Distillers

[Berrong19]

We have been considering buying wet distillers grain this winter for our cattle. We have 55 head of cows all in 2nd and 3rd stage, and a group of calves locked up we are feeding out. They all have hay at all times. We've never used distillers before and was just wanting to get some feed back from guys who have used it in the past or use it now. Can you feed free choice? What happens if you over feed it? Does it cause bloat or founder? Whats the pros and cons on it?

 

[Buck Randall]

It needs to be limit fed. Free choice feeding will cause acidosis and potentially sulfur toxicity.

It's very good feed. Even if free choice were safe, it would be a huge waste of nutrients to let cows have their fill. Use it to supplement poor quality forage on cows. Talk with a nutritionist for help with the most cost effective feeding rate.

 

[Lucky_P]

We limit-fed modified or dry distillers' grain products for 12 years. Never fed 'wet'... but some batches of 'modified' we got were pretty doggone 'wet'.
Will not cause acidosis - virtually all the fermentable carbohydrates have been removed. But, I wouldn't feed it free-choice. They might overconsume - and Sulfur toxicity is a concern.

Wet or modified DG will mold pretty quickly, but studies have been done with it, piled for 6 months or more - it looks and smells like crap, but the cows still eat it-readily, and mycotoxin levels were no higher than they were when it came out of the fermenter, 6 months earlier.

You need a good hay analysis and a ration balancer (CowCulator, UofMN beef ration balancer, etc.) to figure out how much you need to feed in order to meet the cows' needs... DM intake, energy, protein requirements, etc. Nutritionist, maybe, but we got along fine with a ration balancing program.

 

[Berrong19]

Thank you very much for the feed back!

 

[Ridgefarmer63]

We have been considering buying wet distillers grain this winter for our cattle. We have 55 head of cows all in 2nd and 3rd stage, and a group of calves locked up we are feeding out. They all have hay at all times. We've never used distillers before and was just wanting to get some feed back from guys who have used it in the past or use it now. Can you feed free choice? What happens if you over feed it? Does it cause bloat or founder? Whats the pros and cons on it?

I have been feeding brewers grain for about 20 years. I limit it to 2-3% of their body weight. Although there have been times I just fork the entire tub in there and let them have at it. As others have said it does get pretty stinky in warm weather after about 5 days, It also will freeze which is always fun. I'm feeding it to a beef herd. Customers seem to like the beef, so I keep doing it.

 

[faster horses]

There is mineral to help when feeding distillers grain. I sell it to feedlot folks.

 

[TexasBred]

Jus

It needs to be limit fed. Free choice feeding will cause acidosis and potentially sulfur toxicity.

It's very good feed. Even if free choice were safe, it would be a huge waste of nutrients to let cows have their fill. Use it to supplement poor quality forage on cows. Talk with a nutritionist for help with the most cost effective feeding rate.

t keep in mind that it will be around 65% moisture so 10 lbs as fed will only provide 3.5 lbs of dry matter but that dry matter will be around 30% crude protein and 10% crude fat.