We don't have fescue here so I have no experience with it. Being out of hay and in a drought I am looking at all options. I found some Fescue hay in Mossouri. 5x6 bales that they claim to weigh 1400#. I know cattle from the south can starve to death on fescue if they aren't used to it. Do I have the same worry with hay?
Fescue Hay Question
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hillrancher
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If the fescue was cut before going to seed in the dough stage it will be good hay.If it has been cut after taking the seed off, or late in june or later the quality is poor.
If your cows aren;t adapted to it, even as hay, fescue should be your last resort. You can feed it, but I would make sure a good quality mineral with CTC was available and would keep a real close eye on them for problems from heat.
hillbillycwo
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Hi magnesium mineral loose free choice will help you with the toxicity from the fescue endophyte. I have heard that 30 days prior to feeding fescue is what is needed to get adequate levels in the cows. Not an expert just regurgitating information Ihave read and been told by others who have seen this issue before.
I've never heard of feeding high mag to counteract the endophyte. With it being so prevelent you would think that people like Jim Gerrish would know about it and he has never mentioned it. We just do high mag for grass tetanyhillbillycwo":fd5qomr1 said:
hillbillycwo
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Thanks Dun that is right I got confused! Happens after I travel alot! Too hot in St. Louis.
Lucky_P
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Iso,
hillrancher hit it pretty well.
Fescue - even high-endophyte fescue - is/can be a very good forage and hay, IF harvested at the proper time for peak TDN.
But, when folks here in KY wait until the 4th of July or Labor Day to cut it (we call it 'Holiday Hay'), TDN and protein levels will be in the toilet. I have seen heavy pregnants and fall-calving cows tough it through the winter on sorry hay of that sort(and nothing else) - with TDN<30 and CP in the 3-4% range - and just 'run out of gas', with green grass right around the corner.
Old-timers will say of that 'holiday hay', "It's better than a snowball!" - and it may be - but not much better. They can literally starve to death with a belly full of crappy, lignified 'residue'.
Performance on fescue hay has got nothing to do with 'being adjusted to it', and everything to do with forage quality at the time of harvest.
hillrancher hit it pretty well.
Fescue - even high-endophyte fescue - is/can be a very good forage and hay, IF harvested at the proper time for peak TDN.
But, when folks here in KY wait until the 4th of July or Labor Day to cut it (we call it 'Holiday Hay'), TDN and protein levels will be in the toilet. I have seen heavy pregnants and fall-calving cows tough it through the winter on sorry hay of that sort(and nothing else) - with TDN<30 and CP in the 3-4% range - and just 'run out of gas', with green grass right around the corner.
Old-timers will say of that 'holiday hay', "It's better than a snowball!" - and it may be - but not much better. They can literally starve to death with a belly full of crappy, lignified 'residue'.
Performance on fescue hay has got nothing to do with 'being adjusted to it', and everything to do with forage quality at the time of harvest.
I beg to differ. Cows do need time to adjust to fescue. Some cows can handle the endophyte better then others. But cows that have never been on fescue will not do well for at least a year, usually 2.Lucky_P":397700fu said:
That being said, crappy hay of any kind is a problem. Fescue just has the additional down side of the endophyte, and the furhter it is to seed stage the higher the endophyte.
IL cow man
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I would suggest staying away from the fescue hay this year. It is highly likely that most was mowed and baled tooooo late, because it stayed too wet in the areas where there is hay. Too wet too long means over mature most likely. You might be able to buy straw bales and ammoniate them with anhydrous. I've never done this before, but it could be an option. Straw, cornstalks and other low quality forages blended with gluten or distillers could be another option. In your area cotton cake or other products are probably available. A few years ago I heard of a 1000 cow operation in Indiana was feeding only staw and gluten mixed together and were buying it from someone already mixed. It might be a good alternative business for someone to blend and ship this south. just thinking out loud.
Angus Cowman
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That isn't correct
Southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas had quite a bit of hay and we had one of the best yrs for not getting ANY wet that I have seen in several yrs
we started cutting about a week later than normal but with No significant rain in June we made up for it by being able to keep going
Southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas had quite a bit of hay and we had one of the best yrs for not getting ANY wet that I have seen in several yrs
we started cutting about a week later than normal but with No significant rain in June we made up for it by being able to keep going
IL cow man
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i'm glad to here that you were able to get fescue up in a timely manner. Your area is probably the closest with hay to the drought area. The biggest problem is the drought area encompasses a larger area than what your area will be able to supply in hay.
kjonesel
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If I were to buy hay from elsewhere I would try to get the seller to probe several bales and have them send the sample away for analysis. If you buy your mineral or premixes from a national chain such as McNess have a fellow salesman in that area take a sample.
If you were to purchase large square bales be careful. My brothers have been baling the 3'x4' bales for 3 years now in hay and straw and they are a different animal than round bales. The hay will not cure in the bale as it is virtually wadded into a bale. Theirs has the acid tank on it where they can add preservative (which I'm not sold on, they burnt a barn down last year) this can alter the feed quality. If you don't have a way to feed them where you can break them apart they are so tight the cows can't pull them apart to eat. I fed one to my cows and they literally went hungry till I took the loader and broke it apart. Though I have noticed that the farmers in our area who use the new John Deere, New Holland, and Vermeer balers and roll them tight have cows with the core of the bale taking a long time for the cow to consume.
If you were to purchase large square bales be careful. My brothers have been baling the 3'x4' bales for 3 years now in hay and straw and they are a different animal than round bales. The hay will not cure in the bale as it is virtually wadded into a bale. Theirs has the acid tank on it where they can add preservative (which I'm not sold on, they burnt a barn down last year) this can alter the feed quality. If you don't have a way to feed them where you can break them apart they are so tight the cows can't pull them apart to eat. I fed one to my cows and they literally went hungry till I took the loader and broke it apart. Though I have noticed that the farmers in our area who use the new John Deere, New Holland, and Vermeer balers and roll them tight have cows with the core of the bale taking a long time for the cow to consume.
