Grazing

podge 23

Well-Known Member
What way do most lads manage dairy cows when grazing outside do ye strip graze them or paddocks pros/cons ?
 
What way do most lads manage dairy cows when grazing outside do ye strip graze them or paddocks pros/cons ?
We used to use paddock of set sizes but it didn't work very well. You'd have to be able to be more flexible with paddock sizes so you can adjust to grass cover. Some kind of compromise between strip grazing and paddock system.
 
We just split fields along the length with a permanent fence and move the troughs out to the middle the way the cows can stand all around it. That way you can put temporary fences wherever you want and still have a long run to cut silage in them.
 
During the main grazing season I do 36hr blocks where ever I can (depending on paddock sizes, sometimes it's 24hr, odd time it ends up 48hr!), I find 36hrs good in terms of the cows get 1st 2 grazings ad lib so no reduction in milk output, 3rd grazing she will work harder and should archive a good cleanout. Less labour (moving fencing every 12hrs), more settled cows (they aren't ramming into the parlour every milking waiting to get their next grass allocation) ,and finally you don't need to be nearly as accurate with your allocation sizes, considering your not trying to get exactly 12hrs of grass for each grazing.
 
We used to use paddock of set sizes but it didn't work very well. You'd have to be able to be more flexible with paddock sizes so you can adjust to grass cover. Some kind of compromise between strip grazing and paddock system.

Same here. Fixed paddocks of 2.5 acres. Found them not flexible enough for different growth rates through out the year. Also, awkward when cutting surplus grass, grass under the wire looked untidy, spreading with vacuum tank, couldn't use an umbilical system with fixed paddocks. Much prefer more gaps off the roadways. The invention of the geared reel with pigtails I think has made the fixed paddock system obsolete.
 
We just split fields along the length with a permanent fence and move the troughs out to the middle the way the cows can stand all around it. That way you can put temporary fences wherever you want and still have a long run to cut silage in them.

Do the same here. Spent the last few years removing paddocks. They are always the wrong size so would have to go with a strip wire to correct it, which leaves the paddock senseless when you think about it.
 
Same here. Fixed paddocks of 2.5 acres. Found them not flexible enough for different growth rates through out the year. Also, awkward when cutting surplus grass, grass under the wire looked untidy, spreading with vacuum tank, couldn't use an umbilical system with fixed paddocks. Much prefer more gaps off the roadways. The invention of the geared reel with pigtails I think has made the fixed paddock system obsolete.
You can sing that!
 
Same here. Fixed paddocks of 2.5 acres. Found them not flexible enough for different growth rates through out the year. Also, awkward when cutting surplus grass, grass under the wire looked untidy, spreading with vacuum tank, couldn't use an umbilical system with fixed paddocks. Much prefer more gaps off the roadways. The invention of the geared reel with pigtails I think has made the fixed paddock system obsolete.
The way it was here we had 70 acres in fields between 9 acres to 11 acres, they were originally divided in 3 paddocks per field, a wire divided each paddock so they got a 12hr period in each half. Heifers were given The after grass.
We then split them into 4 paddocks and stopped grazing the heifers afterwards. Heifers were grazed on a rented farm. This increased the rotation too far really being 28 days instead of 21.
We did things like mow in front of them and such to get them to clean the award up better and acting as topping as well but really we should have baled a few paddocks at certain times of the season.
But we were working with pits at the time so weren't going to open them up for a load or 2 and when you've your own spfh an all getting a man in to bale was just never actually thought of.
I'm not saying paddocks or grazing couldn't work, it does, but we weren't good at it and are better at making silage.
 
I have a couple question on paddock grazing
1. How do ye get cows in for milking out of the paddocks
2. How do get cows to settle into paddock after there first grazing, they would be after going all over the fresh grass
3. How do ye cover cows for grass tetney because they won't eat the ration when they have so much grass
4.How do ye get them into the parlour
 
Still on the old fashioned paddock system here with a few tweaks to make them bigger,gaps front and back etc.
Works fine anyway.
Messing with reels and pigtails does my head in,its fine if you have more workers than work.
 
A quad, gear reels, space pigtails up to 50ft apart if you can (hills need more obv). Most fences are less than 5 pigtails long, I often move them as the cows are walking up the lane way, so very little extra time spent at it. And I've some bigger silage fields that are split with pigtail fences, usually leave the fence there for several rotations and only remove it for silage or slurry etc.
 
What I mean is when ye leave the cows into the paddock for the 2nd grazing do they not run all over it and back to the gap again ? I know that's what mine would do have done .
 
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