Feeding alfalfa

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tenacres

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Had a discussion with a crop farmer yesterday about 3rd cutting alfalfa. He told us, you can feed this alfalfa to cattle all winter with no problems. I always thought, to prevent bloat, you should feed 50/50 alfalfa and grass hay. Wouldnt 3rd cutting be too rich to feed as a total feed?
 
you can feed them straight alalfa without any problems.id only feed 15lbs a day a head.due to the cost of alalfa.scott
 
Scott, I'm in Southern Idaho and we can get alfalfa pretty cheap. It grows well here and everyone has it. It's quite plentiful. Average price around here for alfalfa is $60-$70 a ton. He was offering us 10 ton of alfalfa for $500. Grass hay runs $45-$50 a ton.

I'm by no means a pro at raising cattle. But how can you feed alfalfa and it not cause bloat? I was under the impression you should never feed that as the sole feed during winter.
 
tenacres":23st45j0 said:
Scott, I'm in Southern Idaho and we can get alfalfa pretty cheap. It grows well here and everyone has it. It's quite plentiful. Average price around here for alfalfa is $60-$70 a ton. He was offering us 10 ton of alfalfa for $500. Grass hay runs $45-$50 a ton.

I'm by no means a pro at raising cattle. But how can you feed alfalfa and it not cause bloat? I was under the impression you should never feed that as the sole feed during winter.

We fed nothing but alfalfa for many years and never had a single problem with bloat. If they're adapted to it there doesn;t seem to be a problem.

dun
 
tenacres":b2t69rfg said:
Scott, I'm in Southern Idaho and we can get alfalfa pretty cheap. It grows well here and everyone has it. It's quite plentiful. Average price around here for alfalfa is $60-$70 a ton. He was offering us 10 ton of alfalfa for $500. Grass hay runs $45-$50 a ton.

I'm by no means a pro at raising cattle. But how can you feed alfalfa and it not cause bloat? I was under the impression you should never feed that as the sole feed during winter.

Straight alfalfa in the winter?

Go for it - you will not likely have to give them anything else.

When you talk alfalfa and bloat, you are talking about the plant during the growth phase.

What you are feeding is dry and inert - no danger.

We do it all the time.

Bez'
 
Howdy,

Bloat = when you have had them on strictly grass and put them into a pure alfalfa field. You get bloat. Such as they all race in there and eat like crazy. Thier stomachs and bugs are not ready for it and they bloat.

The same thing happens to me during thanksgiving. :) I fill my plate and eat like crazy, then later unbuckle my pants and try to stay awake watching a football game.

Get them used to alfalfa and you will not have any problems. Besides, this advice goes for just about any dietary change. Say you have a bull on feed test. (rather hot mixture) you do not just stop cold turkey. you gradually lower the feed intake on the ration.
 
Daybreak":5jd85sm4 said:
Howdy,

Bloat = when you have had them on strictly grass and put them into a pure alfalfa field. You get bloat. Such as they all race in there and eat like crazy. Thier stomachs and bugs are not ready for it and they bloat.

The same thing happens to me during thanksgiving. :) I fill my plate and eat like crazy, then later unbuckle my pants and try to stay awake watching a football game.

Get them used to alfalfa and you will not have any problems. Besides, this advice goes for just about any dietary change. Say you have a bull on feed test. (rather hot mixture) you do not just stop cold turkey. you gradually lower the feed intake on the ration.

I do not think we are talking grazing here - hay is the subject.

Bez'
 
Depending on the quality of your third cutting...I'd keep a bloat block in front of them. Lost a cow on second cutting hay last winter; third cutting is much richer.

Neighbor tells me about the time he went to feed in the morning and found five of his cows bloated. :shock: In fact...he's selling me some 3rd cutting (dry) but only off one field. He refused to sell me 3rd cutting off one of his other fields because he said I'd kill my cows, it was that rich.

FWIW, I keep bloat blocks out on a regular basis..even on grass pastures...and so far so good.
 
Maybe I'm wrong here, but I thought it was only 4th cutting that caused bloat due to having something to do with it being a last cutting and late in the season. I'm not real clear on why, but I know that we have fed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cutting hay with no problems. 4th we are careful with and alternate with grass hay or ground hay that is cut with grass and straw. I have a bottle baby and a crippled heifer on 2nd cutting alfalfa hay that have been on it (the heifer all summer, and the bottle baby since the end of July) for the majority of the summer and I have had no problems. Of course, Murphy's Law being what it is, they will both be bloated tomorrow or the next day. :(
 
No access to hay but have fed the alfalfa pellets and never had any trouble. The pellets might not react the same. Hope to soon have the opportunity to feed the hay as wife and I are Planning a relocation to southeast Kansas. If all goes well with closing on our place here we should be ther by the end of october.
 
