Feed question

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plbcattle

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i would like to get your feed plan. i have tried about every feed on the market. sweet feed, 12% ground feed, range mill, purina accu-ration. I haven't found the right feed. I want to keep a body score of 5-6 on my cows as well as grow my bulls and heifers. what is the best feed that you have found to feed in the bulk. thanks
plbcattle.com
 
We get the local mill to mix a ton at a time.. it's a simple mix, 10 - 11% protein, primarily corn / oats / peanut hulls or cotton hulls. We can feed any of the cows that need extra feed (first calf heifers, cows with big calves on them that milk good) and we also put it in the creep feeder.
 
Our weaning ration runs about 50% corn gluten pellet, 30% soy hull pellet and 20% cracked or steam crimped corn. The percentages are actaully just a bit less because of the inclusion of a little roden butts, bovotec and minerals. It runs around 13-14% protein. We get it in 3-4 ton loads bulk. Runs around 135 a ton delivered.

dun
 
texasmortgageman":rx8m9lhw said:
Dun-- When you get that much in bulk how do you store it? A small "silo'? Thanks.


hopper.jpg


dun
 
certherfbeef":14xbcihk said:
That answers that question! :D :D :D

This place is an old dairy so the bunker was here. It holds around 6 tons, depending on the formulation. Bulk saves about a buck per cwt. And for that buck extra I get to go get the stuff, haul it here and unload it myself. What a deal

dun
 
goatlady":2z1ua903 said:
We have the 8.5 ton polydome tank with an auger that runs into the barn. The tons are based on corn so if you use oats in the ration it only holds about 6 tons.

http://www.polytankco.com/bulk_bins.html

This was origanily hooked up to an auger system into the parlor, the building in the background. Since we use the parlor for storage I converted the hopper over to a dump at the base.
If you know of anyone around here that needs/wants and auger system everything is for sale, from the hopper adapter to the auger power unit along with a bunch of feed measuring dump stations.

dun
 
Find out what the economical ration are, find out if cotton crop residues are available in your area

It also makes a huge difference as to what you plan to achieve be feeding a concentrate

If you are looking for growth with fatening, you want energy and protein

Get with a nutritionist and buy bulk utilizing a feed bin, Cylo (SP), you can find good ones used from poultry farms and get at least a 4" auger, this will make life easier, and cut costs too

Fat as soy bean oil, less volatil in feed, in terms of lasting over a long period in a bin v' corn oil, will increase energy, not be used for milk production, and it reduces the dust level in the ration, it will also bump your protein in the ration
 
Depending on your location, like when we were pasturing cattle near Redding in CA, there was a feeder there that fed Almond hulls and orange rind pulp, the cattle on that ration were fat and had lusterous hair coats

Your location may have certain feed stuffs that if used correctly in a ballanced ration will reduce cost of your overall ration,

I would talk to your local ag person, find the county exstension person available in your area to find out what is grown in your region,

Feed stores will often not tell you of other sources becuase they want your $$$

A grain Silo is what we use, we got 2 used 15 ton capacity silos from a poultry guy that moved, we added augers and I custom blend rations, there is a 2 ton min. to blend, and a 4 ton min. to deliver, and I usually don't get more than 6 ton per order, because I use soybean oil in the ration I feel it is best to never have much more than I could use in a 1 month period, for fear of the ration becomming rancid, they say that it wont, but why take the chance

There are also companys that will deliver bulk custom rations to your farm, you just need to do your home work, talk with a nutritionist and price compare all your options,

WITH THE COST OF FEED AND FUEL, you have to be a smart shopper and use that professional help to make the best choice nutritionaly for what you are trying to achieve with your ration.
 
plbcattle":3to2u7fn said:
I want to keep a body score of 5-6 on my cows as well as grow my bulls and heifers.

We like to feed this stuff called grass. It's usually found out in pastures where there aren't too many cows per acre. Any cow that can't maintain herself on it isn't really a cow.
 
Feed":3h30xh3c said:
We like to feed this stuff called grass. It's usually found out in pastures where there aren't too many cows per acre. Any cow that can't maintain herself on it isn't really a cow.

So true. Good post.
 
dun":124lrodt said:
Our weaning ration runs about 50% corn gluten pellet, 30% soy hull pellet and 20% cracked or steam crimped corn. The percentages are actaully just a bit less because of the inclusion of a little roden butts, bovotec and minerals. It runs around 13-14% protein. We get it in 3-4 ton loads bulk. Runs around 135 a ton delivered.

dun

In a ton we mix 600lb ground corn ,600lbs soy hulls ,600lbs corn gluten and 200 cotton seed meal...we feed this to our heifers.
 
For Dun:

This was origanily hooked up to an auger system into the parlor, the building in the background. Since we use the parlor for storage I converted the hopper over to a dump at the base.
If you know of anyone around here that needs/wants and auger system everything is for sale, from the hopper adapter to the auger power unit along with a bunch of feed measuring dump stations.

dun[/quote]

Please 'scuse a dumb question, but looking at the picture, I'm not sure just how you transfer (dump) the feed into whatever you use to transport it to the creep feeders/troughs/whatever?
 
hopperslide.jpg




At the bottom, crudely circled in blue is an arrow that points to a metal plate that's roughly at a 45 degree angle. The plate slides up and down to release the grain. A 5 gal. bucket fits underneath the bottom of the unit and the grain pours from the hopper via the slideing plate into the bucket. It is a little hard to pick out because the original auger system adapter is visible behind it.

dun
 

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