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grazing on alfalfa
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<blockquote data-quote="Anonymous" data-source="post: 15055"><p>I personally think the bloat issue is over emphasised, yes they can bloat but it doesn't seem to be as wide spread as one would think. Problem is, twenty head can graze and 19 of them will do fine and never have a problem, but the other one will bloat and maybe die. That pretty much means the other 19 are just going to pay for the one and if your lucky you'll breakeven. There are strains of alfalfa that have ben devloped for grazing they don;t seem to be as much a culprit as those that are strictly hay types. If I were planning on grazing alfalfa, I would first only run them in for a couple of hours inthe morning, pull them off, then run them in for a couple more hours in the late afternoon, then pull them off for the night. I would also provide a "Bloatgaurd" block starting before I started running them in. After a week or so, I would still leave the block available but would allow them to graze full time. If it has been hayed, and you are only grazing the stubble it may not be as serious a deal. But, (there are always buts in a deal llike this), when we were in the desert and our partner raised alfalfa, I suggested letting the calves winter on the stubble. He used to lease the grazing to the Basque sheperds to winter their sheep. His reasoning for running sheep verses cattle had to do with the crown damage to the alfalfa caused by the bigger foot and heavier weight. Also, the Basques rotated the sheep through so the alfalfa was never grazed low enough to damage the crown. Running calves you would have to really keep an eye on them to prevent them damaging the alfalfa crown. Of course, he had thousands of acres of the stuff, if you are only dealing with a 100 acres or so and used very low stocking rates it might not be a problem. Just my take on the situation.</p><p></p><p>dunmovin farms</p><p></p><p>> Cattle can BLOAT on Alfalfa and</p><p>> other such feed, especially when</p><p>> damp from dew and jucy and</p><p>> succulent.</p><p></p><p>> That said, I have seen about 20</p><p>> young steers grazed on a 40 acre</p><p>> patch that had been cut for it's</p><p>> last seasonal cutting and then had</p><p>> a few inch dusting of snow.</p><p></p><p>> They were digging through (nosing</p><p>> through?) the snow and eating what</p><p>> was available. Some supplemental</p><p>> baled alfalfa was spread and fed</p><p>> in the field on a regular basis.</p><p>> They did well through the winter</p><p>> and the field suffered little or</p><p>> no damage as they were removed</p><p>> prior to the Spring thaw.</p><p></p><p>> Dunmovin can prolly give you a</p><p>> better answer, as he's had greater</p><p>> experience.</p><p></p><p>> Eaglewerks</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Anonymous, post: 15055"] I personally think the bloat issue is over emphasised, yes they can bloat but it doesn't seem to be as wide spread as one would think. Problem is, twenty head can graze and 19 of them will do fine and never have a problem, but the other one will bloat and maybe die. That pretty much means the other 19 are just going to pay for the one and if your lucky you'll breakeven. There are strains of alfalfa that have ben devloped for grazing they don;t seem to be as much a culprit as those that are strictly hay types. If I were planning on grazing alfalfa, I would first only run them in for a couple of hours inthe morning, pull them off, then run them in for a couple more hours in the late afternoon, then pull them off for the night. I would also provide a "Bloatgaurd" block starting before I started running them in. After a week or so, I would still leave the block available but would allow them to graze full time. If it has been hayed, and you are only grazing the stubble it may not be as serious a deal. But, (there are always buts in a deal llike this), when we were in the desert and our partner raised alfalfa, I suggested letting the calves winter on the stubble. He used to lease the grazing to the Basque sheperds to winter their sheep. His reasoning for running sheep verses cattle had to do with the crown damage to the alfalfa caused by the bigger foot and heavier weight. Also, the Basques rotated the sheep through so the alfalfa was never grazed low enough to damage the crown. Running calves you would have to really keep an eye on them to prevent them damaging the alfalfa crown. Of course, he had thousands of acres of the stuff, if you are only dealing with a 100 acres or so and used very low stocking rates it might not be a problem. Just my take on the situation. dunmovin farms > Cattle can BLOAT on Alfalfa and > other such feed, especially when > damp from dew and jucy and > succulent. > That said, I have seen about 20 > young steers grazed on a 40 acre > patch that had been cut for it's > last seasonal cutting and then had > a few inch dusting of snow. > They were digging through (nosing > through?) the snow and eating what > was available. Some supplemental > baled alfalfa was spread and fed > in the field on a regular basis. > They did well through the winter > and the field suffered little or > no damage as they were removed > prior to the Spring thaw. > Dunmovin can prolly give you a > better answer, as he's had greater > experience. > Eaglewerks [/QUOTE]
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