Nugget Dairy Rations are the Cows Best Friend Post Calving!

Choose from Super Dairy 18% or Turbo 21% where silage protein is low.
• Exceptional value guaranteed.
• High Maize & Cereal content.
• Excellent fertility and milk yield feedback.
• Full nutritional service available.

Important Calf Rearing Tips:
• Calving camera linked to house is essential
• Immediately after the calf is born it’s navel must be disinfected with iodine
• Sheds must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected
• Sheds must be well ventilated and free of draughts
• High roofs are desirable to allow stale/noxious air rise and be replaced by fresh air
• Dry bedding is a must
• Access to clean water, fresh concentrates and straw
• Calves must have a floor area of at least 2.5 meters squared and a cubic air area of 8 cubic meters
• Footbathing with disinfectant at entry and exit to sheds
• Operate a closed herd or at least keep bought calves separate until release to pasture
• Be very careful dehorning as very cold/harsh weather can be extra hard or even fatal to calves
• Be vigilant with fast and slow drinkers, when using bulk teat feeders
• Routine feeding, milk little and often
• Remove sick animals to quarantine straight away.

Monitor animals very closely when grazing fodder crops, and especially when crops are frozen. Frozen forage can cause bad digestive upset and scour. Many animals have sore feet from all the wet and therefore need to be housed.
Crops like kale should not make up more than 50% of daily intake. When crops are frozen, move the wire at mid-day & only offer small amounts, until they thaw out fully. Make sure you feed a hi-phosphorus mineral with such crops, along with a good source of roughage and concentrates.

Similarly to cattle, high levels of concentrate feeding of sheep has become popular in recent times, with silage or hay only serving as a source of fibre to maintain rumen stability.

All concentrate feeding (Advantages) as stated by leading UCD professional. (Prof. Frank Crosby)

• Cheaper than making hay or silage,
• Increased colostrum production,
• Reduced labour and feeding,
• Consistent product,
• Dryer bedding & less lameness,
• Lower bodyweight loss,
• Need for conserved roughage, greatly reduced,
• Need for expensive silage pits disappear,
• Once ewes are accustomed to eating, they require less trough space,
• More vigourous lambs at birth,
• More land available for grazing.

Ewes & Lambs:
The 7-8 week period pre-lambing is very important for the ewe in terms of nutrition. At lambing, the ewe must be healthy, produce healthy/vigorous lambs, and produce enough milk to rear the newborn.
85% of foetal growth takes place within the last 6 to 8 weeks of pregnancy and so the energy requirement of the ewe almost doubles at this stage. Room for roughage is greatly reduced and so the ewe must be supplemented with Ewe & Lamb or Super Ewe & Lamb.
The level of meal feeding depends on a number of factors:
• Size of Ewe,
• Number of lambs she is carrying,
• Roughage quality,
• Ewe condition.

Newborn Calves:

>The calving season is just upon us, so be prepared. Suitable calving pens are essential.
Make sure you disinfect the navel immediately after birth with iodine. The
navel is a direct entry into the calf’s body as it is the canal in which the
newborn was nourished in the womb.

>A respiratory stimulant is important to have to hand at calving time. We supply Calforte oral
gel, which is placed under the tongue and is an excellent aid in stimulating
breathing.

>It is essential that the newborn receives colustrum within 2 hours of birth.
Colustrum is the gift of life to the newborn from its mother. When a calf/lamb
is born it has no immunity (immuno-incompetent) until it receives colustrum. It
is also important that the calf receives colostrum from it’s own mother. The
cow’s first milk will be the best, as the quality deteriorates rapidly
thereafter.

>Steaming up:

>This is the 3 week period pre-calving in which the cow is prepared for the production season
ahead through dietary changes. A good pre-calver mineral is vital, we’ve all
heard of retained placenta, deplaced abomasums, milk fever and ketosis.

>When a cow calves there is a massive metabolic demand for energy to cope with production.
A cow is in negative energy balance for 8 weeks post calving, which means that she
cannot eat enough to cope with demand and has to utilize bodily reserves. This
accounts for condition loss post calving. 8 weeks post-calving is a very
important period , and where 99% of the metabolic diseases occur. Peak milk
yield is reached at week 6 post calving, during the NEB period.

