when to feed alfalfa hay?

[beefsbest]

Hi, have my heifers on 14% protein, timothy hay... I've been told to feed them alfalfa before they calve and another producer has told me that they will gain too much weight and have trouble calving. The first person says they don't feed alfalfa after calving because the calves scour. So this is confusing...what have your experiences been?? Thanks.

 

[dun]

Sell the alfalfa to a horse person, stick with the grass hay

 

[CPL]

We use an alfalfa orchard grass mix. Last year we didn't have any trouble with our heifer and aren't expecting any troubles this year with her being a cow.

 

[alftn]

Dun is right.

 

[I luv herfrds]

I would stick with what Dun says.
We only feed alfalfa when the temp drops below zero.

 

[bigbull338]

id just feed the heifers the grass hay.youd just be spending extra money for nothing on the alalafa.

 

[randiliana]

I dunno, we feed alfalfa hay all winter long. During and right after calving, until they go out on pasture that is all the cows get. Unless it is second cut hay, it shouldn't cause any problems.

 

[highvoltagecattleco]

Not to often I disagree with Dun, but this one I do. Timothy has really no feed value to a cow. Timothy is just a hair better than straw. I see your in the NW as well. We have access to better alfalfa than most in the country. I would continue what you are doing. The worst thing you can do, is to under feed. If your heifers calf at less than a BCS 6. Your going to be playing catch up. Calf size can be effected by feed, but your protein is only at 14%, fat and carbohydrates are minimal. If your heifers are getting fat, back off on the alfalfa. Last year I bought some rained on alfalfa. It tested at 13% for protein. I fed all last winter and most of my calf weights were moderate (65-85). Good luck and Happy New Year.

 

[SEC]

Not to often I disagree with Dun, but this one I do. Timothy has really no feed value to a cow. Timothy is just a hair better than straw. I see your in the NW as well. We have access to better alfalfa than most in the country. I would continue what you are doing. The worst thing you can do, is to under feed. If your heifers calf at less than a BCS 6. Your going to be playing catch up. Calf size can be effected by feed, but your protein is only at 14%, fat and carbohydrates are minimal. If your heifers are getting fat, back off on the alfalfa. Last year I bought some rained on alfalfa. It tested at 13% for protein. I fed all last winter and most of my calf weights were moderate (65-85). Good luck and Happy New Year.

Ditto with HV and Randi

 

[dun]

Other then costing more and having more protein then they need there isn;t anything wrong with feeding it, nutrition wise. I guess I just can;t see feeding hay that costs twice as much when most of the extra value is going to just go out behind the cow/heifer.
When we partnered with an alfalfa farmer that provided all of the feed that was all we fed. Didn;t have any problems because of it. But if I'm putting out dollars I'm not going to waste it on more then the cows/heifers need or can use.

 

[KNERSIE]

We use alfalfa somewhat differently. We use it as a supplement on veld in dry conditions. You can get away with feeding very little alfalfa this way, even to lactating cows. The main difference is that we don't have the cold to combat since my dry season is during the summer and in the area where I farm its alfalfa country and its used as a 5 year rotational crop with vineyards. Most of the wine farms are too small to run stock and since small dairies struggle to make ends meet, it usually means alfalfa is readily available. This alfalfa is grown under irrigation and is cut 5 times in summer and twice in winter. The winter cuts are used for baleage.

A next door neighbour who has more alfalfa than his cattle can consume feeds it 365 days a year and his cattle are always fat, wean heavy calves and the heifers have no problems calving in the veld.

 

[dun]

We use alfalfa somewhat differently. We use it as a supplement on veld in dry conditions. You can get away with feeding very little alfalfa this way, even to lactating cows. The main difference is that we don't have the cold to combat since my dry season is during the summer and in the area where I farm its alfalfa country and its used as a 5 year rotational crop with vineyards. Most of the wine farms are too small to run stock and since small dairies struggle to make ends meet, it usually means alfalfa is readily available. This alfalfa is grown under irrigation and is cut 5 times in summer and twice in winter. The winter cuts are used for baleage.

A next door neighbour who has more alfalfa than his cattle can consume feeds it 365 days a year and his cattle are always fat, wean heavy calves and the heifers have no problems calving in the veld.

Around here it's used by the dairys as a supplement when they feed TMR.

 

[randiliana]

Around here, and I would have to say, most of western Canada (Sask, Man and Alberta) Alfalfa is one of the main winter feed sources for cows. Alfalfa or Grass Hay (Crested Wheat or Brome) generally sell for about the same price. Timothy, is one grass we don't have in this area, and it is usually higer priced, and more set for the horse market.

