SusanT":2ukoek58 said:
Hello! I am finally getting a chance to start posting!
I was wondering if any of you have had experience feeding loomix. We have been looking at ways of reducing winter feeding costs for our cattle and recently received a visit from a Loomix dealer. The claims that the dealer are making about loomix include that we can get by with feeding our cows strictly straw and loomix in the second trimester (if it is halfway decent straw). If we were to end up using loomix, we would be feeding it with ryegrass straw and the dealer thinks that would work well. Have any of you ever tried feeding just loomix and straw before? Did you like the results? The dealer also says that we don't have to feed any minerals with loomix, just salt. Has that been your experience? Any other pluses or minuses to Loomix? Basically, I am trying to get other points of views on Loomix besides that of the dealer. Thank you very much for your time!
Susan
There has been a ton of discussion on feeding straw on this board - in fact I was a big straw feeder at one time due to drought.
There is a lot of information located here:
http://cattletoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=50116&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=feeding+straw
Hope the link works for you - I am technically challenged.
Use the search function of this board to find more. Use every university in North America that has an ag department - the info is free, accurate and almost always up to date - I might add they usually respond very quickly
As for LOOMIX I have no idea. You need an ingredient list - then chat with your veterinarian if you are not sure.
There are
many feed companies out there that produce
excellent feed additives - either liquid supplements or dry - I used to be more concerned about cost than I was about the company - as long as you can compare ingredients and talk with someone in the know you will do fine.
In fact you could send some of this to those ag universities - just the ingredient lists - you might get lucky and a grad student will give you a comparisom - do not use the company names - that way there will be no inherent bias.
Most of those students are
way, way smarter than us old timers when it comes to the science and technical side of the business - do not be afraid to draw upon their advice. And to top it off most of them not only truly care about the response - they come from an ag background - so they can relate to you and your request.
We did this with Guelph in Canada and found out that three of the four additives we were looking at were all quite satisfactory and the fourth was almost as good as the other three - and would certainly have been sufficient. We ended up going with a system that was local and fairly middle of the road cost wise. But in truth all four would have worked.
Remember as well the service is an issue - I would always be willing to pay a small touch more if I had the local guy doing it rather than some person from TimBuckTwo. Especially if I knew the home telephone number of the local!
Finally, you do not say where you are from. Advice from someone in Northern Canada might not be worth a pinch of the proverbial coon crap if you live in south Texas or Florida - and vice versa. In fact it could actually be harmful in some instances. What works in one area does not always work in another. Local environment is very important - so be aware of who you are talking to and where they are from.
Straw can be an excellent feed if used properly - additional proteins and all the water they can drink will probably be required to prevent impaction. Best of luck on this - properly managed, straw should be in every outfits feed program.
Good luck in your search for information
Regards
Bez+