ADG on ryegrass?

[gabby]

I have 50 head of 5 and 6 wt. steer and heifer calves on 30 acres of ryegrass that was broadcast on plowed ground last Sept. Last week I put 60 units/acre of N on it and then turned the calves in on it after a good rain.

The grass is finally looking good and the calves have been grazing it for 6 days and haven't put much of a dent in it yet.

How much will they gain per day? All they're getting is the ryegrass and hi-mag minerals. They've been wormed, castrated and vaccinated.

The calves will be in a video auction the first week of March. I hope they fatten up and don't eat it down before then. They were on peanut hay prior to the ryegrass.

Should I supplement them with feed? I hate to pay such high feed prices. I'd be more inclined to give them a little peanut hay if the grass gets short.
Thanks,
gabby

 

[MikeC]

If you have enough hay go ahead and put some out there with them. They'll be more inclined to be able to absorb/digest the nutrients in the hay with the abundance of protein in that ryegrass.

With the hay and ryegrass, they should gain 3 lbs. per day if they are from adequate genetics.

The hay will firm the manure up a little and stretch the grass some too.

I've seen a few bulls gain 4 lbs, but not very many can do that.

 

[bigbull338]

as said put hay out for them to keep their manure firm.you might also want to feed them 3lbs of grain as well.they should gain from 2 to 3lbs a day on rye pasture.maybe more depending on their conversion rate.an how much they are eating.

 

[TexasBred]

Grazing is the most impossible t hings I can think of to try to measure. You can estimate but never be exact. If fertilized you can count on the rye grass testing 25 to 27% crude protein on a dry matter basis but it will also be 85% water. You should get good gain and I too would probably put out some hay for them. Nothing like a load of cattle going to market right off rye or wheat. They'll lose 40 lb. each during the trip squirting it out the sides of the trailer.

 

[novatech]

as said put hay out for them to keep their manure firm.you might also want to feed them 3lbs of grain as well.they should gain from 2 to 3lbs a day on rye pasture.maybe more depending on their conversion rate.an how much they are eating.

I understand feeding the hay. With high protein rye you need to stop them up a little. I do not understand the feed. If they get more proein than their system can absorb then what can the feed do for them?

 

[MikeC]

as said put hay out for them to keep their manure firm.you might also want to feed them 3lbs of grain as well.they should gain from 2 to 3lbs a day on rye pasture.maybe more depending on their conversion rate.an how much they are eating.

I understand feeding the hay. With high protein rye you need to stop them up a little. I do not understand the feed. If they get more proein than their system can absorb then what can the feed do for them?

I don't know what he means either? Maybe some energy? It ain't that cold in south Georgia now.................

 

[bigbull338]

yes engery an keeping their rumun going.plus it keeps the calves gentle an bunk broke.most cattle get wild an crazy on winter pasture if you dont feed them some.an wild cattle cost you money when it comes penning time.

 

[gabby]

Thanks for the replies and advice. I'm giving them coastal hay this morning. Up to 3 pounds gain per day sounds real good. I was hoping for at least 2 pounds per day.

I've been carrying those critters all winter hoping for a break and it looks like calf prices are finally on the upswing. I hope it stays that way for about 3 more weeks at least, until I get 'em sold!
gabby

 

[gabby]

Update - they ain't interested in the hay at all, and it's really good hay! They're still loose but they're getting fat so I guess I shouldn't worry??

 

[MikeC]

Update - they ain't interested in the hay at all, and it's really good hay! They're still loose but they're getting fat so I guess I shouldn't worry??

They'll start nibbling on it in a few days when the new wears off the grazing.

Hope they gain 10 lbs. per day! ;-)

 

[Fred]

You're not going to get a whole lot of grazing out of your ryegrass if you pull them out the first week of March. Did the drought keep your ryegrass from being ready to graze earlier in the season?

 

[gabby]

You're not going to get a whole lot of grazing out of your ryegrass if you pull them out the first week of March. Did the drought keep your ryegrass from being ready to graze earlier in the season?

After these calves are sold in early March I'll use it for the next batch of calves that I haven't weaned yet. Yes the fall was very dry. Planted Marshall ryegrass in Sept. and no grazing till recently.

It seems like Marshall ryegrass takes forever to get to grazing height.

I planted my second batch of Marshall in November, then some regular Oregon ryegrass in December, and now the December Oregon ryegrass is bigger than the November Marshall ryegrass. What's up with that?

 

[MikeC]

It seems like Marshall ryegrass takes forever to get to grazing height.

I planted my second batch of Marshall in November, then some regular Oregon ryegrass in December, and now the December Oregon ryegrass is bigger than the November Marshall ryegrass. What's up with that?

The gulf ryegrass was prolly planted in a more fertile area.

In all my years of planting different varieties of ryegrass, I have not seen an advantage of Marshall over the Gulf variety, except that it lasts about 2 weeks longer at the end of the growing season.

In fact, it hinders my permanent grass at that point. The Marshall is all hype to me.

 

[simangus23]

You wont get 3 lbs of gain on ryegrass without providing them some energy

 

[novatech]

You wont get 3 lbs of gain on ryegrass without providing them some energy

I have one. It's more a matter of genetics.

 

[gabby]

You wont get 3 lbs of gain on ryegrass without providing them some energy

What do you mean? Grain? They sure run and buck and kick like they have plenty of energy.

I priced so-called creep pellets and they were about $15/100 lb. bag. Way too rich for my blood.

They're finally eating some of the coastal hay.