Tubs

[TexasBred]

FSW the only difference is that most mixes down here use cottonseed meal for the protein source because of the availability and cost but DDG or soybean meal will also work well and you simply experiment with salt content until you get the consumption per cow per day that you want. Maximum salt consumption per cow should be around 1 lb. per day...that is MAX. Good move and looks like you're getting a lot of bang for your dollars. You may want to cut back on it and go with straight hay as those gestating cows get closer to calving date.

TB, what happens if they eat more than a pound of salt? If my math is correct, they are eating more than a pound (30 pounds of salt in the 100 pound mix). 30lbs /17 cows... 1.76 pounds. The calves are eating a little, but not much.

I thought about cutting the one bag out of the fat pen, but wondered about that 9% hay being enough.

Salt toxicity is fairly rare but can occur. If memory serves me right they can handle about 1 gr. per lb. of body weight but seldom reach that level. Having an adequate water supply also cuts down on risks.

 

[TexasBred]

Double post

 

[BK9954]

I have started keeping tubs out year round. They have minerals. Had one heifer who didnt like loose minerals so much, when I quit running tubs I found out. Sometimes they eat them, sometimes not. But every pasture has one. Go through 1 a month on 19 head.

 

[greybeard]

Salt toxicity is fairly rare but can occur. If memory serves me right they can handle about 1 gr. per lb. of body weight but seldom reach that level. Having an adequate water supply also cuts down on risks.

Learned something. I always 'thought' it unwise to have any salt limit type feed too close to water source.

Premise being.."They eat all they can stand--go right over to water--quench--return and eat some more..go to water..(rinse & repeat) and before ya know it..salt toxicity".

Is this a false assumption?

 

[Brute 23]

I like the paint marker idea on the tubs. That would be easier than writing it in my day planner. We write dates on parts all the time at work and it works good.

The thing to remember about feed mixes is you have time and labor involved with feeding that amount daily. Although it is very effective, it is also very costly.

The #225 tubs I am buying are $91.. that is .40 per 1lb. That is actual cost since they are put out when I make my normal rounds. I have a couple minutes in pushing it off the back of the truck. Plus, I need the cattle to eat down the grass or it will cost me again to burn or shred it.

Hay, ground feed, and tubs all have their place depending on your conditions and operation.

I am going to try to move completely away from hay for the most part. A lot of people around here put cattle on ground feed thru the winter months. If you buy in bulk and use self feeders the labor is minimal. Hay is just too expensive and too much of a gamble now days.

 

[kilroy60]

Hay, ground feed, and tubs all have their place depending on your conditions and operation.

Good comment. Each operation is different and seeing that we all are from different parts of the country, all have different managing skills and do things differently from where we may be from. As I've mentioned before, we all have to see what works best for us and our operations and go from there. We all learn from others and that's what I like about reading this forum.

 

[JSCATTLE]

I like the tubs for fall applications here.. after about august our grass is junk .. it's still green but tough as boot leather .. I will drop a tub out at the end of July.. by October they are really hitting the tubs hard .. I usually start putting out hay around mid November to the first of dec.. when I do I start putting out mix 30 or cubes depending on how much time I have to go to the farm .. I've been buying hay and trying to find a good supplier but haven't found one that can provide good protein.. so I'm going to buy cheap hay as long as it's out of a clean field and supplement to make up the difference.. Im tired of buying expensive hay and still having to supplement.. to me the tubs don't really provide enough to get through the winter ..

 

[TexasBred]

Salt toxicity is fairly rare but can occur. If memory serves me right they can handle about 1 gr. per lb. of body weight but seldom reach that level. Having an adequate water supply also cuts down on risks.

Learned something. I always 'thought' it unwise to have any salt limit type feed too close to water source.

Premise being.."They eat all they can stand--go right over to water--quench--return and eat some more..go to water..(rinse & repeat) and before ya know it..salt toxicity".

Is this a false assumption?

No you're right. Keep a good distance between the two. I simply meant to make sure they always have access to plenty of water even if they have to walk a ways to get it.

