Stored Feed Cost for Growing Animals ?

[Stocker Steve]

We have a lot of ex dairy guys who still green chop or make silage to use for back grounding or growing beef cattle. Some even feed it to beef cows. Corn silage is quite expensive when you look at $/lb TDN. There is also an issue with deer damage. Right now grassy hay is about $70/ton and has the lowest $/lb TDN.

Some feed un supplemented alfalfa hay for back grounding or growing, but winter ADG tends to be only 1/2 to 3/4 pounds. Others feed grass hay and count even more on compensatory gains on from cool season pasture.

It seems like leaving unweaned calves on the cow and feeding them both grass hay would be the cheapest way to winter a growing animal. A cornless alternative would be to wrap some early season balage for weaned calves. What do you think?

 

[Supa Dexta]

You lost me at leaving unweaned calves on.. Spring calves? You gotta pull em to get the cow ready for the next round.

You can maybe push them to 9/10mo, but you need to have bulls pulled and bull calves castrated, or you could have heifers 5mo bred by then. As well as have sufficient space at the feeders where they can all eat at once, not getting the left overs of the bigger cows

 

[Aaron]

It was more convenient, pen space-wise, to leave calves on cows till 10 months of age this past year. It worked out very well. Not sure if I will do the same this year or not.

 

[Stocker Steve]

It was more convenient, pen space-wise, to leave calves on cows till 10 months of age this past year. It worked out very well.

Only problem I have seen is with heavy milking continental crosses. Only had a couple like that and they are gone. :cboy:

Plan to pen the bulls and let everyone else bale graze. Manure spreader utilization is way down but I can live with that.

 

[TexasBred]

We have a lot of ex dairy guys who still green chop or make silage to use for back grounding or growing beef cattle. Some even feed it to beef cows. Corn silage is quite expensive when you look at $/lb TDN. There is also an issue with deer damage. Right now grassy hay is about $70/ton and has the lowest $/lb TDN.

Some feed un supplemented alfalfa hay for back grounding or growing, but winter ADG tends to be only 1/2 to 3/4 pounds. Others feed grass hay and count even more on compensatory gains on from cool season pasture.

It seems like leaving unweaned calves on the cow and feeding them both grass hay would be the cheapest way to winter a growing animal. A cornless alternative would be to wrap some early season balage for weaned calves. What do you think?

You'll seldom get any measurable gain on grass hay alone, however, corn silage will add weight. It has "calories" of energy.

 

[Stocker Steve]

You'll seldom get any measurable gain on grass hay alone, however, corn silage will add weight. It has "calories" of energy.

Silage feeding does work good for short term back grounding. But, growing and harvesting and feeding silage gets to be quite a mechanical marvel, especially for a small seasonal operation. Wrapping bales seems simplier.
Calves still on the cows will grow on grass hay till it get cold. Unfortunately, it is cold here for quite a while.

 

[TexasBred]

You'll seldom get any measurable gain on grass hay alone, however, corn silage will add weight. It has "calories" of energy.

Silage feeding does work good for short term back grounding. But, growing and harvesting and feeding silage gets to be quite a mechanical marvel, especially for a small seasonal operation. Wrapping bales seems simplier.
Calves still on the cows will grow on grass hay till it get cold. Unfortunately, it is cold here for quite a while.

True putting up silage requires a lot of equipment but still does a better job than most grass hays. Cows still on their mama's should gain weigth without the addition of hay. But if you "wring the water" out of silage and compare it to hay based on 88% dry matter which is a typical moisture level for hay you'll find all the nutrients are considerably higher in the silage especially the digestible energy.