>Body Condition Score (BCS)

>This is a measure of cow condition. It is a very important measure for certain times in
the production year. Aim to have dairy cows calving down at a BCS of 3. Cows
with a score greater or lesser than this can have big problems post calving.
Cows with a BCS less than 3 at calving, can take 3 weeks longer than normal to
come in heat. To put on 1 BCS during the dry period will take up to 280UFL,
which is the equivalent of 300kg of Dry Cow Ration.

>Calf size can double in the last 2 months of gestation, and room for food is greatly reduced.
For this reason it is important to feed diets with a high energy density and
therefore Dry cow ration is perfect. Feed at 2kg of concentrate per head per
day. (Contains 100grams of Pre-calver supreme minerals at 2kg.)

>Lungbooster Update:

>Excellent feed-back on this product since we included it as an option in Super Weanling
crunch. Farmers are reporting that they “have great comfort” with their
weanlings when fed this product, they say that “they have much less coughing in
sheds” & “veterinary bills are down on previous years”.

>How does it work? >Super Weanling Crunch + Lung Booster contains Pulmofit, a natural feed additive.
Pulmofit has a natural anti-bacterial effect & stimulates increased production of
antibodies in the animal. It also increases mucous production and removal of
bacteria that can challenge the respiratory system, including pnemonmia, from
the nasal passages. This facilitates easier breathing and better respiratory
exchange in the lungs. Works best at a time of stress. It has proven highly
successful in continental feedlots since its introduction to the market a few
years ago. Since its introduction to Super Weanling last October, the demand
for this has far exceeded our wildest expectations, so we have now decided to
offer Lungbooster in our Cooked Calf Crunch No.2

>It is optional. Like the
Super Weanling Crunch, our standard Cooked Calf Crunch No.2 (without
Lungbooster) will continue to be available as normal.

>Extra Cost;It will cost 4 cent
per kg of feed (€40 per tonne) over the normal price of that feed. (Same as for
Super Weanling Crunch + Lungbooster).

>Example; A 75kg Calf will need to consume 0.75kgs ration per day. Extra cost will only be
3 cent per day.

Warnings;

>1. This feedstuff should only be used as part of a normal
Pneumonia & Respiratory disease prevention programme.

2. Most animals will exhibit runny noses for up to 5 or 6 days after being introduced
to this feed.
This is a result of the increased mucous production and “nasal cleansing” brought
about by the Lung Booster. There is no need to be alarmed by this, in the
absence of other symptoms of ill health.

Bulk Blown Delivery schedule for Winter 2011 is as follows:

Monday: West of Ireland deliveries

Tuesday: Kilbeggan, Mullingar, Kinnegad, Rochfortbridge, Tyrellspass areas.

Wednesday: South Offaly & North Tipperary.

Thursday: West Offaly & South Co. Westmeath. ie Cloghan, Ferbane, Shannonbridge, Ballinacarrigy, Rosemount & Moate areas.

Friday: Co.Laois & North / East Co. Offaly.

To ensure you get your delivery on time, please make sure to place your order before 1pm on the previous day. We will endeavour to deliver late orders as soon as possible, taking into consideration other deliveries in the area. Apart from bag or bulk blown deliveries, Bulk Feed is also available TIPPED by tractor and 12ton trailer. Minimum quantities will apply depending on distance from mill.

With another feed season well under way, we want to remind you of our weekly delivery schedule for deliveries:

Monday: Wholesale deliveries

Tuesday: Kinnitty, Clareen, Coolderry, Birr, Carrig, Lorrha, Rathcabbin, Banagher, Cloghan

Wednesday: Kilbeggan, Ballinagore, R’Fortbridge, Tyrellspass, Castletowngeoghegan, Mullingar.

Thursday: Mountrath, Clonaslee, Rosenallis, Mountmellick, Emo, Portarlington, Killeigh, Geashill, Daingean, Rhode, Edenderry.

