Sweet Feed

[matt69]

I have a 700lb heifer that I am going to finish out and butcher. She has access to pasture, free feed of alfalfa, and I have not started her on grain yet.

My local feed store has 12% sweet feed and is what they suggested to feed her out on. Is this the correct amount of protein?

Matt

 

[TexasBred]

The crude protein level is ok. I just don't like sweet feed. You'll have about 200 lbs. per ton of nothing but molasses which is used to make the feed attractive and hold down dust but has very little nutritional value. You can probably make a better mix yourself with corn, cottonseed meal, and free choice mineral and hay.

 

[bigbull338]

id go with a 14% pellet feed.an that would cut out molases.

 

[SCRUBS620]

id go with a 14% pellet feed.an that would cut out molases.

I am not an expert here and I am asking this for my benefit also. Why would you feed a 14% Pellet if she has alfalfa hay free choice? Wouldn't a lower protein/higher energy ration be of more value to put on weight and finish?

 

[novatech]

id go with a 14% pellet feed.an that would cut out molases.

I am not an expert here and I am asking this for my benefit also. Why would you feed a 14% Pellet if she has alfalfa hay free choice? Wouldn't a lower protein/higher energy ration be of more value to put on weight and finish?

I tend to agree with you on this. I see no point in much over 12% TDN. You can do some Googling on this and find you cannot read all the info in your lifetime. The balance of starch and protein can also affect the outcome of the meat quality. Feedlot nutrition is a science separate from most other aspects of cattle production.
Here is a article that talks about protein requirements.
http://www.extension.umn.edu/beef/compo ... /cfr07.pdf

 

[mnmtranching]

For feeding 1 heifer.That 12% recommended by the dealer will do just fine. Buy it by the bag for convenience. Get a few bags at a time, so as to keep it fresh and less rodent problems. Having a custom mix for 1 critter, delivered bulk would make little sense. :cowboy:

 

[matt69]

For feeding 1 heifer.That 12% recommended by the dealer will do just fine. Buy it by the bag for convenience. Get a few bags at a time, so as to keep it fresh and less rodent problems. Having a custom mix for 1 critter, delivered bulk would make little sense. :cowboy:

This is exactly what I did. She seems to be taking to the grain pretty well.

I fed it over some alfalfa last night and it was all gone this morning. Gave her another 2lbs this morning.

Matt

 

[mnmtranching]

Matt, Oh yeah! she will love that stuff. I think good to have the hay at all times. That mix is no doubt complete with Vit & Minerals. A little salt and your heifer will do real well.

 

[bigbull338]

ok ill explain something that i bet you boys hadnt thought of.if the alalfa he is feeding is dairy quality.that hay is 18 to 22% protine.an that will burn her up.an she will crapp the protine out on the ground.she needs beef quality hay mixed with the 16% hay to make 15%.your mix would be 18% protine,at the topside of the dairy quality hay.

 

[TexasBred]

If you're going to feed her the alfalfa and "insist" on feeding the sweet feed, the only changes I'd make would be to switch to a plain old 10% horse and mule feed. Lower protein and the pellet in the H&M feed will be much higher quality than what is put into a cattle sweet feed. Will cost you a bit more but will be worth it in the long run. "Good eatin'". ;-)

 

[matt69]

ok ill explain something that i bet you boys hadnt thought of.if the alalfa he is feeding is dairy quality.that hay is 18 to 22% protine.an that will burn her up.an she will crapp the protine out on the ground.she needs beef quality hay mixed with the 16% hay to make 15%.your mix would be 18% protine,at the topside of the dairy quality hay.

What do you mean by "burn her up?" Would she crap all the protein out or would she use what she needs and crap the rest out?

matt

 

[TexasBred]

Matt they always use what protein they need. Excess will be excreted via manure and urine. This is commonly referred to as "PI$$Ing your money away".

