Feed Question

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DiamondY42

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Western North Dakota
For a 1100 lb., 6.5 mo. preg. cow, living in NW North Dakota...
How many Lbs. of hay would you feed her per day?
Is it 1100 lbs. X 2% of her body weight just for maintanence?
Course I realize she'd need a bit more in Colder weather.
Just wanting a good ball park estimate.

Thanx in advance for the advice!!! :D
 
it depends on the quality of the hay.
is it #1 alfalfa or prairie grass hay ?
are you feeding any grain ?
does she have shelter available ?
it's more about getting the proper nutrition and not so much as to how many pounds of hay,
but yes ballpark figure 2-3 % of her weight per day depending weather and quality of hay and less if your
feeding alfalfa or feeding supplement.
but mostly watch her body condition.
 
If your hay is poor to medium quality give her all she wants now until the calf is weaned. Cold climate out there and she is in her 3rd trimester.
 
DiamondY42":1ls2qn6o said:
For a 1100 lb., 6.5 mo. preg. cow, living in NW North Dakota...
How many Lbs. of hay would you feed her per day?
Is it 1100 lbs. X 2% of her body weight just for maintanence?
Course I realize she'd need a bit more in Colder weather.
Just wanting a good ball park estimate.

Thanx in advance for the advice!!! :D
You should be feeding a preg cow at least 17-20lbs of "high quality" hay each day. no less.
 
cross_7":281u7zqh said:
Grain and protein mixes are actually never "hay replacers"....only supplements IF needed

http://www.uaex.edu/other_areas/publica ... a-3036.pdf
cross...not argueing against supplementation. I supplement every winter. Just stating that grain does not replace hay regardless of what articles you post. You can balance a ration using both which might be more cost effective and a better feed, but grain is grain and hay is hay.
 
cross...not argueing against supplementation. I supplement every winter. Just stating that grain does not replace hay regardless of what articles you post. You can balance a ration using both which might be more cost effective and a better feed, but grain is grain and hay is hay.

i agree, but i was surprised at how little hay could be fed and replaced with such a large amount of grain.
seems like you would have digestive problems ?
 
cross_7":20y2dg8x said:
cross...not argueing against supplementation. I supplement every winter. Just stating that grain does not replace hay regardless of what articles you post. You can balance a ration using both which might be more cost effective and a better feed, but grain is grain and hay is hay.

i agree, but i was surprised at how little hay could be fed and replaced with such a large amount of grain.
seems like you would have digestive problems ?

Cross....grain "can" be fed at high rates but should it be??? A lot of factors come into play when trying to decide "should I supplement and IF so, how much and what is the composition of the supplement??". And yes, there are a number of problems associated with overfeeding grain and the study touched on these as well. Build your feeding program around your roughage source making sure a minimum of 40% of the cow's diet is hay, silage, grazing or all of these and supplement as neccessary to maintain a "balanced ration".
 

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