Feeding Candy to your herd?

[luvmymoo]

I mentioned this message board to my stepdad last night and we were discussing it and from a butcher's point of view and a feeders- he DOES NOT RECOMEND IT!!!! he said they had a farm send some of their steers to the butcher shop where he works and they were told not to bring them back because the meat was that watery, no matter how long it hung it wouldnt set up, they couldn cut it! They were feeding big blocks of licorice that didnt meet standards at Y & S candies

 

[dcara]

Candy was actually mentioned in Alabama Coop Extension System publication anr-1237 as a byproduct feed. Below is the excerpt from that publication. Also here's the link to the article

http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1237/



Candy
A considerable amount of candy that does not meet specifications for human consumption falls into the livestock feed channels each year. Most of the hard candy is predominantly sugar and can be fed with good results to beef cattle at rates of 10 to 20 percent of the total daily intake. It contains similar energy amounts to corn with little to no protein content.

Large quantities of chocolate candy should be avoided because of the amount of theophylline and theobromine in the chocolate. In addition, milk chocolate may contain as much as 28 percent fat and should be fed accordingly.

Individual pieces of hard candy are prone to agglutinating into large chunks under hot, humid conditions making handling of the product difficult. Candy should not be used as a sole supplement for beef cattle, but it can certainly be used for operations capable of mixing several commodities into a single diet.

 

[Angus Cattle Girl]

In our cow herd, we feed range cubes a.k.a. Cake. The cows enjoy it and it seems to let them learn to trust us more. My steers really enjoy peppermints. Peppermints and range cubes are the only treat that we've fed our cattle.

 

[Jim Nolen]

:lol: I think you will find Snickers will make your cows very happy.

 

[S&K]

I'm still not sure exactly where you'uns get your candy? Do you live near a manuf. plant?

 

[Bullbuyer]

S&K - Check with you local baker "outlets" - usually called "day old bread stores". Also, if you have a local food distributor's warehouse in your area, you may be able to get some stuff from them. I'm talking about a warehouse that may serve several grocery stores in your area / county.
As always, there are wrappers, containers, etc that have to be disposed of, may or may not be worth the money saved.

 

[angus5722]

I show cattle and I've tried it on my heifers but they don't like them,but my friends cattle like sugar cubes.Just let them sniff them and they'll eat them right out of your hand.

 

[Stocker Steve]

At Night my Cattle, like a bed time story and some Cookies, I make them bring the milk ;-) ..... range cubes yes. real candies no way.

We save our old candy and bakery goods for bear bait. Milk spoils too quickly. Then the .45-70 puts them to sleep.

 

[Old Dog/New Tricks]

Think:
In Most Cases:
If it good for people it's OK for Livestock

Many packing plants pay upwords of $32 per ton to dump "OutDated" food stuffs and Plastic Barrels

Liquid Syrups = Liquid Stock Feed - Feed as is - Mix with grains - Mix with Beet Pulp/water/and grain

Stores Pay to dump Pumkins, milk, Cake Mix,melons .....
The stock will learn to brake Melons themselves as they need them - Break one or two to get them started

Grain used to make beer is one of the best feed you can get FREE for Cattle, Sheep. Goats, Pigs (Not Horses) - -

Caution:
Changes in Feeds - always feed them all the hay the will eat first or start on new feed Slowly

 

[pjchris]

the vet told me that he knew of a case where someone fed old bread to cows in the bags. when a cow died and they opened her up, she was full of plastic end to end.

 

[Central Fl Cracker]

At Night my Cattle, like a bed time story and some Cookies, I make them bring the milk ;-) ..... range cubes yes. real candies no way.

We make popcorn with ours and watch " Mister Ed " on the big screen TV. The older cows usually want to watch " Bonanza " and they keep telling me Hoss looks like Caustic. They usually prefer the caramel flavored even though it get's stuck in their teeth.

 

[Old Dog/New Tricks]

the vet told me that he knew of a case where someone fed old bread to cows in the bags. when a cow died and they opened her up, she was full of plastic end to end.

And Who'd he Blame - The Cows or The Owner

As I say :stop: and THINK - - If you have any Question :stop: :stop: :stop: :stop: :stop: and get :help: :help: :help:

 

[SplashManic]

There's a farm in the area near our farm that buys all the dud chocolate from cabury and feeds it too their cattle. Apparantly it's really good as it makes the cattle gain weight and is a really cheap supply of sugar.

 

[1848]

Also have heard of folks buying outdated milk and ice cream products to top dress their feed on their calves.

Yes, I think Blue Bells "Moo bars" work the best though

 

[Beefy]

werent cows once designed to eat grass? i heard that one time.

 

[aplusmnt]

werent cows once designed to eat grass? i heard that one time.

Beefy......thinking like that will get you left behind, things are changing you need to catch up

 

[Bullbuyer]

Beefy -
We feed ours bread (bagels, sandwich bread, etc.) - they take it with them and make grass and/or hay sandwiches. Seems to work pretty good - only problem is you can't get in the pasture with a bucket now.

 

[Herefordcross]

Almond Joy has nuts, mounds don't

 

[Hippie Rancher]

Can you say MOLASSES? Main ingredient in a lot of feed supplements, mineral blocks etc.

Sounds pretty much like candy to me.

 

[Anonymous]

in the winter I feed some candy to my cattle...they just want to get rid of it...it's not just candy that has been dropped...when they find a defect in a candy bar..maybe the candy bar just doesn't look right...they throw it away...they cant use it anymore so they are happy to sell it for very cheap prices...the candy is a very small portion of their diet though...but it sure does smell good when you are busting it apart in the morning