Protein Tubs

[farmforever]

I have heard limited information on these. Has anyone given these to beef calves with lower qaulity hay? Would it be worth the money to do so or not? If yes is there a certan type I should be feeding?these calves would also be getting about 3-5lbs of grain.

Thanks in advance

 

[Howdyjabo]

If you are feeding anyhow- I don't see the value in tubs.

 

[Dave]

If you figure the cost per pound or ton on the tubs they are pretty darn expensive. If you are already feeding grain and want to add more protein into their diet there are cheaper ways to do it than tubs.

 

[Limomike]

I have heard limited information on these. Has anyone given these to beef calves with lower qaulity hay? Would it be worth the money to do so or not? If yes is there a certan type I should be feeding?these calves would also be getting about 3-5lbs of grain.

Thanks in advance

Are your calves looking poorly? If they are looking and growing good, then why spend the extra money on a tub since you are also feeding them grain??

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

Anyone hear of the liquid feed? At our yearly meeting last night (feed store puts it on, good rib eye steak!) they were talking about the liquid feed tanks, and even said that you can put it on a round bale to increase the protein content of the bales and make the cows clean it up better. IIRC, they said 6 pounds of the liquid feed poured on the bale (tip the bale up, pour feed, let it set until the liquid drains to the bottom, then flip the bale back again on it side. Feed immediately or save for later) will increase the protein content of the bale 4 percent. So, if the bale was testing at 4% protein, you can jump it to 8% just by adding the liquid feed prior to feeding.
Anyone have experience with this?

 

[slick4591]

I've never tried it with the bales, but I do keep QLF out full time.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

I've never tried it with the bales, but I do keep QLF out full time.

What do you think of it? It was QLF that was there last night. I like the pouring on a bale idea, we had to buy some lower quality hay this week, so I am thinking of ways to improve the hay quality and make it more palatable...
We can't justify having a tank around full time, just not enough cows...

 

[cross_7]

Anyone hear of the liquid feed? At our yearly meeting last night (feed store puts it on, good rib eye steak!) they were talking about the liquid feed tanks, and even said that you can put it on a round bale to increase the protein content of the bales and make the cows clean it up better. IIRC, they said 6 pounds of the liquid feed poured on the bale (tip the bale up, pour feed, let it set until the liquid drains to the bottom, then flip the bale back again on it side. Feed immediately or save for later) will increase the protein content of the bale 4 percent. So, if the bale was testing at 4% protein, you can jump it to 8% just by adding the liquid feed prior to feeding.
Anyone have experience with this?

mt experience with it was the tubs that had the little wheels that the cattle licked.
it was a molasses based so the flies would land and stick to the wheels as well as dirt, hair you name it

 

[cross_7]

I have heard limited information on these. Has anyone given these to beef calves with lower qaulity hay? Would it be worth the money to do so or not? If yes is there a certan type I should be feeding?these calves would also be getting about 3-5lbs of grain.

Thanks in advance

depends on what your trying to accomplish.
what weight are the calves
what is the protein in the hay
will they eat it or is that why you want the tubs
what grain/protein are they getting
for 2#'s of gain your protien needs to be around 12-14% for 5-6 weight calves
the lighter the calf the higher the protein.
for 3#'s your protien needs to be higher

i would first want to know where i'm at then figure what i need to get there.
if you can feed them daily then i go a different route
i'm not trying to be a jerk just offer my thought

 

[backhoeboogie]

People I know foraging dead grass use tubs or tanks. Maybe rather than selling out completely it might work.

There has been a lot of talk in this forum about juicing 6 year old hay with liquid. Also a lot of the imported junk hay. Somebody mentioned 4% hay above and I can't imagine feeding anything that bad. Must be ten years old?

My cows get loose mineral and salt. Good grass or good hay. Never grain unless it is the nurse cow with grafted calves on her. Spending money on tubs would cut deep into the profit margin. I'd get a better return planting winter grasses or buying fertilizer.

 

[Limomike]

backhoe,
I think they were talking about pouring that liquid feed on old bales they had.. not imported ones. I have done that many times, to increase the protein content of some of the bales I had from last year, and to get the cows to clean it up.

 

[slick4591]

What do you think of it? It was QLF that was there last night. I like the pouring on a bale idea, we had to buy some lower quality hay this week, so I am thinking of ways to improve the hay quality and make it more palatable...
We can't justify having a tank around full time, just not enough cows...

