Dry matter/hay

[Kingfisher]

I have a neighbor that has a group of @20 " feeder calves" of a variety of X bred cattle. The last month or so they fed off a field of Sudan grass which is all gone now. A few weeks ago 1/2 of em looked really poor to me. Some so poor I thought they were sick. They look a little better this week. I know he's pouring some kind of feed to them but they really don't have any hay. They have been nibbling on a bale of year old Klein grass. How important is some good hay to these calfs? I don't think they can utilize the feed well without some hay. The pasture they are in is poor...like dirt. What do you think? Thanks in advance.

 

[TexasBred]

Bad hay is better than nothing but not by much. They'll utilize the nutrients in the feed mix but still need some long stem roughage to give them some "fill" and maintain rumen health.

 

[Kingfisher]

He must have heard me talking about him....he gave em a fresh bale this morning.