Creep feed

[midTN_Brangusman]

that's exactly why I started creep is feeding poor hay and needing to get cows thru the winter. What I use for creep is cheap but works with what I do. I keep a feeder full of it yr round and right now I only see a calf or 2 in it every few days , They get all they need from grass right now. In the winter they are in it all the time.

M5 if you don't mind me asking what exactly do you feed and what are the costs/ton? Thanks

 

[farmerjan]

midTN: When I first moved to VA from CT (ooh, that crazy yankee female) I tried different things. I was talked about behind my back sometimes, but since I had to work animals by myself, I had to figure out ways to do it. I had brood sows, and used to back the old '53 2 ton GMC with the racks on it, up to the chute and put feed up the ramp and in the back, and taught the pigs to load themselves so that when they were ready to wean, could easily get them loaded to go to the feeder sale. And I was alot younger and more agile then but just couldn't see killing myself to catch squealing pigs. Now my son is here, but the calves that are at the pasture where I keep my nurse cows are always quieter and calmer because of using the creep gate to get the calves to come in and get their own feed without getting shoved out by the big cows at the bunk. Some of them actually get tame enough that I can pet them, and I will put the bucket down with a little feed so they will eat out of it. Then next thing you know, they are following me with the bucket cuz they know there's something good in it. Yes they can get pushy and sometimes need to get smacked, but the familiarity factor is priceless. I have little 2-3 week old calves that follow the bigger ones in, smell around, have a taste, and then go back out. In a couple of months they will be coming in to get their bite of feed. The catch pen is attached to the small barn/shed I use for the nurse cows, and I can close a gate against the creep gate, open the barn door and let the calves into the inside bunk to eat also, when the cows aren't in there. Then they aren't afraid to go into a building cuz there's a little feed in the bunk inside. And this is all using what is already there, we just built the catch pen a little bigger and made it divideable so we can get some in, shut the gate and get another group in without having the first bunch come back out. There are always some less than friendly ones and if the pushy ones are in and can't come back out, then the less aggressive ones can come in and get something and you can catch them. We seldom use 4-wheelers, or trucks , or anything to get cattle in at any of the pastures. I often put some feed in the troughs in the catch pen, then call everyone up, open the gate and let them eat and leave the gate open and they can go back out on their own. Then they don't feel like they are trapped, and they don't think that everytime I get them in that I am going to "do something to them"... try to make it a non-issue so when we do something it's like" okay we can deal with this" . I have read several posts about how smart and "unforgiving" the brangus cows are if you get them bent out of shape. This may help them to realize that you aren't out to get them and somethings in life are just part of it. I calve out the first calf heifers at this place so that I can get them more easily if there are problems. WORKS FOR ME !!!!

 

[midTN_Brangusman]

midTN: When I first moved to VA from CT (ooh, that crazy yankee female) I tried different things. I was talked about behind my back sometimes, but since I had to work animals by myself, I had to figure out ways to do it. I had brood sows, and used to back the old '53 2 ton GMC with the racks on it, up to the chute and put feed up the ramp and in the back, and taught the pigs to load themselves so that when they were ready to wean, could easily get them loaded to go to the feeder sale. And I was alot younger and more agile then but just couldn't see killing myself to catch squealing pigs. Now my son is here, but the calves that are at the pasture where I keep my nurse cows are always quieter and calmer because of using the creep gate to get the calves to come in and get their own feed without getting shoved out by the big cows at the bunk. Some of them actually get tame enough that I can pet them, and I will put the bucket down with a little feed so they will eat out of it. Then next thing you know, they are following me with the bucket cuz they know there's something good in it. Yes they can get pushy and sometimes need to get smacked, but the familiarity factor is priceless. I have little 2-3 week old calves that follow the bigger ones in, smell around, have a taste, and then go back out. In a couple of months they will be coming in to get their bite of feed. The catch pen is attached to the small barn/shed I use for the nurse cows, and I can close a gate against the creep gate, open the barn door and let the calves into the inside bunk to eat also, when the cows aren't in there. Then they aren't afraid to go into a building cuz there's a little feed in the bunk inside. And this is all using what is already there, we just built the catch pen a little bigger and made it divideable so we can get some in, shut the gate and get another group in without having the first bunch come back out. There are always some less than friendly ones and if the pushy ones are in and can't come back out, then the less aggressive ones can come in and get something and you can catch them. We seldom use 4-wheelers, or trucks , or anything to get cattle in at any of the pastures. I often put some feed in the troughs in the catch pen, then call everyone up, open the gate and let them eat and leave the gate open and they can go back out on their own. Then they don't feel like they are trapped, and they don't think that everytime I get them in that I am going to "do something to them"... try to make it a non-issue so when we do something it's like" okay we can deal with this" . I have read several posts about how smart and "unforgiving" the brangus cows are if you get them bent out of shape. This may help them to realize that you aren't out to get them and somethings in life are just part of it. I calve out the first calf heifers at this place so that I can get them more easily if there are problems. WORKS FOR ME !!!!

