Future of Cattle Business
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JMJ Farms
Well-known member
skyhightree1 said:
Can't say I missed the unnecessary smart mouth remarks from some either.
Remember, we have two ears and one mouth.
With that said, as has already been mentioned, there are charts and such that tell you the normal intake of hay by different weight cattle. A simple route, that I usually use, is to feed them whatever they will clean up in about two hours, twice a day. But I roll my hay out, so this is easy for me to judge.
Hay is my biggest expense as well. And you're exactly right. A cow can starve to death with a full stomach. I test my hay for each individual field, and each cutting. And supplement accordingly. Best money you can spend in regards to feeding. And while my method of monitoring what they clean up in a couple of hours may or may not work for others, it is important to take into consideration the quality of the hay you're feeding. Naturally there will be more waste with poor, rotten, rank hay, etc. I don't have it down to an exact science but I'm getting closer. I still wish I had the resources to get closer to year round grazing, with hay as an emergency backup. But to do that means I have to be able to control the moisture, which means pivots, because stockpiling doesn't work well here.True Grit Farms said:
1982vett
Well-known member
True Grit Farms said:
My definition of Overfeeding is when the grass is green and growing and the hayring and feed bunks are still kept full. :2cents:
I'd say winter pasture is my biggest expense but it intertwines with making hay. Some years I'm in baling hay mode and others I'm in grazing it out. This year has been an easy year to grow something to bale.
Lucky
Well-known member
Sounds like JMJ and I have close to the same routine.
Do you guys have feed stores that deliver in bulk in y'alls area? Buying in bulk and feeding out of a truck feeder has been a big savings for me. I know this is something that won't work for everyone but I'm too tight to waste the .50 to .75 cents on the sack. Before I got an overhead I picked it up a ton at a time in suger sacks and fed out of buckets.
Do you guys have feed stores that deliver in bulk in y'alls area? Buying in bulk and feeding out of a truck feeder has been a big savings for me. I know this is something that won't work for everyone but I'm too tight to waste the .50 to .75 cents on the sack. Before I got an overhead I picked it up a ton at a time in suger sacks and fed out of buckets.
True Grit Farms
Well-known member
Lucky said:
We're blessed to have cotton gins close and access to pickup WCS by the trailer load.
Lucky
Well-known member
I fed a WCS mix to yearling calves and grown bulls this past winter and it was one of the best things I've ever fed. We supposedly have the most modern cotton gin in the country about 30 miles from here but they don't produce gin trash and must have a contract on the seed. I think it was built 4-5 years ago.
JMJ Farms
Well-known member
I feed WCS and bulk feed. With buckets. The amount of labor gets old sometimes but it works. It'll have to work till I can do better
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
Be careful on wcs as it can cause heart issues and infertility in that yearling class of cattle. This is not usually a problem just watch for the hog at the troughs.
https://projects.ncsu.edu/cals/an_sci/extension/animal/nutr/mhp95-1.htm
https://projects.ncsu.edu/cals/an_sci/extension/animal/nutr/mhp95-1.htm
Lucky
Well-known member
Thanks for the link CB, I wasn't aware of this. The mix I fed from Oct- April had 10% WSC in it. Fed 6#'s a day. I kept a group of heifers as replacements out of this bunch. Pulled the bull last night and will preg check in 45 days, one more thing to worry about. Lol
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
Lucky said:
I wouldn't worry too much about that blend. Cotton seed is good stuff but so is Jack Daniels got to know when enough is enough.
True Grit Farms
Well-known member
https://site.extension.uga.edu/lowndesecholsag/2018/06/is-cottonseed-going-to-make-my-bulls-infertile/
Poor hay supplemented with 6 lbs of WCS per day will give a cow everything it needs. Last year WCS was less than $0.08 a lb here, besides the labor involved in feeding WCS you can't beat it.
Poor hay supplemented with 6 lbs of WCS per day will give a cow everything it needs. Last year WCS was less than $0.08 a lb here, besides the labor involved in feeding WCS you can't beat it.
This is a long running thread with little to no adverse behavior Grit. Should be good for the advertisers.
cowrancher75
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hoping to secure 1000 acres that can run 300 pairs..
wish me luck boys
wish me luck boys
True Grit Farms
Well-known member
TennesseeTuxedo said:
Maybe it's because none of the trouble makers - attention seekers have posted on this thread yet.
True Grit Farms
Well-known member
cowrancher75 said:
Good luck.
True Grit Farms said:
Yes you have.
ALACOWMAN
Well-known member
That was always my problem, knowing when it was enough.usually the floor would tell me..Caustic Burno said:
We are in a completely different situation than most of the regulars. The Army Corps of Engineer has designated our land and most cattle pasture in Pointe Coupee Parish for "mitigated flooding". This is typical cya bureaucrat language to deflect attention from the encyclopedia of mistakes they have made upriver that have put us underwater since January. In the past year we've had to put down nearly a hundred loads of fill dirt just so the cattle can walk from pasture to pasture.
Short film about what we are losing.
Pointe Coupee- 300 years in the making
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kOImgfUFc1c
Short film about what we are losing.
Pointe Coupee- 300 years in the making
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kOImgfUFc1c
