Feeding through winter

[RefugeRanch]

Our family puts up small square bales (45 - 60 lbs) for winter feed. Is there a formula for how much feed it will take to feed one growing steer through the winter? Right now we have four 400lb steers. At what ratio does this increase as the steer gets bigger?

Thank you

 

[dun]

It stays right around 2 1/2 - 3 % of the body weight. As they grow it requires an ajustment in quantity of feed to stay around that percentage

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

And that's a great "rule of thumb" --- BUT --- all hay is not the same. 10# of 9% protein hay is a lot different than 10# of 15% protein, or 18%. The QUALITY of the hay makes a big difference. You can have cattle bellie deep in grass or hay, and they can litterally starve to death if it doesn't have the food value they need. The poorer the hay, the more they NEED to eat, but usually cannot consume enough - due to the limited internal space.
So, if your hay was put up when it was still growing & didn't get rained on, and was properly dried they won't need as much as poorly put up hay.
Generally, I feed what they can clean up in a day. But, I (this will open a can of worms) believe in feeding weaned calves GRAIN. Very difficult for calves to consume enough hay (unless it is really good alfalfa hay) to grow properly.

 

[grannysoo]

The poorer the hay, the more they NEED to eat, but usually cannot consume enough - due to the limited internal space.

And it's amazing how so many people buy the cheapest hay they can find to feed their cows. Any money you save in buying cheap hay is going to be spent buying supplements if you are going to keep the cows healthy.