Thanks for your feedback farmerjan, I will have to try this next calf season.

 

[M-5]

that's exactly why I started creep is feeding poor hay and needing to get cows thru the winter. What I use for creep is cheap but works with what I do. I keep a feeder full of it yr round and right now I only see a calf or 2 in it every few days , They get all they need from grass right now. In the winter they are in it all the time.

M5 if you don't mind me asking what exactly do you feed and what are the costs/ton? Thanks

Its a pnut byproduct , hulls, skins,and pieces of pnuts made into a 5/16x 1/2" to 1" pellet 9.5% protein 5% fat . I buy it for 100.00 a ton . for the calf feeder I just auger it in but I started mixing a 50# bag of dry molasses to about 600# of pellets last yr and that makes it a little more palatable for the calves. the cows get approx. 50# a day in plastic feed bunks while I feed hay. They eat it fine without any sweetner . It also keeps them busy while I unroll there daily allotment of hay. I typically carry 20 to 25 cows over winter with the majority of them have had the calves weaned by December. with testing my hay I have been able to adjust what I supplement. I feed poorest quality first and best quality in middle of winter and the medium quality in spring when I start getting a little grazing coming on,.

 

[Rusty Faucet]

Creep feeding is a thing of the past...big fat calves get discounted real hard...and I don't see any real big benefits when it comes weaning time either.

 

[Stocker Steve]

They LOST money on these calves that were creep fed. I'm not talking about a little bit either. I can't find where I wrote it down but it was something like $85 per head lost. Has anyone done a similar test and have numbers to show proof of money gained or lost on creep feed?

Yes, I run the numbers. Keys are VOG, lbs feed per lb gain, genetics, sex, and cost of feed. Results vary so proof is fleeting.

Creep salesmen can not explain the wide variation of lbs/lb. The old saying is to supplement - - not substitute. :cowboy: So some ways to make a little $ supplementing:
1) use unsalable feed (like low test weight home grown grain)
2) use an intake limiter (like Accuration or a 5 gallon bucket)
3) only feed for a short time period to get them bunk broke
4) only do this when calf prices are high
5) only do this when pasture is washy
6) only creep steers
7)

 

[Craig Miller]

They LOST money on these calves that were creep fed. I'm not talking about a little bit either. I can't find where I wrote it down but it was something like $85 per head lost. Has anyone done a similar test and have numbers to show proof of money gained or lost on creep feed?

Yes, I run the numbers. Keys are VOG, lbs feed per lb gain, genetics, sex, and cost of feed. Results vary so proof is fleeting.

Creep salesmen can not explain the wide variation of lbs/lb. The old saying is to supplement - - not substitute. :cowboy: So some ways to make a little $ supplementing:
1) use unsalable feed (like low test weight home grown grain)
2) use an intake limiter (like Accuration or a 5 gallon bucket)
3) only feed for a short time period to get them bunk broke
4) only do this when calf prices are high
5) only do this when pasture is washy
6) only creep steers
7)

Thanks for the response. What is VOC? Finally someone who hasn't just assumed he was making money.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Value of Gain
$/lb for weight added
((end price/lb x end wt) - (initial price/lb x initial wt))) / (end wt - initial wt)

 

[gizmom]

Craig

We creep fed calves for years, but quit a few years ago. We now have creep gates into the winter pastures so the calves get really good grass. We have actually had better weights on the calves on grass than we did on the creep feeders. I think part of that is we are doing a better job managing our winter pastures, so the cows are getting good grass and making more milk. I don't have the actual % of weight increase but can tell you we got more bang for our buck out of good winter pasture than we did creep feed. The boss actually sold the creep feeders two years ago so I don't think he has any plans of going back to creep feeding. We did keep one creep feeder but it isn't getting used.

gizmom

 

[Craig Miller]

Craig

We creep fed calves for years, but quit a few years ago. We now have creep gates into the winter pastures so the calves get really good grass. We have actually had better weights on the calves on grass than we did on the creep feeders. I think part of that is we are doing a better job managing our winter pastures, so the cows are getting good grass and making more milk. I don't have the actual % of weight increase but can tell you we got more bang for our buck out of good winter pasture than we did creep feed. The boss actually sold the creep feeders two years ago so I don't think he has any plans of going back to creep feeding. We did keep one creep feeder but it isn't getting used.

gizmom

Thank you for your input