feeding barley

[tallarook]

How much is too much barley to feed heifers?. We have 40 head of young murray grey heifers on self sown barley (paddock was croped with barley last season due,to enormous summer rains has self sown) A few have developed lameness is this due to too much grain?? Any solutions much appreciated.

 

[msscamp]

How much is too much barley to feed heifers?. We have 40 head of young murray grey heifers on self sown barley (paddock was croped with barley last season due,to enormous summer rains has self sown) A few have developed lameness is this due to too much grain?? Any solutions much appreciated.

How young are these heifers? I notice you're in Australia, so you're seasons differ from ours. Has the barley headed out? If so, how mature is it? How many acres of volunteer barley are we talking and how heavy did it re-seed?

 

[tallarook]

The heifers range from 10 to 12 months. The paddock is 250 acres approx 3/4 has self sown barley the rest had oaten hay cut in late September 2005. The barley is currently in full ear and completely ripe. We had our vet out yesterday and we have shifted the heifers to anothe paddock. As I write this reply my son and husband have taken the header out to harvest the grain. We think it may yeild about 5.5 bags per acre. We will just sell the grain as feed barley. Regardless what would you guys do over there. We are patiently waiting for rain at present to start seeding. Thanks for your help.

 

[msscamp]

The heifers range from 10 to 12 months. The paddock is 250 acres approx 3/4 has self sown barley the rest had oaten hay cut in late September 2005. The barley is currently in full ear and completely ripe. We had our vet out yesterday and we have shifted the heifers to anothe paddock. As I write this reply my son and husband have taken the header out to harvest the grain. We think it may yeild about 5.5 bags per acre. We will just sell the grain as feed barley. Regardless what would you guys do over there. We are patiently waiting for rain at present to start seeding. Thanks for your help.

I'd do exactly what you did - get them out of that pasture before they founder or worse! That is way too much barley. The heifers that are lame may have already foundered. Just my thoughts.

 

[tallarook]

Another question, one of the smaller heifers (10months) has foundered. Front legs very swollen and she is laying down heaps. We have confined her to small yard with access to plenty of water and only oaten hay to eat. Is there anything else we should do for her? Does she need some form of pain relief? Any way to help reduce swelling? Our vet has said just to remove her from the barley paddock. Any thoughts???

 

[msscamp]

Another question, one of the smaller heifers (10months) has foundered. Front legs very swollen and she is laying down heaps. We have confined her to small yard with access to plenty of water and only oaten hay to eat. Is there anything else we should do for her? Does she need some form of pain relief? Any way to help reduce swelling? Our vet has said just to remove her from the barley paddock. Any thoughts???

I believe Banamine and Flunexin are both pain killers as well as anti-inflammatories - either one would probably help with the swelling as well as the pain. If you have an adjacent pen, hosing down her front legs a couple of times a day with cold water would also help with the swelling and pain - don't do it in her regular pen, though, because of potential foot rot issues. Ultimately, what treatment you decide on (if any) is going to depend on this animals value to you and your herd. Just my thoughts. Good luck with her.

Here is a pretty good article on laminitis (founder) in various animals:

http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/ID/ID-321-W.pdf

 

[Stocker Steve]

Another question, one of the smaller heifers (10months) has foundered. Front legs very swollen and she is laying down heaps. We have confined her to small yard with access to plenty of water and only oaten hay to eat. Is there anything else we should do for her? Does she need some form of pain relief? Any way to help reduce swelling? Our vet has said just to remove her from the barley paddock. Any thoughts???

Banamine helps with symptoms but she may not recover enough to graze effectively. You many end up having to butcher her.

 

[tallarook]

Many thanks for the info we will persist in helping her and hope that she recovers enough to eventually return to the herd

 

[msscamp]

No problem! I hope everything works out well.