Hay time?

[9 ER]

How do yall make a decision as to when to start with free choice hay?

 

[sidney411]

When the cows ask for it :lol:

We give hay when the first hard freeze hits or else when the grass gets low and it is not growing anymore.

 

[9 ER]

Thanks, Is low 6-8 inches or 2-4 inches? No freeze yey, but looks like the grass has stopped growing. Mowed the yard last weekend and it's not growing back.

 

[certherfbeef]

Mowed the yard last weekend and it's not growing back.

:shock: :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Last time I moved my yard was in September!

First bale of hay was fed last weekend. The cows were begging and don't like that old fescue that was left in the field.

 

[Cattle Rack Rancher]

I usually start feeding hay about the time it gets too deep for them to dig through the snow in the pasture. Hope that helps :D

 

[TLCfromARK]

Once the grass starts getting shorter / stops growing we'll put out a roll. Wait and see how they like it and how long it takes for them to clean it up. We don't put out more until they've scrapped up the left overs.

In S.W. Arkansas we're feeding one large roll everyday ( unrolling ). If the weather really bad we'll put out two rolls one day & one the next as long as they're eating it all.

Alvin is just south of Houston isn't it? You shouldn't have a very long feeding season. I used to live in the general area and well remember mowing the grass in Dec. for the last time and mowing for the first time in mid Feb.

;-)

 

[georgia beef]

I moved the cows to another pasture the 29th of nov...The cows about got it ate plus the hard freeze that we had the last 2 night haven't helped...Giving them a little hay now goina go free choice about sunday...Atleast I got three weeks longer on grass this year.. :D . That's what the cows are telling me anyway :)

Georgia Beef

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

9 ER ---- My cattle are just down the road from you, in the Sugarland Rosenberg area. IMHO now is a real good time to provide your cattle with plenty of quality hay. If they don't eat it and still graze the stockpiled grass then hold off feeding it again until some other "event" or pasture condition warrants the hay feeding. But days like today when it rains or drizzles all day and night and stays in the high thirties to low fourties and accompanied by brisk wind are pretty tough on cattle, especially if you have a lot of Brahma influence. I think these conditions are a LOT worse for cattle than if the temperature was WELL below freezing but without rain and/or high humidity. Wet hides and hair for several days makes it pretty difficult for the cattle to keep sufficiently warm, and they need something good to fuel their internal furnace. And with all this rain, even when it stops, unless you have some sheds your cattle will have no place to lay around that isn't real muddy --- our soils just don't dry off quickly like they do in so many areas with sandier/rocky soils. So under these conditions I think the best thing you can do for your cattle is simply to make sure they have a belly full of good hay.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Agree mid thirties to forties and rain is real hard on cattle quit trying to save the hay.

 

[polledbull]

all the hay is good for is feeding the cows . I would get it out there before the cows start to get thin waiting on it.I have been feeding hay for over 2 months. If they want it they will eat it , if not it will lay till they do want it. I spent way to much time baling hay to let the cows stare across the fence at it.

 

[Bez]

Hey CRR - I use the - "it's up to their eyes rule".

When the cow sticks her head down through the snow to grab a bite, and the snow is just about up to her eyes - it is time to feed. If the snow gets a crust on it I throw that rule away and start feeding.

Wife has tried to bust up the crust with a quad or sled - but it just doesn't seem to do the job. I think the chunks of crusty snow bothers them.

Bez

 

[9 ER]

Yea, Alvin is about 30 miles south of Houston. "Home of Nolan Ryan.....well, used to be home"
My heifers are in great condition. I'm not trying to be cheap. I 've been feeding them 1/2 a bale a day for a couple weeks now. Just read were I should give them free choice and just wanted to know how the guru's decided on when it was time.

Thanks for the help

 

[greenwillowherefords]

Tried some $30 bale fertilized and sprayed bermuda hay last purchase, versus the $25 bale delivered prairie hay I was getting. In less than a week I could tell the difference in the cows' condition; they have improved their conditioning quickly. You get what you pay for.