Summer heifer management
Flies, gnats, and other biting
insects plus hot sticky weather
sure “play hob” with animals and
people who can’t get inside.
For the past month our heifers
have been coming down from the
hill between 6:30 and 7:30 each
morning. We can almost pin point
the time the gnats start swarming
Brockets Ag Advice
By John E. Brockett
Farm Management Agent
Lewistown Extension Office
by their migration to the shade of
the free stall bam. They go back
out again about dusk. We try to
make sure they have plenty of hay
available in the bam.
I feel sorry for those poor
animals who have to be out in the
type of weather and insect laden
air we’re having this summer.
How can they grow properly if
most of their daylight hours are
spent milling around fighting the
biting “bugs”.
Control insects
Controlling insects may be
harder this year than in most
years. A wet June must have been
ideal for them. In years past,
we’ve sprayed, treated, and dusted
our heifers which usually has
produced results. This year all this
treatment has been of limited
value.
That doesn’t mean to quit,
however. Some suggestions:
eliminate lush green weeds around
buildings; keep stored manure in
one place where it can crust; treat
buildings or shelters where
animals congregate; treat the
animal (ask your county agent for
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 14,1982—D9
approved material)
Feed
Feed some good forage to sup
plement pasture. You may also
want to feed some grain if your
forage is not top quality. Feed
minerals and vitamins as part of a
grain mix or separately.
If you feed silage, haylage, or
grain, do not allow any of this
material to stay in the feed bunk
more than 24 hours. In the hot
humid weather we’ve had
recently, perhaps even 24 hours is
too long.
Clean out leftover feed and
discard it. If it stays in the feed
bunks too long, it will become
spoiled.
Spoiled feed is bad for 2 reasons.
First it will spoil any fresh feed
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that it touches. Second it will
reduce the palatibility of all feed
put into the bunk because of both
taste and odor.
The worst mistake a farmer can
make is to say that the animals will
have to clean up all of the feed in
the feeder before they get any
more. That is very poor
economics.
Heifers appreciate clean cool
water for the same reason you do.
Waterers or watemg tubs should
be cleaned periodically. Cleaning
is especially important in hot
weather because animals need
more water and feed and other
organic material that gets into the
water spoils faster than in cold
weather.
Always put yourself in the place
of your animal. Would you relish
stale crackers (stale hay, haylage,
or silage)? Would you like to drink
water from a glass filled with
partly rotten grain, grass, or
silage? Would you appreciate it if
you were forced to stand out in the
sun with gnats "buzzing” you all
day?
Remember that well-grown
heifers will probably make more
profit for you than undersized
ones. They are bigger so they can
eat more. Since they already have
good growth, more of their
nutrients can go into producing
milk. They can probably enter the
milking string at an earlier age
due to better size and a better
developed reproductive system.
THINKINI
BUILD