Rio Nutrition lick tubs

[Amo]

Well, Im contemplating various winter supplement options. Ive visited over the phone with the Rio Nutrition folks in the past. Im curious as to anyones use/experiences in using the said product. Ive visited with them in the past. About the only way to shut them up is to hang up! :lol: Beyond that, its a 19% protein tub. Not sure about energy levels. They have their "fairy dust" product nutrisorbe which is supposedly a mixture of amafirm, bio mos, and other various fairy dust products which supposedly some people like to claim maybe bumps it up to maybe a 24....notice all the maybes the salesman put in that statement! I don't mean to bash feed companies various types of products. To an extent, I think they do what they claim....but ya know what I mean. Its not protein or energy....its "fairy dust". Plus chelated mineral with other "high powered minerals", so on and so forth. Sales guy never stopped! Guaranteed consumption of 1/3# @ $0.38 a day.

I like the guarantee part. Curious as to how "stingy" they are about it. The bad part about any tub vs. a cube/alfalfa is intake. Say the tub is 19% protein. We will say alfalfa is 19%. If I feed alfalfa I can feed say 10#s. Using said tub your maybe feeding 1/3 to 1.5# if its really bad. Which maybe a person doesn't need to feed 10#s of 19% protein. But its something to think about. Of course the sales guy at Rio says you don't need that much protein cause the nutrisorbe "pulls more goodie out of the hay". Ok, is he saying it turns the current protein into bypass protein? Kinda doubt it. Unless the hay is put up wet, causing heat damage isn't all the protein available? I understand breaking down the forage, but feeding protein will do that. So I somewhat question the validity of their fairy dust. Plus it has mineral, so you don't have to feed loose mineral if your using this product. Now you only have so much physical room to meet protein and mineral needs in 1/3 of a pound....its a little bit hard to put my mind around it being possible. Plus the price. Very rough math, he said 2 ton would last me (175 cows) 69 days. So going off the $0.38 a day quote .38 X 69 days 175 cows is $4588.5. Or $2300 a ton. Which cost per head per day is less than my Crystalyx tub. Its a 30%, 250# protein tub for $93 I think. Which at 3/4# consumption is .28 cents a day, but mineral on top of that. They'd be getting more protein than a the Rio tub, but the Crystalyx does contain urea....interpret that as you will. So, in my case the Rio tubs are not very competitive. Feed store has a pretty good price on them though. Semi loads. Hard to believe the difference in consumption would make that big of price swing. Did the math several times. Just Rio advertises a lot. Just curious as to first hand experiences. Curious if its worth all its cracked up to be.

My other options are of course is alfalfa, cubes, etc. They are in the mix to be considered. Just curious as to feed back on Rio tubs.

 

[M-5]

By the length of your post it seems the salesman are only rivaled by you. Back to topic. I like the convenience of tubs but only use in a pinch. I picked up one from feed store last week to tide me over till I could get some pellets , it was 80 sumthing bucks and I expected it to be devoured like the ts tubs bit surprisingly it seems to limit the consumption. I see them around it quite often but it's only 1/2 eaten with over 40 head licking it. It's 28%. The 14% pellets I feed does a good job of keeping them in shape especially since I didn't get to plant grazing.

 

[Amo]

Ya, I can get a little lengthy. Guess Id rather thorughly explain, than post 20 replys to explain the original post.

Are they molassis tub, or pressed ones? I tried some sweet pros once. They are a pressed tub. The top 2/3s went pretty fast. The bottom took them for ever to eat it seamed.

 

[TexasBred]

Well, Im contemplating various winter supplement options. Ive visited over the phone with the Rio Nutrition folks in the past. Im curious as to anyones use/experiences in using the said product. Ive visited with them in the past. About the only way to shut them up is to hang up! :lol: Beyond that, its a 19% protein tub. Not sure about energy levels. They have their "fairy dust" product nutrisorbe which is supposedly a mixture of amafirm, bio mos, and other various fairy dust products which supposedly some people like to claim maybe bumps it up to maybe a 24....notice all the maybes the salesman put in that statement! I don't mean to bash feed companies various types of products. To an extent, I think they do what they claim....but ya know what I mean. Its not protein or energy....its "fairy dust". Plus chelated mineral with other "high powered minerals", so on and so forth. Sales guy never stopped! Guaranteed consumption of 1/3# @ $0.38 a day.

I like the guarantee part. Curious as to how "stingy" they are about it. The bad part about any tub vs. a cube/alfalfa is intake. Say the tub is 19% protein. We will say alfalfa is 19%. If I feed alfalfa I can feed say 10#s. Using said tub your maybe feeding 1/3 to 1.5# if its really bad. Which maybe a person doesn't need to feed 10#s of 19% protein. But its something to think about. Of course the sales guy at Rio says you don't need that much protein cause the nutrisorbe "pulls more goodie out of the hay". Ok, is he saying it turns the current protein into bypass protein? Kinda doubt it. Unless the hay is put up wet, causing heat damage isn't all the protein available? I understand breaking down the forage, but feeding protein will do that. So I somewhat question the validity of their fairy dust. Plus it has mineral, so you don't have to feed loose mineral if your using this product. Now you only have so much physical room to meet protein and mineral needs in 1/3 of a pound....its a little bit hard to put my mind around it being possible. Plus the price. Very rough math, he said 2 ton would last me (175 cows) 69 days. So going off the $0.38 a day quote .38 X 69 days 175 cows is $4588.5. Or $2300 a ton. Which cost per head per day is less than my Crystalyx tub. Its a 30%, 250# protein tub for $93 I think. Which at 3/4# consumption is .28 cents a day, but mineral on top of that. They'd be getting more protein than a the Rio tub, but the Crystalyx does contain urea....interpret that as you will. So, in my case the Rio tubs are not very competitive. Feed store has a pretty good price on them though. Semi loads. Hard to believe the difference in consumption would make that big of price swing. Did the math several times. Just Rio advertises a lot. Just curious as to first hand experiences. Curious if its worth all its cracked up to be.

