feeding cattle

[Anonymous]

I was wondering if I have been feeding my cattle to much or not enough. I have 18 head plus 9 calves, all the cattle weigh around 1200lbs. I feed them 4 round bales a week plus 500lbs of cracked corn, also the calves are on stampede in a self feeder. any response would be appreciated.



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[Anonymous]

> I was wondering if I have been
> feeding my cattle to much or not
> enough. I have 18 head plus 9
> calves, all the cattle weigh
> around 1200lbs. I feed them 4
> round bales a week plus 500lbs of
> cracked corn, also the calves are
> on stampede in a self feeder. any
> response would be appreciated.

I don't know. The hay sounds abit much but if it is low quality hay you may not be. The better the quality the less they will need. And reverse on the low side. The cracked corn is good for them but make sure you are feeding some mineral with it. Corn is a good source of protein but lacks phos. and potasium(excuse the spelling). I like to feed hay and liquid feed(urea and molasis) to my cows and keep some mineral out all the time. Some times I feed cake to my cows in the absence of liquid feed.



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[Anonymous]

i dont know...there are so many things that must be figured into this... the size of your cows and calves... the size of your bales and quality... other forage availablity... the weather... cows eat more when it is real cold... etc etc...

i would advise you to compare what you are doing with someone in your area..

just my 2 cents

gene

> I was wondering if I have been
> feeding my cattle to much or not
> enough. I have 18 head plus 9
> calves, all the cattle weigh
> around 1200lbs. I feed them 4
> round bales a week plus 500lbs of
> cracked corn, also the calves are
> on stampede in a self feeder. any
> response would be appreciated.



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[Anonymous]

Corn is low protein high energy. Too much corn can cause problems with the digestion and utilization of the hay.

dun

> I don't know. The hay sounds abit
> much but if it is low quality hay
> you may not be. The better the
> quality the less they will need.
> And reverse on the low side. The
> cracked corn is good for them but
> make sure you are feeding some
> mineral with it. Corn is a good
> source of protein but lacks phos.
> and potasium(excuse the spelling).
> I like to feed hay and liquid
> feed(urea and molasis) to my cows
> and keep some mineral out all the
> time. Some times I feed cake to my
> cows in the absence of liquid
> feed.



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[Anonymous]

> I was wondering if I have been
> feeding my cattle to much or not
> enough. I have 18 head plus 9
> calves, all the cattle weigh
> around 1200lbs. I feed them 4
> round bales a week plus 500lbs of
> cracked corn, also the calves are
> on stampede in a self feeder. any
> response would be appreciated.

If you are feeding 1000 lb. bales of hay with about 12% protein your hay will feed the cows with out the corn unleass their energy level drops. Watch the body condition and adjust according. The calves will nurse their mothers and with creep feed free choice you should not have to worry. If you are in an extreamly cold area, you may have to increase the inputs. If you have stock piled grass (grass left standing in the pasture after a freeze) it may require less hay to maintaine the cows due to the remaining food value of the stockpiled grass. This is why it is necessary to know the relative food value (RFV)or total digestible nutrients (TDN)of the hay and feed we offer our cows. Then we can adjust the amount of suppliment we must add to the diet. It may benefit the cows to have a shot of vitamin A during the latter feeding period. Stagers and death can develop from vitamin A deficienty by not having fresh green grass to eat over a long period.



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[Anonymous]

> If you are feeding 1000 lb. bales
> of hay with about 12% protein your
> hay will feed the cows with out
> the corn unleass their energy
> level drops. Watch the body
> condition and adjust according.
> The calves will nurse their
> mothers and with creep feed free
> choice you should not have to
> worry. If you are in an extreamly
> cold area, you may have to
> increase the inputs. If you have
> stock piled grass (grass left
> standing in the pasture after a
> freeze) it may require less hay to
> maintaine the cows due to the
> remaining food value of the
> stockpiled grass. This is why it
> is necessary to know the relative
> food value (RFV)or total
> digestible nutrients (TDN)of the
> hay and feed we offer our cows.
> Then we can adjust the amount of
> suppliment we must add to the
> diet. It may benefit the cows to
> have a shot of vitamin A during
> the latter feeding period. Stagers
> and death can develop from vitamin
> A deficienty by not having fresh
> green grass to eat over a long
> period. Thanks for your responses. I never heard of testing for RFV or TDN is it affordable to have your hay tested. Would anybody happen to know the protein levels for corn. JC