I'm of the idea that the cows know better than I what they need as for as nutrition goes and that's why I keep it out. I only have four cows and a bull using the tank. Calves aren't old enough yet, but in watching the larger animals they hardly touch the stuff in the spring when I have good quality grass. The consumption goes up some when the summer grasses take over and even more is used during the winter. I've been filling the tank up twice a year at $200.00 a fill. I'm planning on staying with the stuff unless something major happens.

 

[slick4591]

mt experience with it was the tubs that had the little wheels that the cattle licked.
it was a molasses based so the flies would land and stick to the wheels as well as dirt, hair you name it

Cross, I'm not having that problem with the flies on my tank. I've tasted the stuff and it's a salty and almost sour tasting product. Doesn't seem to attract flies.

 

[J&D Cattle]

There has been a lot of talk in this forum about juicing 6 year old hay with liquid. Also a lot of the imported junk hay. Somebody mentioned 4% hay above and I can't imagine feeding anything that bad. Must be ten years old?

Could be CRP hay from this year. The CRP hay we bought was 6.198 on a DM basis but I've heard of a lot of it testing around 4% this year.

 

[greybeard]

What do you think of it? It was QLF that was there last night. I like the pouring on a bale idea, we had to buy some lower quality hay this week, so I am thinking of ways to improve the hay quality and make it more palatable...
We can't justify having a tank around full time, just not enough cows...

I'm of the idea that the cows know better than I what they need as for as nutrition goes and that's why I keep it out. I only have four cows and a bull using the tank. Calves aren't old enough yet, but in watching the larger animals they hardly touch the stuff in the spring when I have good quality grass. The consumption goes up some when the summer grasses take over and even more is used during the winter. I've been filling the tank up twice a year at $200.00 a fill. I'm planning on staying with the stuff unless something major happens.

How big is the tank capacity? 250 gals?

 

[Lucky_P]

backhoe,
I've seen - all too many times - folks feeding crappy overmature 'hay' harvested off CRP ground in October. Not at all unusual for it to test at 3-4% CP, with TDN <30. "It's better than a snowball.", they say - but it isn't MUCH better. Have seen heavily pregnant and cows nursing big young calves virtually starve to death with a belly full of that sort of crap - and they usually 'run out of gas' just before, or just as, the grass is greening up.
If folks have no standing grass or are feeding that sort of sorry forages, the protein tubs may be the easiest way to try to address the problem - but I see a lot more 'energy' deficiency than I do 'protein deficiency'. The tubs are pretty doggone costly for what they provide; in most cases, folks would probably be $$ ahead purchasing some decent hay and a little grain.
A lot of times, I see cattle on pretty decent grass, with those tubs out. They probably don't need 'em. Good stockpiled fescue has a much higher protein content than a dry cow or bred heifer needs to get by. Some folks just like to feed cattle, I guess...

 

[Crazy Farmgirl]

I would get the hay tested (if you haven't already) so you know where you stand there, then since you will be feeding grain anyway I would adjust the protein content there. My opinion is that the tubs are expensive for what they are and that there are cheaper options to achieve the same results.

 

[slick4591]

can't remember if it's 200 or 250.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

Hay is a premium this year for us. We just picked up 13 bales, baled earlier this year, but the netting is torn and it is not to the edge of the round bale. We paid $40 a bale for it, and since we just got it Tuesday I have not tested it yet. But I suspect it will be low, so that is what got me thinking of raising the protein and palatability of it. They reported that the cows eat every scrap of the hay if you poured the liquid feed on it. We just priced it, and it is running at $18.50 per cwt delivered. They recommended pouring 6 gallons per bale, and it is 11 pounds per gallon. So about $15 per bale. That seems kind of pricey for me. Just trying to get through the winter with what we got...

 

[backhoeboogie]

All of which just makes me Tire kickers wanting to buy hay and they always want me to take a loss on it when they want to buy. Lock the gates and go home.

Good hay is expensive to grow. Fertilizer is expensive. Healthy cows calving in less than a year's time is profitable. Feeding trash and spending money on supplement (even grain) just does not compute in my narrow mind.

If I had to feed the trash hay described here, I'd just quit. I have endured the droughts and still ended the year in the black.

If someone had some good genetics and did not want to sell out completely, I can understand getting by with juicing. There are times there are no other alternatives.

If that hay is that low in content, why even bale it? Why buy something for $40 which is junk and spend money trying to make it work? Why not just buy good hay?