FutureFarmer":mlcwyzdk said:
I have young heifer calves that were just weaned from there moms.. I was wondering what percent protein and fat should i look for in feeds to feed them out properly?
Thanks in Advance,
Devon :cboy:
Devon ---I assume these calves just weaned and I hope they are now weighing at least 450 lbs. I dont know what kind of cattle you have but an avg cow weighing in at 1200 should at least be able to wean a heifer calf at 450#. That being said, normally you want to grow out a heifer where she will weigh 65% of mature weight at breeding. So if her mature weight is 1100 you want her to weigh in the 700's at breeding. I go by weight, but also prefer she be at least 15 months at breeding that way it is easier to record her progress over the years as she should have a calf per year at age 2,3,4,5,6,7,8...... etc
710 lbs at 15 months (breeding) - 450 lb heifer at 7 months = 260 lb gain in 8 months (avg = 33 lbs/mo)
a heifer weighing in at 450 needs 1.3 lbs of total protien per day to gain no more than 1.1 lbs per day (33+ lbs per month)
"(Duns' ration, for example: 16 % ration at 1.5 lbs per day would yeild a Total protein of <0.22 lbs of Total protein which is really wrong)" don't do that, because even to maintain an animal weighing in at 450# requires at least 0.7 lbs TP per day
That being said, I would recommend the following:
a 12- 13 % ration with corn (energy is required) (240 to 260 lbs TP per ton) This isn't rocket science
Corn 800 lbs per ton @ 9% CP = 72 lbs TP
Soybean Hulls 600 lbs per ton @ 12% = 72 lbs TP
Soybean meal 250 lbs per ton @ 44% = 110 lbs TP
300 lbs of coarse grass hay per ton @ 5% =
7 lbs TP
50+ lb of all purpose mineral per ton = 260 lbs TP or ~ 13% feed ration
Remember a 450 lb calf can only eat about 2.8% of its' body weight (BWt) per day which is 13+ lbs of something per day
You must start them out slowly (Dun was right about that part only) and I would feed them 3 lbs to start for a few days
Should take about a week to get them on a full ration. 3 lbs of 13% x .90 TDN = 0.35 lbs TP + free choice grass hay@ 12%
Every few days up their feed until you get to 5 lbs of feed per day of the 13% ration--say by the 7th day. Clean water is also a must.
450 lb heifer post-weaning; post back-grounding;
Month 1, should be getting 5 lbs of 13% ration + free choice 12% grass hay
(whatever you do in the feeding realm, remember that your heifers are still ruminant animals and they need at least 20% of their diet to be in the form of a forage) (this is why I always incorporate coarse grass hay into my feed rations to keep the rumen active)
Post Weaning
Month 1 (450 lb heifers) (
1.10 TP)
5 lbs of 13% FEED = 0.65 lbs TP and 8 lbs of grass hay @ 12 % CP and 50 % TDN = 0.48 lbs of TP which =
1.13 lbs TP per day, which will meet their requirements.
Month 2 (485 lb heifers) (1.10 TP) adjust feed accordingly and do your own math
Month 3 (520 lb heifers) (1.35 TP) adjust feed accordingly and do your own math
Month 4 (555 lb heifers) (1.40 TP) adjust feed accordingly and do your own math
Month 5 (590 lb heifers) (1.40 TP) adjust feed accordingly and do your own math
Month 6 (625 lb heifers) (1.50 TP) adjust feed accordingly and do your own math
Month 7 (660 lb heifers) (1.50 TP) adjust feed accordingly and do your own math
Month 8 (705 lb heifers) (1.55 TP) adjust feed accordingly and do your own math
or say you had 10 weaned heifers to grow out you could plant 5 acres of Rye @ 2.5 to 3 bu. per acre and graze them on it for about 2.5 hours per day then offer them free choice hay, which can be low quality for filler, and call it a day, then spend your excess cash money on a new deer rifle.
That's It!
T
