Best thing to feed bulls

valtraman

Member
Ive got 4 Angus bulls been out working there first season , there under 2 year old , had a busy summer and are looking quite lean . Getting them off cows next week and will put in shed and quietly feed them over winter to our condition back on. Currently feed suckler calves a 16% nut. With ad lib silage/hay . Would this do for bulls or better on a different feed?
 

valtraman

Member
We feed ours silage only we found we had more problems with feet if we started to feed them
Yes Ure possibly right it’s just I’m not used to using younger bulls so thought I should be good to them over winter but possibly that could backfire on me. Long time until next July when I need them I suppose
 

valtraman

Member
Yes Ure possibly right it’s just I’m not used to using younger bulls so thought I should be good to them over winter but possibly that could backfire on me. Long time until next July when I need them I suppose
Our older bulls are our wintered no issues on silage
 

nails

Member
Location
East Dorset
Ive got 4 Angus bulls been out working there first season , there under 2 year old , had a busy summer and are looking quite lean . Getting them off cows next week and will put in shed and quietly feed them over winter to our condition back on. Currently feed suckler calves a 16% nut. With ad lib silage/hay . Would this do for bulls or better on a different feed?
. Difficult to say without seeing them but if they have worked hard and are looking a bit lean and you want them to grow to their genetic potential . I would feed them a bit of hard grub, not too much barley though.
 

Suffolksucklers

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
North Suffolk
They have a longtime until they next work, ours are just fed our homemade haylage which is nothing special. Used to give them a bit of TMR in the morning then haylage after but one winter the blonde bull got up to 1480kg so we stopped that. They look in plenty good condition when they go out, you still want them to be fit and able to work
 

Ysgythan

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Ammanford
Ive got 4 Angus bulls been out working there first season , there under 2 year old , had a busy summer and are looking quite lean . Getting them off cows next week and will put in shed and quietly feed them over winter to our condition back on. Currently feed suckler calves a 16% nut. With ad lib silage/hay . Would this do for bulls or better on a different feed?
I’d say yes for native breeds.
 

egbert

Member
Livestock Farmer
Yes Ure possibly right it’s just I’m not used to using younger bulls so thought I should be good to them over winter but possibly that could backfire on me. Long time until next July when I need them I suppose
a pound or two of hard feed max, the only potential risk of keeping em hungry now is that they might not make full size...so cull value is down come the end.
Conversely, they'll live cheaper meanwhile!

Avoid pumping them up. Foot problems, and worse, are a risk.
I find attitude problems are worse in bulls on higher fuel diets, although that might simply be because they're at that fruity stage that needs a lerrup anyway.
 

Matt

Member
Good silage and no more than 1kg head/day of a 16% mix.
You could feed bit more up to around January then put them on silage and mins for 6 months.
Depends if they need to grow or just flesh up.
 

Whitepeak

Member
Livestock Farmer
Ive got 4 Angus bulls been out working there first season , there under 2 year old , had a busy summer and are looking quite lean . Getting them off cows next week and will put in shed and quietly feed them over winter to our condition back on. Currently feed suckler calves a 16% nut. With ad lib silage/hay . Would this do for bulls or better on a different feed?
Is the nut a 16% grower or a 16% finisher? Can be a big difference in Starch and energy, which obviously impacts how much to feed.
I'd probably give them a few kilos a day to help them fill out and continue growing. I'm currently giving our Blonde bulls approx 3kgs of a 14% barley blend a day to build them back up again.
 

valtraman

Member
Is the nut a 16% grower or a 16% finisher? Can be a big difference in Starch and energy, which obviously impacts how much to feed.
I'd probably give them a few kilos a day to help them fill out and continue growing. I'm currently giving our Blonde bulls approx 3kgs of a 14% barley blend a day to build them back up again.
It’s just a 16% grower
 

nails

Member
Location
East Dorset
a pound or two of hard feed max, the only potential risk of keeping em hungry now is that they might not make full size...so cull value is down come the end.
Conversely, they'll live cheaper meanwhile!

Avoid pumping them up. Foot problems, and worse, are a risk.
I find attitude problems are worse in bulls on higher fuel diets, although that might simply be because they're at that fruity stage that needs a lerrup anyway.
Spanish fighting bulls only have grass and forage, not sure about your theory.:LOL:
 

egbert

Member
Livestock Farmer
Spanish fighting bulls only have grass and forage, not sure about your theory.:LOL:
Spanish fighting bulls are selected for temperament, and handled in such a way as to promote that behaviour.
(and while I respect their right to have such a culture, I despise the way they handle their stock...it repels me)

I'm not sure there's any comparison to stuff here.

I'm going off decades of handling UK cattle, and the feeling that high fuelled bulls are often tetchier than those on lower planes of nutrition.
Although, as said, some of that is coincidence, and/or other factors.
 

Jaffa Cakes

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
NI
Is the nut a 16% grower or a 16% finisher? Can be a big difference in Starch and energy, which obviously impacts how much to feed.
I'd probably give them a few kilos a day to help them fill out and continue growing. I'm currently giving our Blonde bulls approx 3kgs of a 14% barley blend a day to build them back up again.
Why do you want them to grow out? Lots of folk end up getting rid of bulls that get too big for the cows . . .
 

valtraman

Member
The OP said they are under 2yr old, so probably still doing a lot of growing. And so unless they are fed they will be stunted. But to be fair, I don't know how big the OPs bulls are, how big he wants them, or how big his cows are.
Bulls are a decent size for age . My cows are almost pure Angus nowadays but still some big ones in them . I’m just trying to get condition back on them whilst keeping them growing slowly . I’m not a big feeder of any kind .
 

Bill dog

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Scottish Borders
Have always given our bulls 5kg ish of a 16% calf nut just to keep them happy. Last winter in particular had a few feet issues. Feeding too much? Or unrelated coincidence?
5kg seems hefty for a bull doing feck all. That’s a hell of a feed bill if he’s getting that for 5 months. I expect you may be causing the feet issues .
Out of curiosity, what breed of bulls are they ?
 

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