How much hay should a cow eat in a day?

[sandhiller]

Cold weather, 35 lbs or more a day

 

[TexasBred]

Cold weather, 35 lbs or more a day

Keeping in mind also that "cold" to us is little more than "just about right" for a cow. :nod:

 

[Lazy M]

Also need to factor in if the cows have calves. Our spring calving herds are looking good with approximately 35 #/day. Our fall calving herd is holding condition with around 45#/day..I may cut the fall group back a little because we started creeping the calves 2 weeks ago and I am noticing more hay being left in the rings.

 

[Bigfoot]

Also need to factor in if the cows have calves. Our spring calving herds are looking good with approximately 35 #/day. Our fall calving herd is holding condition with around 45#/day..I may cut the fall group back a little because we started creeping the calves 2 weeks ago and I am noticing more hay being left in the rings.

I guess a calf (big enough to eat ofcourse) eats the same percent of his body weight as cow, but they sure seem to polish off some hay.

 

[Son of Butch]

Isn't the rule of thumb the amount a cow should eat should be equal to the amount of wood a woodchuck would chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

 

[TexasBred]

Isn't the rule of thumb the amount a cow should eat should be equal to the amount of wood a woodchuck would chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

+/- 2.568 lbs. per head per day. :mrgreen:

 

[SRBeef]

A cow will eat between 2.5% and 3% of her weight in hay (dry matter basis) per day.

 

[JSCATTLE]

My cows get all the hay they can eat. I'm pretty far south so I figure 4 4x5 rolls of hay per year. This is proper rolls . Not some lose or junk hay .

 

[east_tex]

Rule of thumb is 5 round bales per cow per winter? Yes or no?

If you assume feeding 1000 pound rolls of hay to 1000 pound cows then I think about one roll per cow per winter month. Our extension service here recommends 2.6 percent of body weight of per cow per day and to assume a 20 percent waste of hay. So 1000 pound cow times .026 then divide by .8 for the waste and multiply by thirty for the days in the month = 975 pounds of hay in a30 day month.

 

[TexasBred]

Rule of thumb is 5 round bales per cow per winter? Yes or no?

If you assume feeding 1000 pound rolls of hay to 1000 pound cows then I think about one roll per cow per winter month. Our extension service here recommends 2.6 percent of body weight of per cow per day and to assume a 20 percent waste of hay. So 1000 pound cow times .026 then divide by .8 for the waste and multiply by thirty for the days in the month = 975 pounds of hay in a30 day month.

And of course you weight each bale and make adjustments for light bales and excessive waste? :shock: