Cattle cubes

[Cormac]

Can you feed too many? I have been feeding three bred angus cows cubes using a 5 gallon pail to measure the amount (probably 7" from the bottom). They get this I am guessing about 4-5 days a week. Sometimes to get out of a gate, I dump another 3-4" (in a bucket) on the ground to keep them occupied. At this point, I am not too worried about the cost' involved but rather concerned about health issues or the potential for oversized calves. BTW, these cows are in the pasture so they graze all the time. I just bought 5 more cows and do not want any health concerns. With 8 cows cost will come into play very soon. Thanks

 

[LonghornRanch]

We need to know what you're feeding in real numbers..... pounds. I would just stop feeding them all together. You only want to feed to get them in a pen or to look them over. Or if your pastures are used up.

 

[Scotty]

I say yes. You can pack on pounds on cows not needing the extra feed. Feed them to your environment.

 

[msscamp]

Can you feed too many?

Yes.

 

[Bullbuyer]

I personally wouldn't feed any more than it takes to get them to come in to your feeding area. We throw out some dry feed once or twice a week so that they are used to coming into the loading area - makes sorting in the fall a lot easier. But I'm also talking about 60 - 70 head.

 

[johndeerefarmer]

Depends on the cube. Are you feeding 20% high energy breeder cubes? If so, then 1-4 lbs a day is usual, depending on the forage. Are you pastures fertilized? If not, then what you are feeding will not hurt them.
A full 5 gallon bucket is around 25 lbs. I feed my 30 head about a pound per day when I go check on them. Keeps them gentle and makes them easy to count.

You could always buy a lower protien cube for this use and when winter hits go back to 20%.

As far as over feeding your cattle goes, I read an article a few days ago that dystocia (difficult calving) is not caused by or is affected very little by over feeding heifers.