Friday: Belmont, Ferbane, Shannonbridge, Athlone, Moate, Rosemount, Horseleap, Blueball, Rahan, Ballycumber, Tullamore, Clara.

To calculate the volume in pits in metres cubed (m3), multiply the average height by the average length by the average width and from the following graph you can figure out the volume of fodder you have.

Due to the strange weather patterns of recent times, it is hard to calculate the amount of fodder you need, but it is simpler to calculate an animal’s intake.

 Beef cattle will consume 2% of their bodyweight in dry matter daily, this means a 500kg bullock will consume 10kg of DM.

We are all well aware that in a time of high animal prices and high feed prices, margins from finishing cattle are tight. This leaves no room for error, so we must be very exact in what we do to get the very best of performance.

Performance:

Animal performance is totally linked to feed intake of dry matter and feed quality. Intake of poor silage (60% DMD) versus excellent (75% DMD) can be reduced by over 25%. It would be fair to say that less than 10% of silage pits are analysed each year, and so we carry-on feeding a forage with no idea of its quality. The message is simple, get a sample of your home saved feed, bring it to us, we will get it analysed and our nutritionists will discuss the best and most viable way for you to feed your animals this winter.
An animals diet must be made up of energy, protein, fibre and minerals/vitamins

Energy, protein, fibre and minerals and vitamins:

Energy is the most limiting in the diet as 60 to 80% of it is used for maintenance and thus any energy surplus to maintenance is what the animal thrives on.

Protein is very important for growth and repair, which means in a fully grown animal, it’s requirement is greatly reduced. Protein is expensive and feeding surplus protein leads to an increased need for energy to breakdown and excrete the excess. Protein requirement in bulls is higher than steers or heifers due to a greater deposition of lean meat.
Crude Protein % required in finishing diets:
Bulls Growing 14-15%
Bulls Finishing 12-13%
Steers 11-12%
Heifers 11-12%

Fibre is essential in the diet to maintain normal body function and must make up 10% of the diet, in the form of long stemmy fibre like straw or stemmy silage.

Minerals & vitamins are essential for bone formation, mammary development, immunity against respiratory infections and healthy hair and hoof. Finishing Cattle on high concentrates are vulnerable to acidosis and associated lameness but this can be prevented by providing the correct macro minerals to maintain pH stability in the rumen.

Concentrate Feeding:
Feeding high levels of concentrates is very simple and requires very little work. The highest level of feed intake is attained from concentrate feeding. It works very well but a few simple management tools are essential. Slow and careful adaption is important in introducing animals to high concentrate levels. A rise of 1kg every four days must be maintained on route to ad-lib, and high levels with forage should ideally be split between morning and evening if not fed as a total mixed ration (TMR).

If changing diets, it is important to mix the diets for a few days prior to complete changeover. Access to long fibre like straw or stemmy silage is also required, along with clean, fresh water to maintain optimum rumen function and avoid acidosis. With ad-lib, it is essential that animals never run out of meal, as they will gorge themselves.

Nugget rations are particularly well suited to ad-lib feeding as they all contain yeasacc, which is of huge benefit to the rumen. Yeasacc helps stabilize the rumen, and therefore decrease the risk of acidosis, which occurs from the rapid breakdown of starch and the lowering of rumen p.H. Many trials have shown that the inclusion of yeast in rations can boost live-weight gain by up to 10%.

Following shows the advantage of feeding hi-levels of concentrates, in a finishing period where we aim to achieve 80-90kg of carcass gain, along with ad-lib silage
Conc.(kg/day) Carcass gain kg) Days to finish
2 0.40 200
4 0.54 148
6 0.75 107
8 0.80 100
10 0.95 84
12(ad-lib) 1.00 80

Nugget Super Bullbeef is perfect for this level of feeding followed by Hi-Maize beef finisher for the last ten weeks of finishing to cope with the increased energy demand of the beef animal at that stage.
Hi-Maize comes with a superb mineral which includes an increased rate of zinc, to protect hoofs in high concentrate diets and also a digestibility enhancer.