Alternating feed in Winter

[lovetoride1965]

I have seen some ranchers around here alternating feeding only cake one day and feeding only hay the next day. Is that a good practice? My dad only fed hay during the Winter but I am open to other options. Thanks for any opinions.

 

[Bigfoot]

I've never been a fan of changing feed.

 

[3waycross]

I have seen some ranchers around here alternating feeding only cake one day and feeding only hay the next day. Is that a good practice? My dad only fed hay during the Winter but I am open to other options. Thanks for any opinions.

Depends on your forage. If you don't have any forage then you should be feeding hay every day. If they aren't maintaining a decent condition then u can supplement them with cake.
We have fed straw and cake if needed. They have to have the protein and the straw scratches the rumen and gives them mass.

 

[lovetoride1965]

Thanks for the input Bigfoot and 3waycross. To answer your question 3waycross there isn't any forage. My first instinct was that it isn't a good thing. One rancher told me that his cows do alright with that way of feeding but I don't want my cows to just do alright. The ranchers that I have seen doing it are always trying to squeeze every penny that they can out of their cows. I am for cutting costs but not when it comes to the health of my animals.

 

[Lucky_P]

We limit-feed hay and DDG - 2 or 3 hours at the hay feeders, depending upon stage of production - but they get fed EVERY day.
In addition to the nutritive value in the hay, the fermentation process in responsible, in a big way, to providing/maintaining body heat. Yeah, you could provide calories in another form, but they NEED the forage to maintain body heat.