficiently. The only hay we can get at the moment is Lucerne (alfalfa) not ideal as not high enough fibre but better than nothing. I also bought a ton of fibre pellets made from hammermilled lucerne hay, straw, and almond hulls to supplement the hay. Also supplementing them with protein pellets as they all have calves on them and need the extra protein to what they are getting.
It's all very labour intensive though, takes so much time feeding and moving about, not much time left in the day for anything else.
We're planning on making hay in a month or so, (if it dries up a little) so at least we should good some very good quality hay to feed them.
regards louise
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