OUT!!

Sylvia · Post by **Sylvia** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:10 pm

Surely the most joyous day of the year for Dexters and owners alike. With Apollo and the cows skipping like calves, and the calves born during the winter looking round with wide-eyed wonder at the great big world beyond the barn. Magic. :D

Woodmagic · Post by **Woodmagic** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:25 pm

The enormous joy of watching those young calves enjoying the freedom of that new wide world, as they hop, skip and jump, running races round one another, with anxious mums often maintaining an ungainly trot in their rear.

Martin · Post by **Martin** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 5:11 pm

My cows are going out this weekend, I always look forward to seeing the calves explore the great outdoors, but am always apprehensive about cows with full udders galloping around behind them.
Martin.

Louisa Gidney · Post by **Louisa Gidney** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 5:33 pm

My lot went out on 31st March, on the general feeling that if they were not let out I wouldn't have a barn left to come home to! Nothing like a Dexter for non-verbal communication.

Kathy Millar · Post by **Kathy Millar** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 9:01 pm

What I think is funny, is just opening a gate and they immediately want to go through it. If they could get hold of passports, I reckon they'd be pretty enthusiatic travellers :laugh:

PeterO · Post by **PeterO** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 5:12 am

What happened to the 'hardy' aspect of Dexters. My Dexters stayed out on the Shropshire Hills in some pretty hard winters - providing they had hedges/trees for shelter they were quite content even with iced up troughs and snow covered fields.

Peter

Martin · Post by **Martin** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 8:30 am

Hi Peter,
not all of us have land that is suitable to outwinter stock, all of my youngstock is outwintered and stocking rate very low (my five calves from last year overwintered on a 12 acre padock) but to let all of the cows outwinter would mean I had very little grass when they most need it, like now when they have calves at foot. Poaching on the land available to me would be a real headache, I do not have a set time to bring my animals inside, this winter they did not come in until 2nd January.
Martin.

Woodmagic · Post by **Woodmagic** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 8:39 am

I envy you, mine would sink beneath the mud on this farm, there have been years, despite having the grass, I have been unable to put them out before June. On my last much drier place, I had them living out and milking well, in the winter of ’63, now the cows are out by day, or in their boredom the building would be wrecked, but I wouldn’t like to put Friesians out on my fields, very often even in summer.

Sylvia · Post by **Sylvia** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 8:47 am

Same here, Martin. The animals may be hardy, but the land is not. We aren't mollycoddling our stock and it is very hard work keeping a big barn full of Dexters hand fed with haylage and bedded down nicely all winter so I'd happily leave them out if the ground would stand it. There is evidence in 2 fields now (which have had to have patches rotovated, seeded and rolled) where a group was left out a little too long and poached round the feeders. And how the cross compliance lot love that! Out wintering cows here is not an option.

Inger · Post by **Inger** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 5:20 am

Could you not use drainage rows across your paddocks? In the Waikato (centre of the North Island), we have lush farmlands which have drainage dips at frequent intervals, running across the paddocks to drain excess water away to a lower point on the farm. It is then diverted into a nearby stream or river. In this way, damage to farmland is reduced greatly.

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 6:04 am

We're on clay. So in the wintering out would be difficult even if I planted some winter fodder. I've managed to mechanise most of the indoor work except strawing down. This year I'm going to look at a straw spreader to do the job. Not a chopper, a spreader. Then keeping them in will be relatively easy and they will be kept even cleaner and use less straw because it distributes better, they say. And they don't create much dust, they also say.

I'm fortunate to have loads of concrete yards, so even when they're in, they're out. i.e. each barn has a yard and the animals can usually just roam in and out and not be standing on soft bedding all the time which I feel is the worst thing in the winter. It's hard eough walking across it yourself when it gets deep, and that's just for a few minutes. Must be really bad for their legs.

Woodmagic · Post by **Woodmagic** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 7:49 am

I agree Clive, they should be given a chance to get off deep bedding if possible, mine are in cubicles that saves on straw, and have open yarding. Inger, my ground is heavy clay and lies in a valley, all the farms for miles around drain into it. The clay pipes used 40 years ago have largely disintegrated, and I doubt Defra would approve of further work, one field close to the buildings has a water level so high, I was advised drainage would be impossible, and that is bordered by a stream.

Inger · Post by **Inger** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 9:54 am

Oh dear, that does sound bad. Why would a government department not allow new drainage pipes to be laid?

happy hollidays · Post by **happy hollidays** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 10:28 pm

We have just enough grazing for our little herd of three and a few sheep. However, the soil is clay, flint and chalk and doesn't mix well with rain and cattle. I had been managing the land quite well for a newcomer until it came to jan/feb. I have learnt that preservation is needed on my soil type earlier rather than later. They are now in the smallest field, waiting for the poached bits to grow back and yes some rain to bring the grass on as we have only had rain twice in so many weeks. The winter before and even next winter will probably be totally different to manage because it boils down to the weather!