fbpx
Print this page
Friday, 29 July 2022 09:55

OAD feeding works

Written by  Staff Reporters
Torey Williams has been rearing more than 500 calves with probiotics on once-a-day (OAD) feeding at Reporoa since 2018. Torey Williams has been rearing more than 500 calves with probiotics on once-a-day (OAD) feeding at Reporoa since 2018.

Torey and Reece Williams are contract milking 830 cows (in three herds) on 230 hectares for Mark and Leanne Miers at Reporoa.

The couple milk all year around and while it spreads the calf rearing numbers, it also means the calves never completely go away.

They rear 200 replacements every year, along with 200 Friesian/Charolais calves (split between the spring and autumn), 15 Jersey bulls, and up to 100 Friesian bulls (reared to 100kg, depending on the season). They have been feeding OAD since 2018.

Torey said her two “main drivers” to embrace OAD feeding was that they had two young daughters, and that the calves seemed to drink more aggressively in the morning anyway.

“Sometimes you think that people go to OAD just because they don’t want to feed the calves in the afternoon,” Torey says.

“I just found on Calf Xtreme they were content, and not particularly interested in the afternoon feed.

“We have quite big Friesian calves and when we were giving them 2.5-3 litres in the morning and afternoon, they were significantly less content than when we changed to feeding six litres in a single feed in the morning.”

Torey says she’s also noticed the additional mass in their two-yearolds in the herd since introducing Calf Xtreme, which has given them confidence to compete with their mixed aged cows.

“When our heifers calve down, you struggle to pick them in the herd because they are so big,” Torey says.

“We watch when we are drafting between herds and we often find that all the heifers go in the first herd, and they dominate. They will all be in the first row – they’re the big dogs. I’m sure that early rumen development is the reason why.”

For Those Wanting More

Chris Collier says probiotics was a system for the inquisitive minds who wanted more.

Their clients are now feeding up to eight litres OAD to Friesians and five litres OAD to Jerseys.

“We aren’t dealing with the farmers that aren’t questioning. In the first year, many of them tried it as much for its health benefits as they did because they could safely feed more milk.

“It wasn’t until the second year that we started to push the higher rate of milk more actively.”

Calves 21 FBTW

Calves were more content and that they started eating hay and meal much faster.

He said that their farmers routinely reported that the calves were more content and that they started eating hay and meal much faster. They also noticed that they started to chew their cud earlier and more aggressively.

“Within two weeks these calves were knocking back up to half a kilogram of meal a day. Within a month that was up to 1kg.”

More like this

Sheep drench resistance costly

Analysis by Dunedin-based Techion New Zealand shows the cost of undetected drench resistance in sheep has exploded to an estimated $98 million a year.

Knowing bugs means fewer drugs

A mastitis management company claims to deliver the fastest and most accurate mastitis testing available at scale for New Zealand dairy farmers.

'Gold Standard' live export plan

Live Export NZ (LENZ), the industry group behind reinstating live exports, says that in 2020 New Zealand exported $255.89 million of live cattle to the rest of the world.

Clear breeding goals

Over the last 13 years, Southland dairy farmers Caleb and Paula Hamill have worked hard to realise their dream of farm ownership.

Featured

Sheep drench resistance costly

Analysis by Dunedin-based Techion New Zealand shows the cost of undetected drench resistance in sheep has exploded to an estimated $98 million a year.

Dairy sheep and goat turmoil

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.

Hurry up and slow down!

OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.

National

Govt urged to reduce ETS units

The Climate Change Commission wants the new Government to reduce NZ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction volumes as son as…

Dairy sheep, goat woes mount

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand…

Machinery & Products

All-terrain fert spreading mode

Effluent specialists the Samson Group have developed a new double unloading system to help optimise uphill and downhill organic fertiliser…

Can-Am showcases range

Based on industry data collected by the Motor Industry Association, Can-Am is the number one side-by-side manufacturer in New Zealand.