How much food do my cows need for winter?

[AmeliaA]

Neither of them will eat hay as of now.

 

[Son of Butch]

Large bales can be a pain if not equipped to handle them.
Corn stalks are great for bedding which you'll need for winter bedding in Michigan and they will eat the husks.
Corn stalks are cheap, so free cornstalks for 2 head isn't much of a savings.

To start look to buy a pick up load (40 bales) of small squares of soft grass meadow hay.
Stay away from low quality fescue ditch hay and high priced horse hay.
A lot of dairies in Michigan, corn is cheap, it would be nice if you had a friend to grind 25 bushels of shelled corn.

 

[littletom]

Pull those 2 ears off leave the stalks. Get some hay round or not. Go to local feed company not tsc tell them what you have and are doing, ask them for what else you need to grow the calves.

 

[MtnCows93]

id say put them out on stalks and get round bales if there cheaper it wont hurt for them to sit outside they will waste more but if its cheaper its worth it and just a couple pounds of feed per head per day works unless the hay is really crappy

 

[kilroy60]

I live in Michigan and winter is only a couple months away. My two cows will be 7 months and 5 months old. My neighbor farms all the fields around me and said I can take all the male rows of corn. I have no way of grinding up the corn stalks. How much will I need for winter? I also have 10 square bales of hay. Will I need to add anything to there diet for the winter months?

To be clear you don't have any cows. You have 2 calves 210 and 150 days old, so maybe 500 and 350 lbs each?
They need a growing ration to meet their needs. Trying to winter them on cornstalks and hay will leave them pot bellied and stunted come spring.

SOB is right, these animals will be in the most needy time of growing in their life. They will need good protein and some more digestible forage than mainly corn stalks. The ears will provide some energy but the protein will be very low. AT THE VERY LEAST , you need to figure at least 2 lbs grain that is 16 % protein or more per animal per day. Then if you are looking at small square bales that are in the 50 lb range range, you will be feeding a minimum of 2 per day and probably more. Any chance of getting a few big round bales for them so that they have hay free choice? Usually is cheaper than feeding small sq bales and they will be able to eat to keep their rumen working good and their body heat up in the winter.

I don't remember reading what breed they are, but if they are holsteins they will need even more grain as holsteins will not grow well on a low grain diet in the cold weather especially. Any calf that is not given the needed protein to grow their bone and muscles will get pot gutted and will stunt their growth and they will never grow right after that.

Added to that is the needed mineral and salt that has been mentioned. Trying to raise them cheap is not a good way to go into the winter with young animals. Older more mature cattle can do well on lower protein and a roughage diet is definitely what they are designed to eat. but you have to meet basic needs and a young growing animal needs more concentrated feed to grow.

Very good advice. Those calves need protein, minerals, and good forage if you want them to grow.

 

[AmeliaA]

I'm having 3 alfalfa round bales deliveried this morning. $40 each. Square bales around me are 4 to 6 bucks. Only mill around me that still sells grain is 45 mins away. They are open the hours I work..

 

[cowboy43]

You never did say what you are going to do with the calves. Are you going to eat them?

 

[C-Ranch]

I always figure between 25 to 30 lbs of hay per head per day (average) and with calves, which they are, I'd go ahead and add a few corn stalks with corn, each day. They will need a good mineral as well.

I agree, 25 -30 lbs of hay per head per day. I don't feed corn stalks, but putting out a good free choice mineral is a must!

 

[farmerjan]

Are you anywhere near a Tractor Supply store? They are open 7 days a week here and on weekdays usually til 8 pm some 9 pm. They carry all sorts of cattle grains, some better than others, even handle Purina here. But a decent 16% protein is better than nothing, even if it isn't the highest priced feed. A 50 lb bag should last 10 days if you feed the bare minimum of 5 lbs total a day. At 15.00 that's only 1.50 a day.
Congrats on the alfalfa hay as 40 a roll is a good price if it is nice hay. Be careful of bloat as they might overeat, and could easily get scours because it is so rich. If you could mix it with a good grass hay it will help provide the needed protein also. I would not feed it as the only source of hay though. I feed about 2 leafs of a square bale to each of my dairy cows when they come fresh, while in the barn being milked or when they have calves on them, daily. Otherwise they get a mixed orchard grass/ with some fescue and plain pasture mixed grass as their main hay. There will be some clover in it and sometimes johnson grass and whatever is in the field.

 

[farmerjan]

You are already feeding some grain so I would just up it a bit when the weather gets colder. The jersey will feel the cold more and they do tend to get a pot belly because he will be eating more hay. But by the next year, once they get out on grass again, they will lose the "gut" and start to fill out. Sounds like you are doing okay already. I missed a couple of the posts where you said what you were already feeding when I posted my earlier reply.