Vegetable feeding

[Petercoates87]

Hey everyone. So wondering about vegetable feeding. When we only had 2 or 3 cows we always feed them chopped veggies with their grain and hay. Now I have 10 head altogether and finding chopping this much veg a bit time consuming. What are anyone with larger numbers doing to make the veg smaller to avoid the animals from choking??

 

[Lee VanRoss]

Go for it.. We have feed table scraps , water mellon rinds, pumpkins, banana skins, for years . Some of the large items we break down with
a corn knife. One year I fed apples and pears to 8 calves from Sept into Dec along with a very small amount of shelled corn. Egg shells and
avacado seeds not so much. Big boys may give you a hard time so just remember ducks fly in the rain, turkeys don't.

 

[4hfarms]

Would crushing be an option?

 

[SBMF 2015]

Are you feeding produce from your garden? What type of vegetables? What benefits are you seeing?
It sounds cost prohibitive to feed them vegetables unless you have access to an inexpensive source.

Depending on what you are feeding a sharp corn knife should make short work of any veggies.

 

[Petercoates87]

Thanks guys for your response. But to answer your question. My dad runs a small veggies farm. Growing lots of things from carrots to potatoes to cabbage and so on. So I got a supply in the fall of the garbage veg and it's just something to offset some feed cost. I'm feeding approx 2 gallons each animal twice a day to 10 head.so I going through just over 2 sacks of garbage veg. I'm using a square top shovel and a wooden box to chop up these veggies but god it take almost 2 hours a day to chop up enough for them. Just wondering if there is another option. I know people use things like sugar beets or carrots for cattle.

 

[VaCowman]

Let em have it! Occasionally I'll get my hands on sweet corn trimmings(shucks, tips and stumps, WHOLE EAR), pumpkins, watermelons, cantaloupe, broccoli, cabbage, etc. I've never cut any of it, they'll figure out how to break it down on their own. Yeah, I'm sure some people have lost cattle due to choking on apples, potatoes, etc., but they also get struck by lightening too, but I don't bring them in when it's storming. Just my two cents worth. You do you.

 

[Hardnosecattleco]

We usually do something similar the garden is right near the pasture so anything that gets to big or we don't want we throw over the fence for them to pick at. Far as what your doing I'd try just smashing the produce cutting it up seems like it's take forever for that many. My cows always seem to eat zucchinis and pumpkin and squash If I smash them over the fence post first.

 

[Bum Steer]

I have heard of one guy running over cull potatoes with his walk behind snow blower.

 

[WFfarm]

used wood chipper?

 

[Petercoates87]

used wood chipper?

That sounds like a genius idea!! I saw one at our local hardware store. An electric one for half cheap

 

[TexasBred]

Fruits and veggies won't hurt a thing. Just remember most are probably 90% moisture so unless you feed a huge amount the cattle are not getting much nutritional benefit.