Figure 2: Average birth weight, monthly live weight and average daily gain (ADG) of Angus/Jersey cross
calves up to the age of 13-months
at 7-months of age, the ADG decreased slightly and stabilised at
0.75 kg/day. This was expected due
to the decrease in pasture quality
and availability during the winter
months.
Accumulative calf feed and veterinary input cost in 3-month increments is presented in Table 1. Pasture intake was calculated at 2.5%
of live body weight. Veterinary
costs included all vaccinations and
internal and external parasite control. Input cost of the 3-6, 6-9 and
9-12 month calf age groups decreased by 7, 14 and 64%, respectively, when compared to the input
cost of the 0-3 month calf age
group excluding the value of the
calf. The calf will cost you less the
longer you keep the calf on pasture.
This is because pasture is the cheapest source of animal feed. Given a
scenario that the selling price/kg
live weight for a calf will stay the
same at 3-months (120 kg) and 12months of age (300 kg), it can be
expected to achieve a 240% in-
First generation Angus/Jers W