EAT BEEF":1vczoagu said:
I was thinking about feeding ddg in bunks to supplement some cows and not cakeing them.Anybody doing this? How does it work for you?
Did it last year for the first time. We had a rough winter and some of our cows were slightly thinner than desirable. Rather than supplementing with alfalfa, we did the distillers. We fed 3 pounds/hd/day. Cows loved it, and it really put the condition back on pretty quick. If you have easy access to it, it can work really well. My brother is doing this again this winter, I am still contemplating because I beleive I can find a cheaper alternative. Believe it is right at 25% protein, so they were getting .66lbs of protein from the DDG's.
DDG are running $145/ton around me. That is $.0725/lb, so if you feed 3 lbs, $.2175/hd/day. Add on your mineral on top of that and you are up to about $.32/hd/day for the supplement and mineral combined. I can buy a protein and mineral loose supplement in bags that will cost $.31/hd/day. I am also keeping my cattle seperate from his for the first time, and my facilities don't have a bulk bin yet to store feed. That is why I am looking for alternatives. But if I had the storage facilities, I would strongly look at DDG as a supplement to beef cattle. As with anything, you will want to consider all options and decide with is the cheapest and still gives you the desired results. I can tell you DDG to cows works very well.
Just remember if you feed very much of it, DDG are VERY LOW in calcium, and you will have to feed a specialized mineral to keep the Ca

ratio in proper balance. The guy I use at the feed company says you should be able to feed 3-4 pounds of DDG's with no problems, but over that and you can cause problems with the Ca

ratio.