Winter feeding

[DiamondY42]

Hi Everyone!
This is the second post for me containing the 2nd of which will probably be many, Many, MANY questions
Here goes: Being located in NW North dakota and early November, How does a person know when to begin winter feeding the Herd?
Its not too cold (+/- 30F), the pasture in which I have the herd still has a fair amount of forage with slight dusting of snow.
I noticed that the cows do lay down and chew their cud in early PM. Is this an indicator that they are receiving enough forage? :dunce:

Thanx in advance for all replies/opinions

 

[terra8186]

I am just a beginner too. I have 4 calves I am feeding out for beef. I can tell when mine are hungry by them staring at me and they begin to moo.

 

[IluvABbeef]

If you still got enough pasture for fall grazing and the cows are not complaining about hunger (or they don't look hungry) and you don't have enough snow on the ground that will prevent them from doing any fall pasture grazing, then winter feeding shouldn't be necessary now.

Winter feeding should start when you run out of pasture (graze the pasture until there's about 4 to 5 inches of forage left) and/or when you get over 2 feet of snow. A light dusting of snow won't hinder any foraging of those cows: more than 2 feet will. So IMHO you should be looking at how much pasture you have left and not whether your cows are still chewing their cuds or not. BTW, some people don't start winter feeding until December.

Terra, it sounds more like whenever they see you they moo at you because they associate you with food and think they're going to get something from you. (I call it spoiling them ;-) ) They'll be hungry if their hay feeder or feed bunks are all cleaned up.

 

[randiliana]

It also depends on when your cows are due to start calving. And on what your pasture is. If it is native you have a bit more time, if it is Crested Wheat, then they may need more than what the pasture is providing. A good idea would be for you to find a local rancher and learn from him.

We live in the same general area as you do, a bit further north, and west, but similar type of weather. Our cows start calving in March, so they will be going into their last trimester in December, that is when the calf is doing the majority of its growth and when the cow starts to need better quality feed.

 

[grubbie]

I might add, when we see some particularly cold weather coming or a blizzard, we usually throw out some hay for them at the onset. (Calories = heat.) More important, in my opinion, is to keep a mineral tub out to help them get the most out of the forage they are on. (i.e. crystallix, smartlick)