cracked, ground ear or ground shell corn ?

[tncattle]

I talked with a local cattleman today that told me I would be wasting around 50% of the corn if I fed cracked corn instead of feeding ground ear or ground shell corn. He said a large portion of the cracked corn just goes straight through them and out the other end. I will be feeding 800-850 pd. heifers and steers that also will have good grass to eat.

 

[bigbull338]

he is right you dont want to see much if any corn in their manure.because it is a waste.if you have them on good pasture.id just feed them 2 or 3lbs a hd every other day.but feed them everyday for 2wks to get them bunk broke an used to you.

 

[angie1]

I talked with a local cattleman today that told me I would be wasting around 50% of the corn if I fed cracked corn instead of feeding ground ear or ground shell corn.

We feed cracked corn/rolled corn so I am anxious to see responses to this. Has always been big debate whole shelled vs cracked..... I personally don't think it makes a difference so much one way or the other. When you talk about feeding ground ear corn, that is something different as now much of the bulk is the cob.

 

[Wewild]

Dad use to feed whole crushed corn to his heifers. I recall at times he would add cotton seed hull and some cotten seed meal. I don't give them anything now but grass and some feed from time to time to get them to come to us.

 

[dun]

It's been cussed and discussed a bunch with links to the appropriate studys. There is something like a 14% difference in what is actually used between cracked and whole and around the same difference between cracked and ground. The only reason you see cracked or whole in the manure is because it's a more visible chunk, ground passes through the same way but it's so fine you can;t see it.

 

[mnmtranching]

It's always interesting the different views on this.

I feed cracked to the cattle. Cattle are very capable of digesting even shell corn. There has been test after test after test that shows 10% of corn isn't digested whether ground, cracked or whole. Just that bigger pieces are more visible. And the extra cost of grinding isn't justified. And cattle do better if they have something to chew. Example, one of the reasons feed is pelleted or caked, it encourages cattle to chew.

other thoughts?

 

[angie1]

I feed cracked to the cattle. Cattle are very capable of digesting even shell corn. There has been test after test after test that shows 10% of corn isn't digested whether ground, cracked or whole. Just that bigger pieces are more visible. And the extra cost of grinding isn't justified. And cattle do better if they have something to chew. Example, one of the reasons feed is pelleted or caked, it encourages cattle to chew.

This is confirmed by what I have learned. Is why we chose cracked as well.

 

[dun]

This is confirmed by what I have learned. Is why we chose cracked as well.

A side effect od ground is the rapid digestion of the starch can cause digestive problems. Around here you can;t feed ground becuae it doesn;t do any good to pour it in the feeder when the wind just blows it away.

 

[Wewild]

A side effect of ground is the rapid digestion of the starch can cause digestive problems. Around here you can;t feed ground because it doesn't;t do any good to pour it in the feeder when the wind just blows it away.

Don't seem he had those problems or he would have quit doing it. It may come down to what he raised.

 

[larryshoat]

As I undrstand it, the question was about cattle to be fattened . Cracked or shelled I don't think it makes much difference, but with shelled we are pretty much committed to using a pellet for protien and that is just too expensive . For that reason I crack my fat cattle feed, then use corn gluten,or distillers, or soybean meal plus a base mix . This is in a feedlot, on young green grass you won't need much protien, but be aware as the summer progresses we will need to add a little protien. All that being said I don't think there is any better feed for cattle than ground ear corn .

Larry

 

[tncattle]

Does feeding cracked corn daily effect the digestion of the grass they will be eating?

 

[angie1]

No.

 

[dun]

Does feeding cracked corn daily effect the digestion of the grass they will be eating?

Depends on the quantity of corn being fed. Grass/forage/hay takes different rumen flora then corn. Whichever type of feed they;re eating is what there is the most of in the gut.

 

[ALX.]

I feed cracked - hammer milled.Buy it as whole kernel and mill it as I need. Almost like flour with chunks of shell in it.
The last I researched cattle utilize 6-8% more of the cracked corn than whole grain.

You have to be very careful introducing it into the ration but I like it for 2 reasons.
Once they are going on it they seem to like eating it more than whole so you can really get them gaining, and it mixes with other feeds easily.

With corn approaching $200 a ton it easily is worth the extra work, dust and electricity cost.

 

[tncattle]

How slowly should the cracked be introduced to them if they are good grass? Like pds. per day. They will be 800 pd. heifers and maybe a steer or two. I still want them to utilize the grass also that is there whenever they want it.

 

[ALX.]

How slowly should the cracked be introduced to them if they are good grass?

What are your feeding goals? What breed?
You gonna be there for every corn feeding?

I usually start at 2lbs per head/day. Stay there a week or more, then start upping it very gradually. Depends on the other feed in the ration.

 

[tncattle]

How slowly should the cracked be introduced to them if they are good grass?

What are your feeding goals? What breed?
You gonna be there for every corn feeding?

I usually start at 2lbs per head/day. Stay there a week or more, then start upping it very gradually. Depends on the other feed in the ration.

The four heifers that I'm going to try and buy are Angus/Charolais cross. I'm going to split the feeding duties with another person. I talked with a cattleman today who said instead of feeding every day you can feed every other day or every three days but make sure it works out to what you would be feeding if you did it every day. He said he has done this and the gains were a little better than feeding every day. I'm feeding them out for slaughter at around 1050-1100 pds.

 

[ALX.]

The four heifers that I'm going to try and buy are Angus/Charolais cross. I'm going to split the feeding duties with another person. I talked with a cattleman today who said instead of feeding every day you can feed every other day or every three days but make sure it works out to what you would be feeding if you did it every day. He said he has done this and the gains were a little better than feeding every day. I'm feeding them out for slaughter at around 1050-1100 pds.

I have no experience just leaving the feed out, we feed twice a day and run it as a feedlot might.
Bunks are watched closely etc...

I'd be leery leaving that much cracked out, you never know if one is eating more than the others and if they gorge it can give them acidosis and put them off feed for a week or longer. You don't want the see-saw effect.

Are the bunks covered? I might lean to kernel grain if they are not.

 

[mnmtranching]

Better to feed smaller amounts more often. Everyday, twice a day is better. You got to control their intake. It's bad practice to put large amounts of corn out for a hungry critter.

 

[TexasBred]

I personally prefer steam rolled corn, however, as Dun mentioned everybody has their own preferences. Most "cracked corn" that appears in the manure is no longer corn. The nutrients have been utilized and you simply see the appearance of corn. Whole shelled corn will have a little more pass thru the cattle unless the outer skin has been broken. If the skin is broken the digestive juices in the animal will utilize the nutrients. Calves and yearlings have a tendency to chew feed better than adult cattle so don't waste as much. Mature cattle tend to be "gobblers" and will swallow feed as quickly as they can get it wet enough to do so without chewing so they will have more corn pass thru. Some whole corn will always pass thru the cattle and even sprout. As MM mentioned, grinding or cracking is not always worth the cost of getting it processed. And as Dun also mentioned, all the ingredients pass thru the cow...cottonseed meal, soybean meal, corn gluten feed, etc. They are just so finely ground that you don't see them. Nutrients have been removed and digested. So I guess the answer to the question is that there is no perfect answer. Use what is available and cost effective for you.

Feeding corn once every 2-3 days in large amounts is asking for problems.