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Feeding Cattle
By David Selman, Tracker-Outdoors.com, Fri Dec 9th
Feeding Cattle
By David Selman, Tracker-Outdoors.com, Fri Dec 9th
A cow can eat 25 to 30 pounds of hay a day and waste a couple ofmore pounds. This adds up to 27 to 32 pounds per day per cow.Allow about half this amount for weanling calves and aboutthree-quarters for yearlings.Large round bales often do notweigh as much as you might think. It is not unusual for socalled 1000 pound bales to weigh 800 pounds or less. Inaddition, bales stored outside on the ground may easily lose 20to 30 percent more weight. Covered bales can also lose 10 to 15percent if a portion of the bales are in contact with theground. Look for additional forage alternatives. Beef cattlehave the ability to consume numerous types of feed and performwell. Hay can be expensive and in some years more expensive thanothers. Feed hay only when needed or when costs warrants doingso. A popular forage substitute is commercially prepared pasturecubes. These cubes, or large pellets, can be fed on the groundbut preferably in troughs and are designed to substitute forsome portion of the hay. Use crop residues such as corn stalks.When available, crop residues can trim many days off the hayfeeding period when pasture is limited. The use of supplementalfeeds can reduce the need for and consumption of hay. Highstarch supplement feeds such as corn reduce consumption offorage and hay. Corn may be "substituted" for hay. High starchfeeds, such as corn, do decrease use of forages in a"free-choice" forage situation. But when forage is limited, corncan be used to "stretch" the hay supply, especially when corn isrelatively inexpensive. Cattle should be adapted to corn slowlyover a 7 - 10 day period. As a rule of thumb, one pound of corncan replace two pounds of hay. Do not feed less than five poundsof hay per day with corn. With low-quality forages, proteinoften improves forage consumption and use. This is because theprotein requirements of the rumen microbes must be met if forageis going to be effectively used. If hay doesn't meet the proteinrequirements of the animal, add supplemental protein. Forexample, adding as little as a pound a day of a 30 to 40 percentprotein feed could increase total hay consumption and assist inkeeping cows in optimal body condition. Soybean meal, cottonseedmeal, corn gluten feed, whole cottonseed and commercial mixturesare some suggested protein sources. Provide adequate mineralsupplements. Minerals do not have to be super expensive to work,but rarely are the "cheapest" alternatives the best. Geneticallysuperior cattle have higher mineral requirements. This becomesapparent if nutritional needs are being stretched in a difficultweather situation. Processing feeds may or may not improveefficiency. Many feedstuffs (milo, whole soybeans) need to be atleast coarsely ground or hammered to make nutrients available,while others do not. Most research has shown that only marginalbenefits are gained from grinding corn. In fact, fine grindingof corn increases dust and makes it more likely to causedigestive upset. The best argument for using a coarsely groundor cracked corn is that it improves mixing with otheringredients. Pick a supplement that fits the situation. Manyproducers do not have time to carefully mix ingredients andbalance rations. Some do not have time for daily feeding. Someproducts, such as whole cottonseed, are excellent sources ofboth energy and protein, but generally require considerablelabor in feeding. Consider labor and equipment in selecting afeed to stretch forages. However, most of the low laboralternatives cost more. This is often termed the "cost ofconvenience." A feed that is expensive to one producer may be abargain to another. Manage feeding
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to stretch hay supplies. Feedin hay rings. Without rings, consider unrolling hay, but only ifthe amount that can be consumed in one feeding can be unrolled.If too much is unrolled cows will use the excess for bedding.Cut and remove the strings on large bales fed in bay rings aswell as that unrolled. Learn when to feed more hay. This iseasier said than done. Sometimes the last 1/4 to 1/3 of a largeround hay bale is weather damaged, spoiled and has low nutritivevalue. Forcing cattle to eat this may decrease both productionand body condition. Conversely, replenishing hay before thecattle have eaten the "good parts" of previously fed hay isinefficient and wasteful with limited hay supplies. Developingthe knack to feed correctly may require that the managercarefully observe the remnant hay in the feeder to assessquality. Avoid excessive mud. Walking through mud very quicklyburns energy. Many days of this can definitely decreaseperformance and body condition. It is also hard on the personwho does the feeding. Increase hay allotment in cold weather.Nothing makes body heat better than consumption of plenty ofgood hay. Corn does not increase body heat as well as hay. Alittle protein will allow cows to better digest hay and increasebody heat. Watch the cows! Carefully observe the body conditionof your cattle. Strive to keep only minimal ribs showing; backbone and hooks visible but covered. When too many ribs andbackbones are showing increase hay or supplement. Cows with poorbody condition have been shown to be slower to re-breed and lesslikely to breed at all. This is particularly true with firstcalf heifers. Calves born to poorly conditioned cows are likelyto have lighter birth weights and be more susceptible to scoursand pneumonia. These calves often will not suckle and survivalis poor. Severely undernourished cows may not have adequatecolostrum to prevent disease. Nutritional Needs: Water - Clean,fresh water must always be available to your cattle. A matureanimal will generally consume between 10 and 20 gallons a day,so be sure to use a container large enough to hold thatquantity. Water needs increase with hot weather. Althoughinitially expensive, you may want to invest in an automaticwatering system (available through farm supply stores) as itwill greatly reduce water waste. Salt - Salt should always beavailable to your cattle. Salt blocks and specially designedholders for them can be purchased at most feed stores. Feed -Cattle are ruminants (animals with stomachs that have 4chambers) and consequently, rely mainly on hay or pasture fortheir dietary needs. Grain is very high in energy, and thereforewe do not recommend its use for healthy cattle. Feed necessaryfor maintenance is approximately 2% of the animal's body weightin dry matter/hay per day. Pasture should be of a good quality & plentiful as it providesthe bulk of their dietary needs. Before pasturing, be sure toremove all plants that are poisonous to cattle. Contact yourCounty Ag Extension Agent for a complete listing of poisonousplants in your area. If adequate pasture is not available, youwill need to supplement with hay. Adult cattle need 2 lbs of hayper 100 lbs of body weight daily. Alfalfa hay is a very highprotein hay and should only be used for sick or debilitatedanimals. To avoid hay waste, we suggest the use of a hay feeder.If feeding your cattle outdoors, place hay under cover toprevent wet feed - a costly and unhealthy problem. To locate asource of hay in your area, check with your County Ag ExtensionAgent for a listing of hay/straw auctions or look in the farmingsection of your local paper. It is less expensive per bale ifyou can buy in large quantities, therefore it is well worth theinvestment to build some type of hay storage building or loft. Article By Tracker Outdoors www.tracker-outdoors.com (Article continued below)
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