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How much feed is "enough"?
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<blockquote data-quote="Engler" data-source="post: 1094795" data-attributes="member: 4110"><p>I think the answer is yes, it all depends on the situation. IF you have good grass and the cows are maintaining condition on that, then you don't need to feed anything more.</p><p></p><p>Now let's say that it's super dry, you're dealing with a set of first calf heifers and the grass is burned up then you probably need to do something. If you ask 10 different producers you'll get at least 10 different answers what "something" is.</p><p></p><p>Last year dealing with a group of heifers we did put out a creep feeder. For what it cost and what we got back in terms of pounds it probably wasn't worth it, BUT we thought that it took some of the load off those cows that were still trying to grow themselves, plus feed a calf, plus grow a new baby. If we had one more breed back that would have fallen out of bed that was probably worth $500-700. </p><p></p><p>Additionally we do feed a couple pounds of shell corn to the cows once a week or so. They are getting little to nothing out of this from a nutritional standpoint, but we can take them almost anywhere we want them to go with a 5 gallon bucket. What is the value of that?</p><p></p><p>A third thing to consider is what is the nutritional value of your hay vs the cost and the same thing for the feed? Sometimes it is more cost effective to feed junk hay for filler along with some grain vs feeding high priced high quality hay.</p><p></p><p>One thing that I don't see you saying anything about is a mineral program. I am a huge fan of a high quality, loose mineral. Brand doesn't matter as long as it's quality.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Engler, post: 1094795, member: 4110"] I think the answer is yes, it all depends on the situation. IF you have good grass and the cows are maintaining condition on that, then you don't need to feed anything more. Now let's say that it's super dry, you're dealing with a set of first calf heifers and the grass is burned up then you probably need to do something. If you ask 10 different producers you'll get at least 10 different answers what "something" is. Last year dealing with a group of heifers we did put out a creep feeder. For what it cost and what we got back in terms of pounds it probably wasn't worth it, BUT we thought that it took some of the load off those cows that were still trying to grow themselves, plus feed a calf, plus grow a new baby. If we had one more breed back that would have fallen out of bed that was probably worth $500-700. Additionally we do feed a couple pounds of shell corn to the cows once a week or so. They are getting little to nothing out of this from a nutritional standpoint, but we can take them almost anywhere we want them to go with a 5 gallon bucket. What is the value of that? A third thing to consider is what is the nutritional value of your hay vs the cost and the same thing for the feed? Sometimes it is more cost effective to feed junk hay for filler along with some grain vs feeding high priced high quality hay. One thing that I don't see you saying anything about is a mineral program. I am a huge fan of a high quality, loose mineral. Brand doesn't matter as long as it's quality. [/QUOTE]
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How much feed is "enough"?
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