Limit grazing Winter Annuals

[Douglas]

I am currently grazing my dry cows on lush Rye/Ryegrass for about 5-6 hrs per day. The rest of the time they have a very little . I know normally you would graze 2-3 hrs. and provide free choice hay. I basically put them out when i leave work for lunch and when i get home in the evening.
Shouldn't this be enough for well conditioned dry cows?

[1982vett]

Best way to tell is to observe them. Are they "busy" grazing when you get home to close them out? I turn mine on in the morning and in the afternoon when I run the off they are mostly laying or standing around. Really, they should be getting plenty in that amount of time.

My situation this year is different than any other year I remember and sounds like what you have. I still have a little green pasture, not a lot but a lot of oats to graze and haven't been feeding hay. Would generally always feed hay in the afternoon after closing them out of the oats and turn them back in the next day after they cleaned up the hay. Biggest "problem" I have is cows with the squirts. Just to much green. Much as I hated to I started taking some hay out this week. Had 1 7/10ths of rain Sunday night so that gave me a reason to keep them shut out of the oats and feed them some not so great hay. Turned them in late yesterday and this morning they were coming off (their choice) and cleaning up the hay. Good chance of rain tonight so I left them on and will take them some hay this afternoon and close them out again.

[bigbull338]

I am currently grazing my dry cows on lush Rye/Ryegrass for about 5-6 hrs per day. The rest of the time they have a very little . I know normally you would graze 2-3 hrs. and provide free choice hay. I basically put them out when i leave work for lunch and when i get home in the evening.
Shouldn't this be enough for well conditioned dry cows?

they only need to graze that lush rye grass or about 2hrs.because by then they are full.an once full they will lay down an mash the grass down.so your letting them tromp alot down by being in there 5 to 6hrs a day.

[JRGidaho`]

I am currently grazing my dry cows on lush Rye/Ryegrass for about 5-6 hrs per day. The rest of the time they have a very little . I know normally you would graze 2-3 hrs. and provide free choice hay. I basically put them out when i leave work for lunch and when i get home in the evening.
Shouldn't this be enough for well conditioned dry cows?

they only need to graze that lush rye grass or about 2hrs.because by then they are full.an once full they will lay down an mash the grass down.so your letting them tromp alot down by being in there 5 to 6hrs a day.

I have to agree with bb338 here. Two periods of two hours each and your dry pregnant cows should be getting plenty to eat. The longer they get to just hang around out there the more they will waste and the wetter it gets to be the faster they will waste it.

Are you using electric fence to restrict them to a smaller area for that 5-hr period when you go to work? That will save a lot of waste.

[Douglas]

^ Yes, i have it subdivided but it is taking 3 or 4 days (at 5hrs per day) to graze it down in each paddock. The regrowth tho will probably only take only one day. More subdivisions would have been better.

But the question i still have is 2-3 hrs of rye plus hay, versus 5 hrs and no hay.

[1982vett]

But the question i still have is 2-3 hrs of rye plus hay, versus 5 hrs and no hay.

Might be as simple as knowing which you are most apt to run out of? Hay or grazing. Juggling back and forth will keep the squitrs down, stretch hay and grazing supplies and keep the cows happy. I work around the weather mostly. I'll give them extra time on grazing if it is supposed to rain then feed hay while the ground dries up some. (Last year it was hay with a little time on grazing, Wet ground wasn't a problem, dry ground was.) If they aren't super loose and you have plenty of grazing to last, I'd let them graze but a mix of hay and grazing keeps me from having to supplement protien.

When I was working and didn't have time to micro-manage grazing, it was mostly in(grazing) for a day and out(hay) for a day.

[ColemanCreekCattle]

Dry cows dont need rye grazing at all --I think some medium quality hay would be best as they are on a low nutrition need as a dry cow--anyway.

If you have some cows that need body condition then yeah 2 hours per day would be plenty

5 is way too much as most of the nutrition you are giving them is going out the back door --wasted

CCC

[TexasBred]

I am currently grazing my dry cows on lush Rye/Ryegrass for about 5-6 hrs per day. The rest of the time they have a very little . I know normally you would graze 2-3 hrs. and provide free choice hay. I basically put them out when i leave work for lunch and when i get home in the evening.
Shouldn't this be enough for well conditioned dry cows?

Grazing is next to impossible to measure but the 2-3 hour rule of thumb ordinarily works well, however, msot are then given free choice hay of some kind. Keep in mind that the ryegrass will be about 80-85% water so they are not getting a lot of dry matter intake and are probably wasting a lot of protein. I"m sure they're all pretty loose by now also....sure wish you had some hay or other grazing to compliment this good ryegrass.

[1982vett]

Dry cows dont need rye grazing at all --I think some medium quality hay would be best as they are on a low nutrition need as a dry cow--anyway.

If you have some cows that need body condition then yeah 2 hours per day would be plenty

5 is way too much as most of the nutrition you are giving them is going out the back door --wasted

CCC

What about a dry cow 2-3 months from calving......
Careful with the blanket statements.

http://beefmagazine.com/health/1231-lat ... eparation/

[Douglas]

Dry cows dont need rye grazing at all --I think some medium quality hay would be best as they are on a low nutrition need as a dry cow--anyway.

If you have some cows that need body condition then yeah 2 hours per day would be plenty

5 is way too much as most of the nutrition you are giving them is going out the back door --wasted

CCC

What about a dry cow 2-3 months from calving......
Careful with the blanket statements.

http://beefmagazine.com/health/1231-lat ... eparation/

This is exactly why i do it. I calve in Feb.

[ColemanCreekCattle]

Cows 2-3 months from calving surely dont need it --I think you are wasting your grazing. A cow that weighs in at 1250+ only needs 1.8 lbs of TP on average prior to calving especially 2 to 3 months out.
medium quality grass hay of 12% CP and 55% TDN would be enough--let's see:
1250 lb cow x .028 = 35 lbs of hay consumption
35 lbs x 0.12 x 55% TDN = 2.31 lbs TP -- they are gonna get fat on Hay, but on 5 hours of grazing and the possibility of larger birth weights in the Spring anyway -- I would recommend buying some calf chains and keeping your Vets number Handy in 3 months time
Put some growing calves on they grazing and put these low nutrient gals on some hay

Dry cows dont need rye grazing at all --I think some medium quality hay would be best as they are on a low nutrition need as a dry cow--anyway.

If you have some cows that need body condition then yeah 2 hours per day would be plenty

5 is way too much as most of the nutrition you are giving them is going out the back door --wasted

CCC

What about a dry cow 2-3 months from calving......
Careful with the blanket statements.

http://beefmagazine.com/health/1231-lat ... eparation/

[Douglas]

Unfortunately with the cold snap that has hit us hard the last few weeks, hay is all i got now.
thanks for the info ccc

[TexasBred]

35 lbs x 0.12 x 55% TDN = 2.31 lbs TP -- they are gonna get fat on Hay, but on 5 hours of grazing and the possibility of larger birth weights in the Spring anyway -- I would recommend buying some calf chains and keeping your Vets number Handy in 3 months time

Don't concentrate so heavily on protein and put more emphasis on energy. Cows in a negative energy balance situation seldom gain any noticeable weight. Most excess protein is simply "passed thru". A bred cow is not only tryin to maintain her own body condition but also give birth to a lively energetic calf with a good chance of surviving, not to mention the energy used to digest the 35 lbs. of hay.