Say I buy a 450kg /1000 lb cow, and keep her indoors only (no pasture.)
If my goal is to get say 7-8 liters of milk (roughly 2 gallons) what is the least amount of
good alfalfa hay I can get away with? No grains, and as I said no pasture.
I am trying to get an understanding of cost, because presumably she will eat a lot of more if
fed but I don't need the extra milk.
On the other hand, I don't want to make the poor thing suffer or starve her by barely giving her
anything to eat. I read that about 3% of live weight should be enough, but I am not sure if that meant
after pasture or not.
Would 30lbs of baled alfalfa be enough as the only source (90% source) of feed? Is it cruel to
feed her just that a day?
Thanks.
If my goal is to get say 7-8 liters of milk (roughly 2 gallons) what is the least amount of
good alfalfa hay I can get away with? No grains, and as I said no pasture.
I am trying to get an understanding of cost, because presumably she will eat a lot of more if
fed but I don't need the extra milk.
On the other hand, I don't want to make the poor thing suffer or starve her by barely giving her
anything to eat. I read that about 3% of live weight should be enough, but I am not sure if that meant
after pasture or not.
Would 30lbs of baled alfalfa be enough as the only source (90% source) of feed? Is it cruel to
feed her just that a day?
Thanks.