Which liquid feed is better

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StrojanHerefords said:
The problem with nutritional analysis is that it can’t tell you how much hay or grass a cow is going to eat. A few years ago I took some forage samples from three areas of a pasture. One where I fertilized, one where I didn’t fertilize and one where the cows wouldn’t eat. To my surprise, the tdn and protein of all three samples was basically the same. The only difference was between the good grass and the bad grass was that the cows would eat enough of the good grass to keep going.
My recommendations would be maximize the amount of hay the cows will eat. I would grind the hay with a pound per head day of the 38% liquid feed. The urea will help break down the lignin further.
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I cant grind hay I'm not set up for that. I guess my theory on the hay test is that doesn't account for the sorting the cows will do on the bales. pick out the best 75% of the bale and lay and poop on the rest. my normal method has been to keep plenty of hay out all winter never let them run out and put out enough bales at a time that they don't have to fight each other for it
 
kenny thomas said:
Im not sure they can eat enough of 6% hay thats only 42tdn(total digestable nutrients) to stay in a decent condition throughout the winter. Someone correct me and tell me what a cow will have to eat to make it good.
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That's pretty low quality hay, worst case scenario is cows possibly starving to death with a belly full of hay. Low TDN hay will move slowly through the cows digestive tract which is counter productive to her efforts to live. This hay would need to be supplemented with both protein and energy in my opinion. Protein will help them digest it better and get more value from it but not enough to meet all of their energy needs. Something like a 28% cube or tub would work good.
 
MtnCows93 said:
I cant grind hay I'm not set up for that. I guess my theory on the hay test is that doesn't account for the sorting the cows will do on the bales. pick out the best 75% of the bale and lay and poop on the rest. my normal method has been to keep plenty of hay out all winter never let them run out and put out enough bales at a time that they don't have to fight each other for it
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I certainly agree with putting out enough hay that they don't have to compete for it. I see people put a roll in a hay ring trying to do the right thing. The ring might be big enough for 8 cows if they all had manners. But normally 5 or maybe 6 will eat and 2 will stand off from it wishing they had a bite.
 
kenny thomas said:
I certainly agree with putting out enough hay that they don't have to compete for it. I see people put a roll in a hay ring trying to do the right thing. The ring might be big enough for 8 cows if they all had manners. But normally 5 or maybe 6 will eat and 2 will stand off from it wishing they had a bite.
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that's exactly right. plus rings with mud and baby calves definitely isn't a good combination
 

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