We plant nothing but alfalfa in our hay fields, we've never had a problem feeding out any crop. But if the cattle have ever gotten into an alfalfa field and munched their fill....they seem to get really green coming out the back end and it comes out at an amazing speed! Usually a day back in the regular pasture and all is back to normal.
 
mitchwi":a1hg81ii said:
But if the cattle have ever gotten into an alfalfa field and munched their fill....they seem to get really green coming out the back end and it comes out at an amazing speed!

The distance they achieve is certainly to be envied too.

dun
 
Howdy Bez,

I guess you have missed the point.

Please re-read the post.

Then re-read it again. I am using the pasture as an example about cows rushing in and eating themselves sick. Moderation is a good thing. Pasture, hay or otherwise.

Alfalfa hay in a increasing amount will work. (another example here Bez.) The same thing goes for changing any type of feed. Moving cows straight from pasture and only feeding grain is a bad idea as well. Moving cows from fescue to pure alfalfa (same applies to HAY - Bez!) Any major dietary change is not wanted. This is why many intermix a grass roll being fed, and then a alfalfa roll being fed.
 
We feed alfalfa all winter long. Start them slow on the alfalfa hay when the grass pastures still have a bit of grazing left on them before winter and all will be fine. Alfalfa is plentiful in this area and most of the cattle folks here feed it during winter. We do not graze the alfalfa fields, only used for hay.
 
Same up here...lots of alfalfa and we feed it year around. New additions get started on a low quality grass and worked into the alfalfa...the first cutting in some fields has the weeds, the next cuttings do not, second cutting supposed to be better because of the rain for growth, cuttings after that are considered lower grade because of the dry weather....in irrigated fields I haven't noticed any difference. We stock the barn with alflafa/grass for the steers and straight alfalfa for the cows in the third trimester....I know we spoil them.
DMc
 
Daybreak":197male8 said:
Howdy Bez,

I guess you have missed the point.

Please re-read the post.

Then re-read it again. I am using the pasture as an example about cows rushing in and eating themselves sick. Moderation is a good thing. Pasture, hay or otherwise.

Alfalfa hay in a increasing amount will work. (another example here Bez.) The same thing goes for changing any type of feed. Moving cows straight from pasture and only feeding grain is a bad idea as well. Moving cows from fescue to pure alfalfa (same applies to HAY - Bez!) Any major dietary change is not wanted. This is why many intermix a grass roll being fed, and then a alfalfa roll being fed.

I sincerely doubt there is anything about cattle that you could tell Bez that he does not already know.
 
You should be fine. If you are getting alfalfa hay in the $70 range, there is no way it is 'hot' or high protien enough to hurt cows. We grow alfalfa to sell and feed it in the winter, but due to the high cost we usually mix it with all the grass straw they can eat. Even fair quality alfalfa is going for $120-110/ ton here.
One thing I know for sure, never listen to any ideas about certain cuttings not hurting cattle. It all depends on when you cut, and the climate. The test of the hay is all that matters. Usually 2nd cut in our area is real low test, and would be fine. But it was cold while the hay was growing and we cut it real short, and it was all leaves. It could cause bloat if fed alone. Don't listen to someone if they tell you 'cutting XYZ is fine for cattle'. Just cut a bale and look for yourself. If it is all leaves and fine stemmed, be careful.
 
msscamp":1zcs8wzf said:
Daybreak":1zcs8wzf said:
Howdy Bez,

I guess you have missed the point.

Please re-read the post.

Then re-read it again. I am using the pasture as an example about cows rushing in and eating themselves sick. Moderation is a good thing. Pasture, hay or otherwise.

Alfalfa hay in a increasing amount will work. (another example here Bez.) The same thing goes for changing any type of feed. Moving cows straight from pasture and only feeding grain is a bad idea as well. Moving cows from fescue to pure alfalfa (same applies to HAY - Bez!) Any major dietary change is not wanted. This is why many intermix a grass roll being fed, and then a alfalfa roll being fed.

I sincerely doubt there is anything about cattle that you could tell Bez that he does not already know.

Gee msscamp, you really need to subtract about 500 post from your guru status for short little jabs such as this. Your comment is not needed, if it does not support the forum thread. Bez did not read, or does not understand dietary feed changes and rumen bug changes then. You too should go back and re-read the entire thread for your information as well.
 

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