feeding lots of hay

[jdetig1]

well i seem to have alot of hay this year. i have some steers and heifers at about 700lbs could i feed a ration that contains alot of hay and still have them gain good? im currently feeding some hay silage and a little ddgs. what kind of feed rations are you guys using?

 

[Texas PaPaw]

Here's a link to a OSU ration spreadsheet that I've found very helpful in comparing different mixes/ingredients.

http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/software/

I use the 3rd from the top (osunrc2002.xls). Would also recommend printing the instructions.

In my experience, with free choice hay and ad-lib supplement calves/yearlings will eat about 2% bw in supplement and .5-.6% bw in hay. If supplement is restricted, then they will eat more hay. You may wish to try different feed combinations to see what gives you the best cost of gain.

By clicking on the feed list tab at the bottom of the page, you can put in the current prices for the ingredients you have and it will calculate the feed only cost of gain. Based on my usage it is very accurate. This allows me to compare different ingredients/mixes on a cost of gain basis.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[TexasBred]

well i seem to have alot of hay this year. i have some steers and heifers at about 700lbs could i feed a ration that contains alot of hay and still have them gain good? im currently feeding some hay silage and a little ddgs. what kind of feed rations are you guys using?

What's the plan for the steers and heifers and how much do you want them to gain per day? Has the hay been tested in order to know exactly what you have? If it's good hay that may be all they need. Where are you located??

 

[jdetig1]

im located in northern illinois. the hay is 11.5% crude protein, TDN is 60% and feed value is 88. the plan is to feed these out to finish them and butcher them.