Newbie Question: "Cubes"

[boondocks]

Ok, I keep reading on here about folks "cubing" their cows. Finally figured out they didn't mean turning them into cube steaks--at least not yet :lol:
So, I was recently in the Tractor Supply and saw a bag of "range cubes" and finally put 2 and 2 together, I think.

Are there different general types of cubes? What all's in in them?

We feed our cows decent hay, a little silage in winter as a treat, minerals...They seem to do fine. Looking at the price on a big bag of these cubes (I'm sure they come cheaper wholesale, right?), it would cost many dollars a day per cow, seemingly. Is that right??? How many people use cubes, and is it just as an infrequent supplement?

Thanks!

 

[dun]

Most times cubes are fed as a nutritional supplemtn in stead of grain or as a treat. They are made of everything from junk to high quality grain or hay. I bought a bag fo cubes 15 years ago and it finally just turned to powder since we don;t feed them, grandkids used them to feed the cows a treat out of their hands. If your hay/pasture/forage is of decent quality you don;t need to be feeding a supplement

 

[John SD]

"Cubes" or cake as it is more commonly refered to is pretty much a basic staple diet for brood cows on winter range. A little cake every other day or so can help a bred cow get through winter on grass, especially in years when hay is short. The advantage of cake fed on the ground is you don't need feed bunks, which would be a prohibitive cost in itself if you have a cow herd of any size.

I am amazed at the number of folks on this site who purchase cake in a bag. Seems like wasted $$$ to me. IMO, the bag adds very significant expense with no benefit that I can see. Price the difference between bag and bulk cake and see for yourself. I fed a lot of cake to cattle over the years, but never from a bag.

Most everyone has an unused grain bin of some sort on their place they could put cake in. My uncle would buy a pickup load of cake and store it in an old rusted out galvanized water tank in his machine shed.

The best kept and most ignored secret to raising cattle for profit is to keep costs as low as possible. Granted, they are nice, but if you are reasonably able-bodied, you don't need an expensive cake feeder in the back of your pickup, or a fancy overhead bin to fill it.

Tons and tons of bulk cake have been fed with high tech equipment known as a #10 aluminum scoop shovel and 5 gallon buckets. You already own the scoop shovel. If you haven't worn it out this winter shovelling snow, use it to fill a few of those bazillion 5 gallon buckets in the shop that you're saving for a rainy day. If you got rid of all your buckets, your neighbor might share his stash. ;-) That way you are not paying for expensive bags that only need to be disposed of. :2cents:

 

[gonzo]

Candy for cows, treats are all they are , no bang for your buck at least the ones at TSC

 

[John SD]

Candy for cows, treats are all they are , no bang for your buck at least the ones at TSC

+100 :nod: I would not fool around with Townie Supply Company. :lol: :lol: :lol: Got a new store opened a couple years ago and was there not long after grand opening. Not impressed, and haven't been back. SD owned http://www.campbellsupply.net is light years better than TSC.

TSC is a shell of what it was 40 years ago as far as anything related to ag. The overpriced stuff they have nowdays is designed to make money off the hobby/horsie/weekend warrior crowd. Not much there that appeals to real farmers/ranchers anymore. I can get most anything I can get at TSC at Wallyworld at a better price. :roll:

Buy your feed from a good local family owned store, or if necessary an outlet of one of the majors.

 

[backhoeboogie]

No where around here to get them in bulk. I buy the bags. Once a week I put them out in the lane. Cows run to the alley. Makes it easier to move them from pasture to pasture or to work them, sort them, load them. If a neighbor's bull comes in and busts up fences, I can gather up the cows in a hurry with horn honking and a bag of cubes.

The hay is plenty good. Cows get loose mineral and have a salt lick. Looking at the cow pies in the pasture, they don't need anything else. So I pretty much just use cake as a tool.

 

[TexasBred]

No where around here to get them in bulk. I buy the bags. Once a week I put them out in the lane. Cows run to the alley. Makes it easier to move them from pasture to pasture or to work them, sort them, load them. If a neighbor's bull comes in and busts up fences, I can gather up the cows in a hurry with horn honking and a bag of cubes.

The hay is plenty good. Cows get loose mineral and have a salt lick. Looking at the cow pies in the pasture, they don't need anything else. So I pretty much just use cake as a tool.

Even if you can find them "bulk" you usually have to buy such a huge amount of them that you end up with thousands of dollars invested in feed laying on the floor of a barn, stuffed in a barrel or anywhere else you can find to store it. Seems feed companies cater to the larger operators and really don't have time to let "John Small Customer" pull up with a homemade trailer and get a couple tons of "bulk" cubes dumped into his little junker. Feed them only when needed and you'll be fine.

 

[Brute 23]

No where around here to get them in bulk. I buy the bags. Once a week I put them out in the lane. Cows run to the alley. Makes it easier to move them from pasture to pasture or to work them, sort them, load them. If a neighbor's bull comes in and busts up fences, I can gather up the cows in a hurry with horn honking and a bag of cubes.

The hay is plenty good. Cows get loose mineral and have a salt lick. Looking at the cow pies in the pasture, they don't need anything else. So I pretty much just use cake as a tool.

Same here. It's any easy way to call the cattle up to check them, move them, ect. They are a little costly but it doesn't take much and it's a heck of a lot cheaper than keeping a horse.

 

[boondocks]

Very interesting information. My thanks to everyone for the replies.
I agree with the Tractor Supply comments. Unfortunately, for a few things (mineral licks, eg) they are the best option around in the middle of winter. Mostly, they have cheap faux-country clothes, toys, geegaws...mostly made in China. Their prices seem quite high too.

The cube thing must not be too big around here. We have not heard of people doing it much. Maybe it's more a regional thing.

 

[presmudjo]

I thought I read somewhere TSC was bought out by one of the Walton girls, so basically a walmart kind of place now.

 

[John SD]

TSC was THE place to go 40 yrs ago when I was a kid. Dad bought just about everything he needed there. Tractor tires, car and pickup tires, oil, grease, hardware, fencing supplies, veterinary, you name it. TSC had it.

But that TSC store eventually went out of business and was the only store in this part of the state. Next closest TSC was now 300 miles away.

Smaller local and regional chains came in and were pretty good. Some of those have now been bought up by Runnings.

Runnings first came in here when they bought the bankrupt Country General store in Rapid City. Turned that place around and outgrew that location. Now, the current Runnings is in the former Sam's Club.

I've never been able to get through the whole store to see what all they have because the walking wears me out anymore. Maybe I should break down and use one of those motorized cart things.

Runnings has now purchased the local family owned Motive Parts stores in Rapid City and Belle Fourche SD. Closed the Rapid City store since they already have their operation in the former Sam's Club.

Belle Fourche Motive Parts store was a new place built in recent years and will continue now as a Runnings store. With Bomgaar's in Spearfish and Campbell Supply in Sturgis there is pretty stiff competion in the Black Hills area.

I see yesterday that the former Country General/Runnings which has stood vacant for a couple years is undergoing a facelift. Not sure what is going in there. Has had a "For Lease" sign on it for a long time.