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Rookie needing advice on feed strategy
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<blockquote data-quote="Lucky_P" data-source="post: 854560" data-attributes="member: 12607"><p>Mad, </p><p>Think about Limit-Feeding a forage and energy/protein source.</p><p>We were in a similar situation in 2007. Drought, no local hay, folks paying $90/roll for cornstalks and crappy CRP residue harvested in October. Came close to selling out, but we bought in some decent hay from out west(swore I'd never pay that much, but we did; even with hauling, it was $70/roll - less than some folks paid for CRP residue locally) and limit-fed it and modified distiller's grain product from the local ethanol plant (you could substitute soyhull pellets, CSM, sunflower meal, etc., - whatever protein source was readily available and affordable. </p><p></p><p>Cows can get by with as little as 5 pounds/hd/day of roughage(actually, some studies have shown as little as 2.5# will work), if you meet energy/protein requirements elsewhere. </p><p>We were shooting for 10# of hay/cow/day - which worked out to be each of the two groups(Fall/Spring calving) having 1 to 1.25 hours at the hay feeders, then coming out to eat 10-12#/hd/day of modified distiller's grain product. </p><p>Yeah, the cows said that 'they didn't get enough', and they stood around for the next 22 hours, just waiting for their next shot at the feed, but it works. It's hell on the sacrifice paddocks though - not a speck of vegetation left, long before spring ever rolls around.</p><p></p><p>It worked so well for us - and the cows came through that winter in far better body condition than they ever had before when they had all the crappy locally-produced hay I could keep in front of them - that we've continued the limit-feeding program for the following 3 winters. Guess we'll be doing it again this year, as we've purchased about the same amount of hay we bought last year, back in June.</p><p></p><p>Added benefits - my cows and calves are so much easier to handle/work - for 4-5 months, they have to walk past you to get in to the hay feeding area, then past you again to get to the feed bunks, then back out to pasture. I can do things with them - like cutting out a particular cow or calf - that would have been unimaginable 5 years ago. Calves are 'bunk broke' from an early age, so weaning is less stressful, and my buyer benefits, as well.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lucky_P, post: 854560, member: 12607"] Mad, Think about Limit-Feeding a forage and energy/protein source. We were in a similar situation in 2007. Drought, no local hay, folks paying $90/roll for cornstalks and crappy CRP residue harvested in October. Came close to selling out, but we bought in some decent hay from out west(swore I'd never pay that much, but we did; even with hauling, it was $70/roll - less than some folks paid for CRP residue locally) and limit-fed it and modified distiller's grain product from the local ethanol plant (you could substitute soyhull pellets, CSM, sunflower meal, etc., - whatever protein source was readily available and affordable. Cows can get by with as little as 5 pounds/hd/day of roughage(actually, some studies have shown as little as 2.5# will work), if you meet energy/protein requirements elsewhere. We were shooting for 10# of hay/cow/day - which worked out to be each of the two groups(Fall/Spring calving) having 1 to 1.25 hours at the hay feeders, then coming out to eat 10-12#/hd/day of modified distiller's grain product. Yeah, the cows said that 'they didn't get enough', and they stood around for the next 22 hours, just waiting for their next shot at the feed, but it works. It's hell on the sacrifice paddocks though - not a speck of vegetation left, long before spring ever rolls around. It worked so well for us - and the cows came through that winter in far better body condition than they ever had before when they had all the crappy locally-produced hay I could keep in front of them - that we've continued the limit-feeding program for the following 3 winters. Guess we'll be doing it again this year, as we've purchased about the same amount of hay we bought last year, back in June. Added benefits - my cows and calves are so much easier to handle/work - for 4-5 months, they have to walk past you to get in to the hay feeding area, then past you again to get to the feed bunks, then back out to pasture. I can do things with them - like cutting out a particular cow or calf - that would have been unimaginable 5 years ago. Calves are 'bunk broke' from an early age, so weaning is less stressful, and my buyer benefits, as well. [/QUOTE]
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