 

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

dun,

how good of feed would you have if you mixed some cottonseed meal with the corn.. cottonseed meal is real high in protein.. in the 40+%range, cant remember exactly right now..

if one was to mix it on a 5 to 1 corn to meal ratio, would this give a decent feed for feeding out calves??

thanks

gene

> Corn is low protein high energy.
> Too much corn can cause problems
> with the digestion and utilization
> of the hay.

> dun



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[Anonymous]

It is not expense. Contact your extension office and they will help you.



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[Anonymous]

I think it would work out at around 13 % or so, maybe a little higher. Cottonseed meal is high energy also, like the corn so it should fatten steers pretty well. I'm kind of going by the seat of my pants. Cottonseed meal around here is high so we tend to lean on corn gluten for protein sources. The cottonseed shoudln't mess up the rumen flora because a lot of the protein is considered by-pass protein. Just seems like a lot of corn. I would add dome Ruminsen(however it's spelled) but that's me. I'm sure there are others that know a whole lot more about feed composition then I do and hopefully they'll respond.

dun

> dun,

> how good of feed would you have if
> you mixed some cottonseed meal
> with the corn.. cottonseed meal is
> real high in protein.. in the
> 40+%range, cant remember exactly
> right now..

> if one was to mix it on a 5 to 1
> corn to meal ratio, would this
> give a decent feed for feeding out
> calves??

> thanks

> gene



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[Anonymous]

Yeah lets get the college kids opinion on this

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[Anonymous]

> Yeah lets get the college kids
> opinion on this

This college kid is over 55 and is a senior with a lot of experience in verious areas of the country. It pays to get your feed analysised otherwise you don't know where you are.

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[Anonymous]

Hello,

Corn is a great feed for cattle, providing you have it processed, if it is not cracked, rolled or cooked it goes right through them, and you end up feeding the birds, I would look at their poo and check for undigested grain

Feedin a balanced ration of ground cottonseed with corn is overkill, as cotton seed is both high in fiber and fat, and 60% protein, I would get your local county agent to tell you where you can get a ration blend tested for content to make sure you are not wasting $$$ and are meeting nutritional requirments

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[Anonymous]

The diference in extraction of nutrients between whole corn and cracked is 7-8%, the difference between cracked and ground is 7-8%. Depending on cost the value for dollar is what matters. One thing we've discovered is that feeding whole corn the turkeys destroy the pats and spread them out so they break down quicker. Cracked seems to bring in mostly starlings, ground it's bugs. One other thing to consider is the wind conditions when and where it's fed. Ground and cracked blow out of the feeders much easier then whole.

dun

> Hello,

> Corn is a great feed for cattle,
> providing you have it processed,
> if it is not cracked, rolled or
> cooked it goes right through them,
> and you end up feeding the birds,
> I would look at their poo and
> check for undigested grain

> Feedin a balanced ration of ground
> cottonseed with corn is overkill,
> as cotton seed is both high in
> fiber and fat, and 60% protein, I
> would get your local county agent
> to tell you where you can get a
> ration blend tested for content to
> make sure you are not wasting $$$
> and are meeting nutritional
> requirments



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[Anonymous]

> The diference in extraction of
> nutrients between whole corn and
> cracked is 7-8%, the difference
> between cracked and ground is
> 7-8%. Depending on cost the value
> for dollar is what matters. One
> thing we've discovered is that
> feeding whole corn the turkeys
> destroy the pats and spread them
> out so they break down quicker.
> Cracked seems to bring in mostly
> starlings, ground it's bugs. One
> other thing to consider is the
> wind conditions when and where
> it's fed. Ground and cracked blow
> out of the feeders much easier
> then whole.

