lilfarmangel
Well-known member
So, everything I've read says cattle love their grain. And for the most part, mine like it ok. But they prefer the alfalfa. They'll walk away from the grain pan and empty the alfalfa. This morning I decided to not give the alfalfa until the grain was gone. My heifer (3/4 Jersey, 1/4 Holstein) layed down beside the grain pan and wouldn't get up or eat a bite, the steer (1/2 Jersey, 1/2 angus) just whined to be let outside. (I lock them up at night cuz of coyote, and have to seperate them for feeding cuz the steer will try to nurse the heifer after his bottle is empty) Finally (2 hours later) I let everyone out into the corral and gave them alfalfa, even though neither really ate any of their grain. (I might also mention that they do have a mineral block by their feeder outside) So now what? The steer is 2 months old and still takes a bottle. The heifer is 4 months old and doesn't get a bottle anymore. Aren't they supposed to be eating about 1-2 lbs of grain a day? Is not eating his grain going to delay weaning the steer from the bottle? What about the heifer, will not eating the grain cause any growth problems if all she eats is alfalfa?
Thanks in advance!
Thanks in advance!