Feeding steers Cabbage to prevent horseflies

[SirLoin]

:lol2: :lol2: :lol2:


Sorry, I just couldn't help myself. But anyways, I've done some research on feeding steers cabbage. I've searched here and on the net for info and found some, but not a whole lot.

Does anyone know what % protein is in cabbage? I've read that cattle can graze on brassica and do fairly well on it. I can get it by the trailer load for just gas money for hauling it twenty miles round trip. A neighbor I talk to while picking up sweetcorn culls says his cattle love it even more than sweetcorn. Should I free choice it or limit them to a certain amount? Has anyone fed their animals waste from cabbage processing? Any pros or cons?

 

[KNERSIE]

Haven't done it myself, but know a lot of people who do, cattle do well on them just build it up gradually as it can cause bloat and try not to let them go hungry before feeding cabbage.

 

[Howdyjabo]

Cabbage heads
9% DM 25% protien 13 ME

Cabbage leaves
15% DM 14% P 10 ME

I found this to be interesting-- Note the date published
http://books.google.com/books?id=MnhHAQ ... voo&hl=en&

As far as if its worth feeding it would depend on how many lbs you can get for how much gas. How much labor it takes to get it on the trailer/off the trailer/and out to the cows. You are moving around a whole lot of water. And I have no idea about storage issues.

 

[SirLoin]

Thanks for that link and the info. From the looks of things, the majority of the load will be the lower outer leaves. I pretty much pass the farm on my way home from work, so it's almost free. I'll leave it on the trailer in a small pasture and let them eat on it for a few hours a day after I grain them. I'd like to take a little pressure off my pastures. Between the drought and the flood, my pastures were in rough shape. They've bounced back real nice, but I'm not seeing as much clover in them. That's what seems to turn on in the fall the best. I'm running some larger framed cattle this year and they're taking a little longer to finish, so they'll still be around in Oct when I get my new calves, so I'll be overstocked for a few months.

 

[Anonymous]

Probably increase their methane output if nothing else. Better buy your carbon credits now to offset the output

 

[SirLoin]

Probably increase their methane output if nothing else. Better buy your carbon credits now to offset the output

duhhhhhhh, that's what kills the horseflies :lol2:

 

[Anonymous]

Probably increase their methane output if nothing else. Better buy your carbon credits now to offset the output

duhhhhhhh, that's what kills the horseflies :lol2:

I know, those carbon credits are a killer! :banana:

 

[TexasBred]

Probably increase their methane output if nothing else. Better buy your carbon credits now to offset the output

Throw in a half bushel of sweet potatoes and a few pounds of beans and you'd have a real "wind farm" out there.

 

[SirLoin]

Probably increase their methane output if nothing else. Better buy your carbon credits now to offset the output

duhhhhhhh, that's what kills the horseflies :lol2:

I know, those carbon credits are a killer! :banana:

an economy killer ;-)