Feeding straw to sucklers

[M-J-G]

Due to drought this summer, we aren't going to have any silage to feed to in-calf cows this year and it's going to have to be an all straw based diet. I'm just wondering what everyone else feeds with straw to their cows.

Cows are 100% beef bred (no B&W), will be calving mid Jan - mid Mar, they are in good order so will only need maintained.

Wheat and barley straw are available, and all are outside fed in ring feeders.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Is it your own straw as you could buy hay for near the same price

 

[d williams]

Due to drought this summer, we aren't going to have any silage to feed to in-calf cows this year and it's going to have to be an all straw based diet. I'm just wondering what everyone else feeds with straw to their cows.

Cows are 100% beef bred (no B&W), will be calving mid Jan - mid Mar, they are in good order so will only need maintained.

Wheat and barley straw are available, and all are outside fed in ring feeders.

Barley oats seem cheep perhaps molasses on straw may even work out cheaper than silage

 

[d williams]

Due to drought this summer, we aren't going to have any silage to feed to in-calf cows this year and it's going to have to be an all straw based diet. I'm just wondering what everyone else feeds with straw to their cows.

Cows are 100% beef bred (no B&W), will be calving mid Jan - mid Mar, they are in good order so will only need maintained.

Wheat and barley straw are available, and all are outside fed in ring feeders.

Should have said had first calvers last year on cheap hay good straw would have had same feed value and feed buckets probably covered costs buckets in saving on bedding these were in good condition coming in too good for heifers I think silage is somtimes overrated for sucklers

 

[Tamar]

Ad lib straw and 3 litres of pot ale syrup a day until calving.

Cheap and easy system.

 

[M-J-G]

Is it your own straw as you could buy hay for near the same price

Straw is from a neighbour in the yard at <£60. Hay is close to double straw price locally (£100+/-) everyone else is well down on feed as well as us.

 

[Sussex Martin]

They should be fine on barley straw and a ltr. or two of molasses or similar. Dennis Brinicome (spelling????) do a liquid feed for straw feeding, check their web site for details if your interested, my cattle have done well on it in the past.

 

[Alistair McLaren]

Ours get pre calving rolled oats, SBP nuts and minerals in a mix (morning only) and then wheat straw with mol ale (about a litre per head) poured on top each end of the day.

 

[Walterp]

I'd be a bit concerned about keeping energy levels up, if they're calving so early.

I'd be inclined to supplement straw but, as it's not something that's done in this area (where hay is cheaper than straw) I'd be interested in what others recommend.

Not sure that I'd be keen to accept that big, Contintal cattle could rough it on straw only, as some smaller, stringier types could. I know that trying to keep Limousins (cows or heifers) on this would be inviting problems come calving, unless calving was in late Spring.

 

[Walterp]

Ours get pre calving rolled oats, SBP nuts and minerals in a mix (morning only) and then wheat straw with mol ale (about a litre per head) poured on top each end of the day.

The most appealing answer.

 

[exmoor dave]

due to drought we've been feeding the cows pea hulm and rumivite blocks for nearly 2 months, all outside in ring feeders. seems to be working ok once they got used to the hulm.

 

[Jim75]

due to drought we've been feeding the cows pea hulm and rumivite blocks for nearly 2 months, all outside in ring feeders. seems to be working ok once they got used to the hulm.

Did you need any molasses to get them started off on pea haulm or did they just go for it. Ours are starting off on it soon but not sure how keen they'll start off on it

 

[Jock]

I'd be a bit concerned about keeping energy levels up, if they're calving so early.

I'd be inclined to supplement straw but, as it's not something that's done in this area (where hay is cheaper than straw) I'd be interested in what others recommend.

Not sure that I'd be keen to accept that big, Contintal cattle could rough it on straw only, as some smaller, stringier types could. I know that trying to keep Limousins (cows or heifers) on this would be inviting problems come calving, unless calving was in late Spring.

All straw based diets need protein supplementation of some sort.
Cattle can't get enough nutrition from straw only diets in a day to meet their needs. Something to do with it being fibrous and the rumen microbes not being able to break it down fast enough which leads to impaction.

Hay would be fine though.

 

[septimus]

Add some pot ale to or a molasses/ urea mix to the straw feed adlib and they won't need too much else. Watch the minerals tho had problems a few years ago with a calcium/phosphorus imbalance

 

[exmoor dave]

@Jim75 we just plonked the bales down and they got going on them but bear in mind all the pastures had turned brown by this point and the cattle were eating bracken

 

[M-J-G]

All straw based diets need protein supplementation of some sort.
Cattle can't get enough nutrition from straw only diets in a day to meet their needs. Something to do with it being fibrous and the rumen microbes not being able to break it down fast enough which leads to impaction.

Hay would be fine though.

Yes I agree, but my question is what is everyone else feeding their cows while on a straw based diet?
On a normal year I'd be on half straw half silage plus minerals and the cows do great.

 

[Jock]

Yes I agree, but my question is what is everyone else feeding their cows while on a straw based diet?
On a normal year I'd be on half straw half silage plus minerals and the cows do great.

Sorry, was replying to Walterp's post questioning that smaller rougher cows might be able to survive on straw only.

Know people that succesfully used to feed just maize gluten and straw to sucklers. Others used dried brewers grain pellets. I guess rapeseed meal would work out OK as well at the moment.
Is the Lothians not meant to be awash with rejected high N spring barley at the moment? A bit of that with some 34% protein pellets mixed through it would be another option.
Pot ale or Molasses probably cheaper if you can handle liquids

 

[le bon paysan]

They should be fine on barley straw and a ltr. or two of molasses or similar. Dennis Brinicome (spelling????) do a liquid feed for straw feeding, check their web site for details if your interested, my cattle have done well on it in the past.

+1

 

[landslave the 2nd]

what £/lt is pot ale in an IBC tank...........T I A
or potmol

 

[rob1]

when we were calving dairy cows in late 90's from mid feb i fed them barley straw with a protein lick and add lib minerals, worked very well cows were lean and keen very few calving problems no over large calves so they were up andsucking quickly and no milk fever. if i had sucklers i would never let them near silage precalving within a month of due date, excess energy goes to the calf not the cow so just makes calving harder for both cow and calf, if a cow is thin feed it up after weaning to the condition you want and then maintenance only for the last month