 

[aaroninga]

Guess I'm lucky to get 200# tubs for $49, 3 miles up the road.
Right now my heard is going probably 7-800 yards to the creek for water. Don't seem they over do it on tubs or mineral.
Always have hay out and supplement with 14# protein feed while they're nursing too.

 

[TexasBred]

Guess I'm lucky to get 200# tubs for $49, 3 miles up the road.
Right now my heard is going probably 7-800 yards to the creek for water. Don't seem they over do it on tubs or mineral.
Always have hay out and supplement with 14# protein feed while they're nursing too.

Those would not be the good cooked tubs. You won't find them for $50 unless it's a 125# tub. Consumption is probably 3-4 lbs. per head per day as well. Any less on that type tub means they are not very palatable and the cattle just don't like the taste. Use to be a lot of those around.

 

[Bigfoot]

Salt toxicity is fairly rare but can occur. If memory serves me right they can handle about 1 gr. per lb. of body weight but seldom reach that level. Having an adequate water supply also cuts down on risks.

Learned something. I always 'thought' it unwise to have any salt limit type feed too close to water source.

Premise being.."They eat all they can stand--go right over to water--quench--return and eat some more..go to water..(rinse & repeat) and before ya know it..salt toxicity".

Is this a false assumption?

Evidently much of what the "Old Timers" taught me was wrong. I was advised the same thing. I actually was under the impresssion that they could easily die from over doing either-----Water or salt.

 

[TN Cattle Man]

TB... What's your thoughts on the Purina Rangeland 30-13 tubs?

https://www.purinamills.com/cattle/prod ... rotein-tub

I like to put these out for our Fall calvers during the Winter when they are on hay only... my thought being it is a decent protein source as well as the extra energy for the weather. All my cattle have loose mineral available at all times as well (Wind & Rain)

 

[TexasBred]

TB... What's your thoughts on the Purina Rangeland 30-13 tubs?

https://www.purinamills.com/cattle/prod ... rotein-tub

I like to put these out for our Fall calvers during the Winter when they are on hay only... my thought being it is a decent protein source as well as the extra energy for the weather. All my cattle have loose mineral available at all times as well (Wind & Rain)

Can't tell by reading their information but assuming it has some feather meal in it since it has "approved" animal protein. Not the best quality of protein but still protein. ;-) Does the 13 represent fat level or urea level? I couldn't find it. Otherwise it is just a good tub with the addition of Availa-4 chelated minerals. That would encourage me to use it above a lot of others unless the fat content just makes it extremely expensive.

 

[hillbillyhammer]

That looks like the tub I buy here. If you pay for it with a hundred dollar bill you might have enough change to buy a candy bar.

 

[greybeard]

Last 2 I bought a few weeks ago were 200 lb SweetLix for about $70 each. Cows went thru them in no time, so I assume they're not missing any thing on being palatable.

 

[dun]

I only have one issue with tubs. Bulls like to screw around with them and end up tipping them over so the stuff comes out in one big lump. Makes it more susceptable to rain.

 

[cfpinz]

I must be the only person here not using any type of supplement. Hope my cows don't read this, they might revolt.

 

[talltimber]

TB... What's your thoughts on the Purina Rangeland 30-13 tubs?

https://www.purinamills.com/cattle/prod ... rotein-tub

I like to put these out for our Fall calvers during the Winter when they are on hay only... my thought being it is a decent protein source as well as the extra energy for the weather. All my cattle have loose mineral available at all times as well (Wind & Rain)

My tub/program as well. Just set their first tub out, partial from the late spring, about two weeks ago. They haven't hit it too hard yet but they will when their diet begins to be made up of the mostly old hay. Grass is starting to run out now. They come out of winter in fine shape.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I must be the only person here not using any type of supplement. Hope my cows don't read this, they might revolt.

No loose minerals?

 

[HDRider]

Double post

Maybe you said TB, do you use tubs? If so, what kind and why?