amount to feed

[CPLReed]

How much do you feed a regular sized beef cow in comparison to a miniature breed? I've heard 1/3 less, but that seems a bit low? Do they eat alfalfa, or? do they eat the same amount of grain as horses, more, less, non needed?

I'm trying to learn much more about cattle before I go about purchasing a few.

 

[Kingfisher]

I'm trying to learn much more about cattle before I go about purchasing a few.[/quote]

You might consider telling us where your from. Put it on your id page. I learned here you need to learn how to grow grass too. You might ask yourself " can i grow grass on my dirt?"

 

[CPLReed]

I don't know if my land will be fertile enough to grow and harvest anything, unless you mean planting seeds in the pasture.

 

[dun]

They eat a percentage of their weight. a 1200 lb cow will eat more then a 600 lb cow. So the 1/3 less would mean that they weigh 1/3 less then the full size cows.

 

[upfrombottom]

I'm guessing that you have five acres of ground and within that five acres you have a house and yard that takes up part of that. Usually when you only have that much ground here, it is because the land has been subdivided into five acre lots, which means you have close neighbors, or soon will. If you can't grow grass suitable to feed a cow, the place will be a real mess in a short while. You may look into raising something else that is profitable. Rabbits maybe?

 

[DRSCfarm]

We have 3 1/2 acres of pasture we work off of here in southern Texas. We just purchased our first bred heifer that will be pastured with our 3 horses. We feed our horses each 4 flakes of hay per day (we are in a major drought and there is no grass) and maintenance feed for the two adults and 8 pounds of feed per day for my growing yearling. Our heifer is also getting 4 flakes of coastal hay per day, 4 scoops of Purina Show Chow, a scoop of cattle cubes, and the grass in her pen. Since we are working off a small piece of acreage, we will be constantly feeding additional feed and hay. Our size of property cannot support our animals on the grass it grows alone. If you are working on a small homestead or even a bit larger but with little grass, be prepared to have to feed and hay your cow, no matter what size it is.

I hope this helped

 

[3waycross]

We have 3 1/2 acres of pasture we work off of here in southern Texas. We just purchased our first bred heifer that will be pastured with our 3 horses. We feed our horses each 4 flakes of hay per day (we are in a major drought and there is no grass) and maintenance feed for the two adults and 8 pounds of feed per day for my growing yearling. Our heifer is also getting 4 flakes of coastal hay per day, 4 scoops of Purina Show Chow, a scoop of cattle cubes, and the grass in her pen. Since we are working off a small piece of acreage, we will be constantly feeding additional feed and hay. Our size of property cannot support our animals on the grass it grows alone. If you are working on a small homestead or even a bit larger but with little grass, be prepared to have to feed and hay your cow, no matter what size it is.

I hope this helped

Good post. :tiphat: Honest too!

 

[TexasBred]

How much do you feed a regular sized beef cow in comparison to a miniature breed? I've heard 1/3 less, but that seems a bit low? Do they eat alfalfa, or? do they eat the same amount of grain as horses, more, less, non needed?

I'm trying to learn much more about cattle before I go about purchasing a few.

Reference the post by DRSCfarm. Accurate and to the point. The horses are going to eat everything down to ground level unless you keep them in a stable so you'll have very little for the cattle. Doubt you're set up to feed round bales so get ready to buy some expensive square bales of grass hay. Alfalfa will be a waste of good money.

 

[DRSCfarm]

How much do you feed a regular sized beef cow in comparison to a miniature breed? I've heard 1/3 less, but that seems a bit low? Do they eat alfalfa, or? do they eat the same amount of grain as horses, more, less, non needed?

I'm trying to learn much more about cattle before I go about purchasing a few.

Reference the post by DRSCfarm. Accurate and to the point. The horses are going to eat everything down to ground level unless you keep them in a stable so you'll have very little for the cattle. Doubt you're set up to feed round bales so get ready to buy some expensive square bales of grass hay. Alfalfa will be a waste of good money.

Even though our horses are in the barn from their morning feeding at 6 am to their evening feeding at 7 pm, they still chow our grass down. Doesn't help at all that we have had no rain whatsoever! Except for the past two days, about a total of 20 minutes of rain haha! Last summer we had a nice amount of rain and we had a surplus of grass. We could have put rotated pastures and had grass left over. So it all depends on your ground, amount of animals on your property, and amount/quality of grass that is growing.