 

[matt69]

Matt they always use what protein they need. Excess will be excreted via manure and urine. This is commonly referred to as "PI$$Ing your money away".

This is what I figured, but thought I should ask to make sure I wasn't screwing up to bad.

Another question...

She weighs about 700lbs and has never been on grain. I started at 2lbs of grain twice a day and I have increased 1lb per feeding per day. Is this an appropriate increase in grain per day?

Matt

 

[TexasBred]

Wouldn't move quite that fast even tho it's still a small amount of grain... just do it gradually.. maybe half that amount increase every other day until you get her where you want her and keep the hay available.

 

[dburkhart]

Like us--cattle are what they eat. Sweet feed tends to make the meat sweeter. Too much molasses can make the meat too sweet.

 

[msscamp]

I have a 700lb heifer that I am going to finish out and butcher. She has access to pasture, free feed of alfalfa, and I have not started her on grain yet.

My local feed store has 12% sweet feed and is what they suggested to feed her out on. Is this the correct amount of protein?

Matt

For the animals that we have finished on feed, we've always used a straight cracked/ground corn ration. Started them out on 2% of their body weight and built up to around 15 lbs or so once a day.

 

[Chris H]

I have a 700lb heifer that I am going to finish out and butcher. She has access to pasture, free feed of alfalfa, and I have not started her on grain yet.

My local feed store has 12% sweet feed and is what they suggested to feed her out on. Is this the correct amount of protein?

Matt

For the animals that we have finished on feed, we've always used a straight cracked/ground corn ration. Started them out on 2% of their body weight and built up to around 15 lbs or so once a day.

So, you're advising him to start out at 14 lbs/day and work up to 15 lbs/day? :roll:

Matt, a pretty safe & convenient way to feed out 1 animal is what you're doing. You might want to stop increasing the feed for a couple days and watch how she's doing, just keep hay free choice and keep the feed level where it is right now. Then increase the feed by a pound every couple days until she's eating about 2% of her body weight in grain.

Is she on pasture at all? If not, you can estimate the protein level of her feed based on the consistancy of her manure. If it splats all over, then the protein level is probably higher than she needs, or you increased the grain a bit too quickly. FWIW, I've seen an awful lot of "dairy quality hay" sold that only tested 15% protein.

 

[matt69]

Thanks for all the help guys. She is on bermuda pasture, free choice alfalfa and grass hay, and about 10lbs grain/day. Her manure does splat a little but it doesn't flatten completely out. I am going to leave her at the 10lbs for a couple of days and see how she does.

Matt

 

[msscamp]

I have a 700lb heifer that I am going to finish out and butcher. She has access to pasture, free feed of alfalfa, and I have not started her on grain yet.

My local feed store has 12% sweet feed and is what they suggested to feed her out on. Is this the correct amount of protein?

Matt

For the animals that we have finished on feed, we've always used a straight cracked/ground corn ration. Started them out on 2% of their body weight and built up to around 15 lbs or so once a day.

So, you're advising him to start out at 14 lbs/day and work up to 15 lbs/day? :roll:

Apparently you missed the "or so" comment. In simple terms, that means they were built up to whatever they would eat in a day - 20, 25, sometimes more, lbs per day. I would have thought that would be apparent - my mistake.

 

[Chris H]

For the animals that we have finished on feed, we've always used a straight cracked/ground corn ration. Started them out on 2% of their body weight and built up to around 15 lbs or so once a day.

So, you're advising him to start out at 14 lbs/day and work up to 15 lbs/day? :roll:

Apparently you missed the "or so" comment. In simple terms, that means they were built up to whatever they would eat in a day - 20, 25, sometimes more, lbs per day. I would have thought that would be apparent - my mistake.

Of course I missed the "or so" comment, it wasn't there! And so you can learn something, you never start a beef animal on "straight cracked/ground corn ration" at "2% of their body weight", that is way too much to start. That's about where you top out when they're on full feed.