> dun

man o' man....the things you learn talkin to ol'timers! Bet you didnt learn that from any textbook did ya, dun? Very useful information for us newcomers!

 

[Anonymous]

Gentlemen:

How can you make money supplementing your cows if they are all in good condition?! For all types of cattle, you have to feed according to their Body Condition Score! Overly fat or thin animals can suffer reproductively. When your cows are preparing to calve, they need to be carrying moderate condition. As they go through their lacation, they NEED TO LOSE SOME WEIGHT. If they don't, they're expending too much energy on theirself instead of where we want it, on that calf by her side. BCS is essential when it comes to feeding and you should group cattle according to their numeric score 1-9; 1 being deathly thin and 9 being so fat they can't move. Most cattlemen in the East want their cows to carry a little more condition as they approach calving than western ranchers, so a high 5/low 6 is about where we want them. Cattlemen from the west would call our 5 cows a 6 due to their theories of the ideal conditioning (thinner than ours). A score of high 4 on a cow would mean that she is showing a couple of her last ribs, instead of just being smooth down her side. If our cattle reach this point, we either wean early or start supplementing with soy hulls and corn glutten, which is readily available in our area. The cows need to make it on their own! You CAN NOT afford to feed energy supplements to fleshy cattle.



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[Anonymous]

> Gentlemen:

> How can you make money
> supplementing your cows if they
> are all in good condition?! For
> all types of cattle, you have to
> feed according to their Body
> Condition Score! Overly fat or
> thin animals can suffer
> reproductively. When your cows are
> preparing to calve, they need to
> be carrying moderate condition. As
> they go through their lacation,
> they NEED TO LOSE SOME WEIGHT. If
> they don't, they're expending too
> much energy on theirself instead
> of where we want it, on that calf
> by her side. BCS is essential when
> it comes to feeding and you should
> group cattle according to their
> numeric score 1-9; 1 being deathly
> thin and 9 being so fat they can't
> move. Most cattlemen in the East
> want their cows to carry a little
> more condition as they approach
> calving than western ranchers, so
> a high 5/low 6 is about where we
> want them. Cattlemen from the west
> would call our 5 cows a 6 due to
> their theories of the ideal
> conditioning (thinner than ours).
> A score of high 4 on a cow would
> mean that she is showing a couple
> of her last ribs, instead of just
> being smooth down her side. If our
> cattle reach this point, we either
> wean early or start supplementing
> with soy hulls and corn glutten,
> which is readily available in our
> area. The cows need to make it on
> their own! You CAN NOT afford to
> feed energy supplements to fleshy
> cattle.

I agree with you when you say to use BCS. And you are right about the East and West thing. I went to an Exterion program and the instructors were calling a BCS of 5 when I would call it a 6. This was in Wisconsin and I am from Texas. However, I don't agree with you on the loosing weight, at least not right away. A cow that is loosing weight will not rebreed. She must be maintaining or gaining weight to breed.

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[Anonymous]

One reason why the same person should alwasy do the BCS scoring is that two people will see the condition differently. Our vet who is pretty knowledable alwasy scores 1/2 a score higher then I do. The local highschool ag teacher and livestock supervisor for the fair grades 1/2 a score lower then the vet.

dun

> I agree with you when you say to
> use BCS. And you are right about
> the East and West thing. I went to
> an Exterion program and the
> instructors were calling a BCS of
> 5 when I would call it a 6. This
> was in Wisconsin and I am from
> Texas. However, I don't agree with
> you on the loosing weight, at
> least not right away. A cow that
> is loosing weight will not
> rebreed. She must be maintaining
> or gaining weight to breed.



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[Anonymous]

That should read the ag teacher is 1/2 score lower then me.

> One reason why the same person
> should alwasy do the BCS scoring
> is that two people will see the
> condition differently. Our vet who
> is pretty knowledable alwasy
> scores 1/2 a score higher then I
> do. The local highschool ag
> teacher and livestock supervisor
> for the fair grades 1/2 a score
> lower then the vet.

> dun



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[Anonymous]

yeah, i was thinking that meant you & the ag teacher would rate the same