My other options are of course is alfalfa, cubes, etc. They are in the mix to be considered. Just curious as to feed back on Rio tubs.

Rio need to fire that freaking salesman for knowing just enough to be dangerous. He has no idea what he's talking about. Amaferm is a good product and does exactly what they say it will do, however, it does not raise the crude protein level of anything nor does it change rumen degradable protein to bypass protein. It simply increases the utilization of feed Chelated minerals are also great but you'll still need to put out free choice mineral. No way they can get all they need out of that small amount of molasses tub. As for the alfalfa, I wouldn't even think about buying alfalfa with crude protein level that high. You can easily meet her protein needs with it but she'll never be full and/or satisfied, will shyt over an 8 wire fence and probably lose body condition. Get you some good grass hay and feed it free choice AND if it's really good grass hay you may not need to supplement it with anything.

 

[callmefence]

By the length of your post it seems the salesman are only rivaled by you. Back to topic. I like the convenience of tubs but only use in a pinch. I picked up one from feed store last week to tide me over till I could get some pellets , it was 80 sumthing bucks and I expected it to be devoured like the ts tubs bit surprisingly it seems to limit the consumption. I see them around it quite often but it's only 1/2 eaten with over 40 head licking it. It's 28%. The 14% pellets I feed does a good job of keeping them in shape especially since I didn't get to plant grazing.

The good cooked tubs last quite well. Pvm is very good one.
I consider it the working man's supplement.
You know ..for the times when your going make more money working late than shoveling grain. :cboy:

 

[hurleyjd]

I use the syrup tanks with the GLF brand of syrup. I have the tanks mounted on some skids that I can move to new locations if necessary.

 

[Son of Butch]

Bio-Mos is a very good product for gut health in poultry and bottle calves. I question its need/benefit in adult cattle.

Amo - the length of your post rivaling the salesman is a clever little joke, but don't let it deter you in future questions.
A lot of information is much better than the ones that give almost none and still expect a logical answer.

 

[Amo]

Texas Bred, I need to feed 3.3 bales a day. So I figured on feeding 3 bales of hay every day. Then every other day a bale of alfalfa. Once again should of further explained my post, thus....length!

I should get all scientific and figure pounds of crude protein on a dry matter basis etc. I can get alfalfa fro around $90 delivered. No test on it, but looks decent. I can get ddg cube that is 30% protein & 10% fat for $275 delivered. Guessing both would have roughly 10-15% moisture, can just figure the off 2# of the cube or 4-5# of alfalfa same difference without being super scientific. Last year I needed to buy a little hay, so I went with alfalfa. Both options have about the same amount of energy. Im thinking Id get a little more out of the alfalfa just because Id be feeding more per head...about 9#'s vs. 2# if I did either every other day.

 

[TexasBred]

Texas Bred, I need to feed 3.3 bales a day. So I figured on feeding 3 bales of hay every day. Then every other day a bale of alfalfa. Once again should of further explained my post, thus....length!

I should get all scientific and figure pounds of crude protein on a dry matter basis etc. I can get alfalfa fro around $90 delivered. No test on it, but looks decent. I can get ddg cube that is 30% protein & 10% fat for $275 delivered. Guessing both would have roughly 10-15% moisture, can just figure the off 2# of the cube or 4-5# of alfalfa same difference without being super scientific. Last year I needed to buy a little hay, so I went with alfalfa. Both options have about the same amount of energy. Im thinking Id get a little more out of the alfalfa just because Id be feeding more per head...about 9#'s vs. 2# if I did either every other day.

Amo don't worry about 100% dry matter. We feed on an "as fed" basis and that is what matters. Cows need roughage. Just my opinion but I would go with the alfalfa. It will have adequate protein (not excessive) you can feed more of it which the cow really needs and it is roughage when she is designed to eat. Nothing at all wrong with the DDG cube but it is created to be a compliment to roughage and not the only 2 lbs. of feed the cow gets every day. I think your cattle will look better next spring as well.

 

[Amo]

I agree, she is designed to eat roughage. Just I always had the impression with the bypass protein in DDG, you got a pretty good bang for you buck from that. Both are pretty reasonably priced. I did like feeding alfalfa last year. If they clean up the stems, thats a plus!

 

[M-5]

This is the tub I tried , I really like it.

 

[TexasBred]

I agree, she is designed to eat roughage. Just I always had the impression with the bypass protein in DDG, you got a pretty good bang for you buck from that. Both are pretty reasonably priced. I did like feeding alfalfa last year. If they clean up the stems, thats a plus!

Don't concern yourself with bypass protein.