Alfalfa can have anywhere from 12%(well probably lower too) protien to well over 20% depending on the cutting and baling conditions. On first cut we usually see it around 14%-18%. Second cut of course if cut and baled in good condition can have extremely high protien.

During the winter our ration is at least 1/3 alfalfa. This year we are feeding 2/3 alfalfa. The other portion of the ration is rotated between Kochia/grain or Fall Rye greenfeed bales.

The only time we don't feed alfalfa is when we have freshly weaned calves. Bloat can be a problem with them. We usually start them on grass hay, and then move them onto alfalfa once they are settled in.

On another note, if the quality of alfalfa is good enough, you can see bloat cases. It is rare to see bloat on 1st cut alfalfa, and we have never had a problem but a number of years ago my uncle lost a couple cows on some extremely nice (green) 1st cut.

 

[R. John Johnson]

We use Alfalfa hay as our high quality feed and native grasses as our bulk feed. There is a limited amount of higher quality native hay form the ridges. Right now in the cold weather alfalfa is 1/3 of the ration for the cows, the rest being rough wild hay. After they calve it will be as much alfalfa as I can use, the rest ridge hay. The replacement heifers are on a ration of 1/2 alfalfa and 1/2 ridge hay. After they calve it will be straight alfalfa. We calve starting the last week of February. All our pastures are bordering Lake Manitoba and the ice doesn't leave until the first week of May (usually). Those momas not only need to feed that calf, but they need extra feed to stay warm.

John

 

[TexasBred]

Dun is right. Overfeeding protein is also known as "pi22ing your money off". 14% protein should be enough for those heifers to maintain body condition and calve out without any problems. How much is alfalfa in Oregon anyway? Well over $200 ton down this way.

 

[CWT Angus]

Alfalfa ran us $150/ton this year & nice,clean local grass hay $95/ton delivered. Our alfalfa is on the higher end of the protein scale & I too have been guilty of feeding too much of it prior to calving, it's easy to do.

We feed grass hay to the bred cows & heifers & top dress with a small amount of alfalfa into the 3rd trimester. This is usually about the time of year the freezes start too so that works out well. The comming yearlings eat only grass hay.

What are the BCS of the heifers now? If they are easy keepers you may not need to feed much alfalfa at all. Just a small amount to suppliment. Remember their growing bodies have a lot to do in the last trimester, and even more after they calve. When are they due?

 

[TexasBred]

Wow $150 for alfalfa is a steal. I can see why you'd be tempted to overfeed, but then grass hay should be down considerably this year in areas that got the rain. Hay that cost $100 a roll here last year is $30 this year. Not usually a big problem in beef cattle but alfalfa is high in calcium and can contribute to the incidence of milk fever at times. I'd discontinue feeding it a couple of months prior to calving.

 

[randiliana]

Wow $150 for alfalfa is a steal. I can see why you'd be tempted to overfeed, but then grass hay should be down considerably this year in areas that got the rain. Hay that cost $100 a roll here last year is $30 this year. Not usually a big problem in beef cattle but alfalfa is high in calcium and can contribute to the incidence of milk fever at times. I'd discontinue feeding it a couple of months prior to calving.

We have been feeding Alfalfa hay to our cows for many years. We have never had a case of milk fever. We feed almost entirely alfalfa from about 2 weeks before calving, right through until the grass is ready for grazing. I'd suggest maybe climate, and temperature might be the difference, but for the most part our weather is becoming warm and springlike during this time.

If you are concerned about milk fever, it would be a good idea to feed a mineral that corrects the calcium/phosophorus ratio.

 

[ENNOT]

I wouldn't be worried one bit to feed some alfalfa along with the timothy hay. Timothy is alot better feed than people give it credit. We run our cattle on timothy fields in the winter and feed them mostly export timothy kick-outs when we need to feed hay. They do real well on it. We do feed a little alfalfa as we have it as kick-outs also.

They surely don't need to get too much alfalfa, but it shouldn't hurt them at all even if they are in good condition. It always easier going into winter a little heavy than a little light. We feed our 1st calf heifers alfalfa every other day along with grass hay and they do good on it.

 

[regenwether]

Interesting how different people in different parts of the country say what is "right" or "wrong" way. Everyone is right...in their area. Talk with some local rancher and see what they do.

Here in Iowa I feed my Cow's 1st. crop alfalfa(brome mix). I do feed my fall herd some 2nd or 3rd crop in the winter to help with the milk.