Winter protein

[TexasBred]

Thank you do they consume much per day? With the 50 25 25.

Around 3-4 lbs. per head per day.

TB, could you use whole cotton seeds instead of cottonseed meal

Sure....without adjusting the mix your crude protein level will be lower but the TDN and energy levels will be out the roof. Can't make a feed as good as whole cottonseed. (Just my opinion)

 

[Williamsv]

My dad used to feed cottonseed meal mixed with salt. Had not thought of that in years.

 

[southernultrablack]

Around 3-4 lbs. per head per day.

TB, could you use whole cotton seeds instead of cottonseed meal

Sure....without adjusting the mix your crude protein level will be lower but the TDN and energy levels will be out the roof. Can't make a feed as good as whole cottonseed. (Just my opinion)

What would the protein be on the 50% corn 25% cotton seeds and 25% salt? Any issues feeding to anything other than bulls? Will be supplementing bred cows and bred heifers how much per head per day should I shoot for?

 

[southernultrablack]

You can't beat whole cottonseed for winter supplement. It's also easy and clean to store.
And can be fed in the pasture on the ground without bunks

Fence how much of the cotton seeds do you feed your cows in the winter per day?

 

[TexasBred]

TB, could you use whole cotton seeds instead of cottonseed meal

Sure....without adjusting the mix your crude protein level will be lower but the TDN and energy levels will be out the roof. Can't make a feed as good as whole cottonseed. (Just my opinion)

What would the protein be on the 50% corn 25% cotton seeds and 25% salt? Any issues feeding to anything other than bulls? Will be supplementing bred cows and bred heifers how much per head per day should I shoot for?

Around 8% crude protein. Max feeding rate is around 4-5 lbs. of whole cottonseed per day so you could feed about 16 lbs. of the mix. I've feed as much as 6 lbs. per head per day to dairy cattle without any problems. If the cattle are bred I'd probably not feed over 4-5 lbs. of that mix per head per day. Should be a good compliment to the hay and/or grazing you have. Fed heavily and over a long period of time bulls can become temporarily sterile from the seed so keep that in mind.

 

[callmefence]

You can't beat whole cottonseed for winter supplement. It's also easy and clean to store.
And can be fed in the pasture on the ground without bunks

Fence how much of the cotton seeds do you feed your cows in the winter per day?

I feed it just like cubes. About 3 to 7 pounds dependant on hay and pasture quality.
Cottonseed cubes are very popular here and less labor. But twice the price.

I will stand to be corrected by Texas bred. But I think whole cottonseed also brings a fair amount of fiber to the table. So when compared to urea based protein it will not only at protein and lots of fat. But save hay as well.
We have to get kinda creative to get it here.
and Will probably be doing it this week.
I'll post some pics :lol2:

 

[Cross-7]

Sure....without adjusting the mix your crude protein level will be lower but the TDN and energy levels will be out the roof. Can't make a feed as good as whole cottonseed. (Just my opinion)

What would the protein be on the 50% corn 25% cotton seeds and 25% salt? Any issues feeding to anything other than bulls? Will be supplementing bred cows and bred heifers how much per head per day should I shoot for?

Around 8% crude protein. Max feeding rate is around 4-5 lbs. of whole cottonseed per day so you could feed about 16 lbs. of the mix. I've feed as much as 6 lbs. per head per day to dairy cattle without any problems. If the cattle are bred I'd probably not feed over 4-5 lbs. of that mix per head per day. Should be a good compliment to the hay and/or grazing you have. Fed heavily and over a long period of time bulls can become temporarily sterile from the seed so keep that in mind.

Any reason to add corn if feeding whole cotton seed, unless corn can be had a lot cheaper than cottonseed ( here both are about the same price)

 

[TexasBred]

What would the protein be on the 50% corn 25% cotton seeds and 25% salt? Any issues feeding to anything other than bulls? Will be supplementing bred cows and bred heifers how much per head per day should I shoot for?

Around 8% crude protein. Max feeding rate is around 4-5 lbs. of whole cottonseed per day so you could feed about 16 lbs. of the mix. I've feed as much as 6 lbs. per head per day to dairy cattle without any problems. If the cattle are bred I'd probably not feed over 4-5 lbs. of that mix per head per day. Should be a good compliment to the hay and/or grazing you have. Fed heavily and over a long period of time bulls can become temporarily sterile from the seed so keep that in mind.

Any reason to add corn if feeding whole cotton seed, unless corn can be had a lot cheaper than cottonseed ( here both are about the same price)

Corn should usually be cheaper but I'd keep it in the mix anyway to add the carbs, and maintain the energy levels knowing that consumption is going down using the 50% salt 50% seed mix.

Fence is right on the fiber not to mention the high fat. Typical analysis on seed is roughly 23% crude protein, 23% fat, 23% fiber. That's what makes it such an awesome feed component.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

So this might be a dumb question, but if you mix whole cotton seed, and whole corn, what prevents the salt from sorting out? It sounds like the salt would just sort to the bottom of the bunk.... maybe I am wrong?

 

[TexasBred]

So this might be a dumb question, but if you mix whole cotton seed, and whole corn, what prevents the salt from sorting out? It sounds like the salt would just sort to the bottom of the bunk.... maybe I am wrong?

The cottonseed still have the fuzz on them and are really fluffy and also somewhat oily which will hold a lot of the salt and you can either fine grind or chop the corn. No one that I know of uses whole corn in a mix like this. It will stay mixed pretty well.

 

[Farmgirl]

TB,

What about corn meal instead of cracked corn or chops? Same price. Would be mixing it with CSM and salt. Also, are there different kinds of salt that mix better?

Thanks,
Farmgirl

 

[southernultrablack]

So this might be a dumb question, but if you mix whole cotton seed, and whole corn, what prevents the salt from sorting out? It sounds like the salt would just sort to the bottom of the bunk.... maybe I am wrong?

The cottonseed still have the fuzz on them and are really fluffy and also somewhat oily which will hold a lot of the salt and you can either fine grind or chop the corn. No one that I know of uses whole corn in a mix like this. It will stay mixed pretty well.

TB, I was gonna use whole corn,don't have an easy way to grind it. Will it still work?

 

[TexasBred]

TB,

What about corn meal instead of cracked corn or chops? Same price. Would be mixing it with CSM and salt. Also, are there different kinds of salt that mix better?

Thanks,
Farmgirl

Go for it girl. It will work. There is mixing salt and there is stock salt. Only difference is mixing salt is a bit finer.

I hear of folk using whole corn occasionally. There will be more undigested corn pass through but they'll still utilize 85% of it. Probably the way to go if you already own the corn.