Twins!!

[Farmgirl]

Cow had twin bulls on Christmas eve. Both calves are doing well, both nursing. Cow is mothering both calves well.

Question is what is the best feed for the cow to make her give the most milk? We have been giving her 41% cottonseed cubes. Does she need a high protein feed or a combination of energy and protein, like a dairy feed? She is red angus.

Thanks,
Farmgirl

 

[Isomade]

High energy

 

[Farmgirl]

That's what I thought. Feed stores don't carry dairy feed. We have a 12% protein 5% fat feed that we feed to calves. Thought we might feed her that plus a little CS cubes (41% protein).

Thanks,
Farmgirl

 

[Isomade]

I know nothing of dairy mixes, nor what you have available in your area. But I would want more energy than what you are feeding. TB should be able to give you an idea, he know more than I.

 

[TexasBred]

Hard to find a good dairy feed in feed stores although most will ahve something labeled "dairy". I'd go with a high quality textured horse feed 16% protein and even 18% if you can find it with no more than 8% crude fiber. Start her off slowly and gradually increase it to the level you want her to have. Another option is to go with a pig starter feed (non medicated) . It will have 18-20% protein, plenty of grain and high energy. Make sure fiber level is 4% or less.

 

[Chris H]

Hard to find a good dairy feed in feed stores although most will ahve something labeled "dairy". I'd go with a high quality textured horse feed 16% protein and even 18% if you can find it with no more than 8% crude fiber. Start her off slowly and gradually increase it to the level you want her to have. Another option is to go with a pig starter feed (non medicated) . It will have 18-20% protein, plenty of grain and high energy. Make sure fiber level is 4% or less.

Pig starter? It's been a long time since I fed pigs but there used to be meat scraps in the pig feed. You can't legally and safely feed that to cows if there are meat scraps in it now.

 

[Farmgirl]

TB,

I found that MG has a pig grower 18% protein, 5% fiber and .75% lysine. Close to your recommendation. I don't know what lysine is. Found another hog feed, not medicated, 16% protein, 20% corn, 20% milo and 10% SB meal. Said it is finely ground. I don't know what the fiber content is.

Thanks for the help.

Farmgirl

 

[TexasBred]

Hard to find a good dairy feed in feed stores although most will ahve something labeled "dairy". I'd go with a high quality textured horse feed 16% protein and even 18% if you can find it with no more than 8% crude fiber. Start her off slowly and gradually increase it to the level you want her to have. Another option is to go with a pig starter feed (non medicated) . It will have 18-20% protein, plenty of grain and high energy. Make sure fiber level is 4% or less.

Pig starter? It's been a long time since I fed pigs but there used to be meat scraps in the pig feed. You can't legally and safely feed that to cows if there are meat scraps in it now.

High quality dairy rations had meat and bone meal as well but no longer...nor does pig feeds. Most manufacturers don't want to contaminate their plant with the stuff now so just stay away from almost all animal protein. But it never hurts to read the tag. It's a good habit to develop.

 

[TexasBred]

TB,

I found that MG has a pig grower 18% protein, 5% fiber and .75% lysine. Close to your recommendation. I don't know what lysine is. Found another hog feed, not medicated, 16% protein, 20% corn, 20% milo and 10% SB meal. Said it is finely ground. I don't know what the fiber content is.

Thanks for the help.

Farmgirl

The 18% might work for you. Don't worry about the lysine level....avoid the 16% product. Looks like a least cost formulation so probably has some junky ingredients in it.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

Do you have access to DDGs? Does she really need supplement? We had a set of bull twins in October, and the cow is raising them both on her own (well, mostly ;-) ). We gave her some DDG's for about 7 days (to help establish milk production), then kicked her out with the rest of the herd. She is doing a great job raising them, but they are pretty crafty! When they see another fall pair nursing, sometimes they sneak up from behind and tag nurse. At first, it made me angry. Three of my pairs are first calf heifers, just two years old, and I was afraid the extra nursing would suck them down. But they are persistent, and even though the cows are constantly trying to chase them off when nursing their own calves, they keep hounding until she gives up! Now, several months later, everyone looks great and I hardly ever find one of the twins stealing snacks.
Here is a pic of them:

They are purebred, dam is a Summer Sister x Macho and the sire is Rendition. They were 58 pounds at birth, and are identical. To this day you can not tell them apart!

 

[Farmgirl]

TB,

Thanks for the help, again.

FS,

Cow is Red Angus with a borderline milk EPD (16). She raised a 647 WW bull calf last year (her first). Both calves nurse and suck for a long time but do a lot of hunching. Makes us think they aren't getting enough. They are strong enough and look to be filling out. How much filling out can they do in 2 days. We are feeding the cow good. Just want to feed her the right thing. Hay tested 10.3% protein and I think 58% TDN. We will have a creep feeder out for them later. Just need to get them there.

Thanks,
Farmgirl

 

[glacierridge]

Had a twinner her that wasn't putting up to much milk, from WI so there is more dairy than beef farming here, fella who knows a lot about feed mixes at the local cooperative recommended soybean meal in addition to some ration. The soy helps promote more milk. She still didn't have quite enough so ended up grafting onto another "flowing" cow that came fresh a few days later.
Good luck to whichever helps, I hope they stay healthy, strong and grow fast!

 

[chippie]

You can buy Lactation pellets (dairy feed) at Producer's Coop in Bryan.

Congratulations on the calves. : )

 

[TexasBred]

You can buy Lactation pellets (dairy feed) at Producer's Coop in Bryan.

Congratulations on the calves. : )

Chippie if it says dairy and comes in a bag don't expect much. Just another least cost ration to sell to beef producers.

 

[chippie]

No. It is a true lactation pellet. 18% protein formulated for dairy cattle & goats. It is a good feed.

 

[TexasBred]

No. It is a true lactation pellet. 18% protein formulated for dairy cattle & goats. It is a good feed.

Don't be mislead by labels. I guarantee you it is "not" the same as what would be fed on a dairy operation. Everybody has what they call a "Dairy Ration".

 

[denvermartinfarms]

Did she take both calves at first, or did you have to pen them together for a while.

 

[Farmgirl]

DM,

We penned her up the first day. Were pretty sure both had nursed because they were getting around too good not to have nursed. She was kicking one off when we found her. Now she is mothering both very, very well. They aren't getting all the milk they want but they definitely are not malnourished.

Thanks,
Farmgirl

 

[denvermartinfarms]

Good deal! I very rarely have any luck getting a cow to take both,infact i'm bottle feeding one right now that was a twin. I would want to be feeding something with atleast 14% protein but 18 would be better.

 

[chippie]

Don't be mislead by labels. I guarantee you it is "not" the same as what would be fed on a dairy operation. Everybody has what they call a "Dairy Ration".

Are you familiar with the feed? It is a pellet, not a textured sweet feed. It is sold to dairies and we have been using it for years for our milk cows. They produce well on it and remain in good condition. Lots of cream too. The label info can be seen here:

http://www.producerscooperative.com/productsservices/feednutrition/feeds/dairy/productid/150