Feed Blends - Positives and Negatives

[Pinkcox]

Morning all,

Just a quick question, what is everyone's experiences with feed blends, the positives and negatives. Input would be welcome from all different systems.

Cheers, much appreciated.

 

[Man_in_black]

@Nithsdale Farmer

 

[Nithsdale]

I buy straights, then mix it myself.

You get a better feed, for a better price, compared to buying pellets which are usually bulked out with some crap IMO.

 

[Al R]

I used to work in a blending plant in the midlands, we'd buy in all the straights and then mix in a Keenan and sell it on.
Every load that went out be it 1t or 29t would have a sample bag taken and it'd be sent off to the labs to make sure the right ratio was in each handful that the customer was paying for. Yes easy with 2-3 ingredients but you had to be exact and leave it plenty of mixing time when adding molasses, mineral powders and also 8-9 straights!

What species are you feeding?
I'd be tempted on buying wheat, barley or oats and adding Hipro soya/rapemeal into the mix.

 

[GTB]

I buy straights, then mix it myself.

You get a better feed, for a better price, compared to buying pellets which are usually bulked out with some crap IMO.

This is true but unless you're using quite a bit it gets hard to justify the cost and hassle? What sort of straights are you mixing and in what sort of quantity if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Positives =ease of feeding, ease of storage, no faffing
Negatives= more expensive, usually full of broken kit Kats and whatever is cheap

 

[Boysground]

We have used a brought in blend for years here. Don't have enough shed space to keep a number of different straights separate. Buy it on contract for a fixed tonnage at a time. spec is what we ask for. Have occasionally tested never had a problem. Never found unwanted rubbish.

Like everything else you pay your money and make your choice but blends suit our system well. We are unlikely to stop.

Bg

 

[Nithsdale]

This is true but unless you're using quite a bit it gets hard to justify the cost and hassle? What sort of straights are you mixing and in what sort of quantity if you don't mind me asking?

North British Maize Grains, Beet Pulp, Bruised Barley.

We buy the Maize Grains & Beet Pulp mixed @ 18%. We then mix 50:50 with the bruised Barley for the cattle.

For the sheep I'm mixing 1t of Maize Grains and Beet to 500kg of Bruised barely, and incorporating around 80kg of Rumenco EweLiq16 molasses into it.


Brother mixes a heap for the stores once a week usually, and I am currently mixing a heap for the ewes every 5 days.

 

[GTB]

North British Maize Grains, Beet Pulp, Bruised Barley.

We buy the Maize Grains & Beet Pulp mixed @ 18%. We then mix 50:50 with the bruised Barley for the cattle.

For the sheep I'm mixing 1t of Maize Grains and Beet to 500kg of Bruised barely, and incorporating around 80kg of Rumenco EweLiq16 molasses into it.


Brother mixes a heap for the stores once a week usually, and I am currently mixing a heap for the ewes every 5 days.

Excuse my ignorance but how are you mixing it?

 

[Nithsdale]

Excuse my ignorance but how are you mixing it?

Telehandler on the shed floor.

 

[Nithsdale]

Excuse my ignorance but how are you mixing it?

We collect it all, ourselves, and it gets tipped into bunkers at the back of shed.

Just scoop out a handoer bucket load (I filled it with a measured/weighed mineral bucket to find out what it held one wet afternoon ). Tip the bruised barley on the floor then pour over the molasses, then just keep scooping/tipping until it's well mixed. Then get the maize and beet mix and work it in. I have been wondering about a concrete pan mxer for the job, but that ties up another tractor...

 

[GTB]

We collect it all, ourselves, and it gets tipped into bunkers at the back of shed.

Just scoop out a handoer bucket load (I filled it with a measured/weighed mineral bucket to find out what it held one wet afternoon ). Tip the bruised barley on the floor then pour over the molasses, then just keep scooping/tipping until it's well mixed. Then get the maize and beet mix and work it in. I have been wondering about a concrete pan mxer for the job, but that ties up another tractor...

A friend of mine used to do similar but has a Keenan now and feeds his cattle tmr. Not sure if he mixes some in the Keenan for the sheep now

 

[Nithsdale]

A friend of mine used to do similar but has a Keenan now and feeds his cattle tmr. Not sure if he mixes some in the Keenan for the sheep now

It would make the job easy but it's all extra costs in a time when we need to tighten our belts

 

[Fergieman]

I buy straights, then mix it myself.

You get a better feed, for a better price, compared to buying pellets which are usually bulked out with some crap IMO.

North British Maize Grains, Beet Pulp, Bruised Barley.

We buy the Maize Grains & Beet Pulp mixed @ 18%. We then mix 50:50 with the bruised Barley for the cattle.

For the sheep I'm mixing 1t of Maize Grains and Beet to 500kg of Bruised barely, and incorporating around 80kg of Rumenco EweLiq16 molasses into it.


Brother mixes a heap for the stores once a week usually, and I am currently mixing a heap for the ewes every 5 days.

Correct me if I'm wrong but your buying a blend of Maize grains and beet pulp, not straights.

 

[Nithsdale]

Correct me if I'm wrong but your buying a blend of Maize grains and beet pulp, not straights.

We buy 3t of maize grains and 5t of beetpulp, separate, which is mixed with a loading shovel as it's put into the trailer...


I class that as straights.

 

[Fergieman]

We buy 3t of maize grains and 5t of beetpulp, separate, which is mixed with a loading shovel as it's put into the trailer...


I class that as straights.

Ah OK, didn't read like that above.

 

[Nithsdale]

Ah OK, didn't read like that above.

Not sure how else I should have worded it:

North British Maize Grains, Beet Pulp, Bruised Barley.

We buy the Maize Grains & Beet Pulp mixed @ 18%.

 

[Bury the Trash]

about a concrete pan mxer for the job

be ok on the forks if it was hydraulic powered could then load a hopper for the snacker- could put side extensions on i guess to increase capacity....trouble is ya dont see them secondhand much.


'course because the risk that there might be a little stone in the bottom would mean never use it for concrete again, ha ha ......

 

[andybk]

North British Maize Grains, Beet Pulp, Bruised Barley.

We buy the Maize Grains & Beet Pulp mixed @ 18%. We then mix 50:50 with the bruised Barley for the cattle.

For the sheep I'm mixing 1t of Maize Grains and Beet to 500kg of Bruised barely, and incorporating around 80kg of Rumenco EweLiq16 molasses into it.


Brother mixes a heap for the stores once a week usually, and I am currently mixing a heap for the ewes every 5 days.

thats nearly what we feed , wheat distillers , rolled barley , beet pulp to lambs , same just whole barley not rolled for ewes ,mixed in a bath with shovel or concrete mixer , hi pro soya kills lambs here with red gut on milky ewes , ok after 8 weeks same with pellets,
wheat distillers is nearly as good as soya (less prot) for degradability and palatability just got to feed half as much again , lambs look well on it after a time .

 

[Nithsdale]

thats nearly what we feed , wheat distillers , rolled barley , beet pulp to lambs , same just whole barley not rolled for ewes ,mixed in a bath with shovel or concrete mixer , hi pro soya kills lambs here with red gut on milky ewes , ok after 8 weeks same with pellets,
wheat distillers is nearly as good as soya (less prot) for degradability and palatability just got to feed half as much again , lambs look well on it after a time .

I was contemplating switching to the dark wheat grains - it has a better constitution so doesn't break up/become as mealy... but the ewes are hoovering it up, and with a little help it's running through the snacker pretty well.


I'm only using rolled barley because we buy it for the cattle, and have nowhere to store anything else.