how much pound of bale hay per pregnant to consume

[uscangus]

i have read a lot of articles and journals about feeding bred or bumping cows(black angus). my cows have a lot of pastures or acreages. the weather is favorable in central-western Washington. it has occassionally rain or drizzles since fall. since el nino, the weather is warm and dry compared to several years or decade. the weather temperatures have been around 40-50 high with some sunshines. this area still receives plenty of constant drizzle rain, but not compare to southern states with thunderstorm and lightening.

i usually feed about 8lbs of bale of hay(good quality) per cow per night. the rest of the day, the cows are grazing the whole pastures.
i worried if i am not feeding them enough or too much, albeit they are maintaining their BCS(6-7). the cows are around 1500-1800lbs and ages around 5-7 years old. these bred cows are never in the barn during the night. from the barn to pastures, they have to walk far to get to pastures; hence, they get a lot exercise.

i would gladly appreciate your generous advises and opinions. happy holidays...............

 

[bigbull338]

rule of thumb for feeding hay is 1.5 to 2% of their bw.if you prolly need to feed 15lbs of hay a cow a day.

 

[Aaron]

If they are maintaining their body condition, that is my main concern. I would throw a protein supplement block out for them to supplement the pasture they are grazing. If there is sufficient grass, and you add a protein block for them, you could eliminate feeding hay altogether. :cowboy:

 

[Caustic Burno]

A dry cow will consume 30 lbs a day of quality hay you can figure 35 to 40 lbs a day on a wet cow. This all depends on easy keeper versus hard as well as weather conditions. A cow standing in a 40 degree rain will consume more than a dry cow at 30 degrees. You can satisfy a cows nutrient needs on three pounds a day on feed you still need another 27 pounds to fill her up.

 

[uscangus]

thank you-bigbull338, aaron, and caustic burno for responding and giving your experienced advices. our weather is not to harsh; grass is still green grass and give them mineral block with 3-1, including molasses, high maganese, and high selenium to supplement any minerals needed from pasture and summer hay from the pastures. but thank you kindly for your generous advices. just a beginner who loves raising angus cattles.