How to feed cows?

[Cows 'n grass]

Seven years into my CFA and we finally have some decent infrastructure. For this winter I will get by with the machinery I have but looking forward to next winter I'm still struggling to work out the best way to physically feed silages to the cows.

This is the layout we nearly have now.

I've never had a clamp before this year so the cows were just on round bales fed in rings in the feed yard. There is room, just, for 2 X 200 foot troughs in the feed yard and there are two sheds each with a 200foot feed face onto a central passage.

Current machinery is two loader tractors and a straw blower.

I have a number of ideas for the simplest way to move forage from the clamps to the cows. I'd like to get rid of the rings because they don't offer enough feed space and they're a pain to push around and scrape around. The two parallel troughs won't leave enough room between them for a tractor or handler to turn 90 degrees to drop silage in.

Ideas please

 

[Stuart1]

Are you looking to add blend to the silage or just straight forages? Does your straw blower feed put silage? I’ve seen videos of some straw blowers compatible with silage also.

 

[DairyGrazing]

Forage box? Soon gets tiring going back and forth with a shear grab!

 

[jimmer]

I question if there's enough room to put two troughs in that feed shed
How wide is it?

 

[More to life]

for spring calving if want to find a way to feed blocks 3x a week

 

[Cows 'n grass]

Are you looking to add blend to the silage or just straight forages? Does your straw blower feed put silage? I’ve seen videos of some straw blowers compatible with silage also.

Yes the straw blower does silage very easily, only takes a couple of minutes to empty.

 

[matthew]

The Lucas Castor is capable of shooting out straw, and silage. Even bales.

 

[Cows 'n grass]

I question if there's enough room to put two troughs in that feed shed
How wide is it?

It's 15m so there's just room in my mind so long as the troughs themselves aren't too wide.

 

[vantage]

for spring calving if want to find a way to feed blocks 3x a week

I’ve visited a farm in Hereford, the Leen, where they fed blocks behind cow pow barriers. Gelli Aur also do similar, many hours to fill , but many days between fills, probably £££ now though.

 

[Cows 'n grass]

Forage box? Soon gets tiring going back and forth with a shear grab!

Forage box has been my thought but they're generally quite small/old and knackered. I didn't start feeding from the new clamps until this weekend and it just felt so pointless double handling the silage to move it only a few metres

 

[jimmer]

It's 15m so there's just room in my mind so long as the troughs themselves aren't too wide.

Only just

 

[vantage]

Forage box has been my thought but they're generally quite small/old and knackered. I didn't start feeding from the new clamps until this weekend and it just felt so pointless double handling the silage to move it only a few metres

Blue sky thinking, a bucket wheel excavator attached to a conveyor belt that your cows can eat off!

 

[DairyGrazing]

Forage box has been my thought but they're generally quite small/old and knackered. I didn't start feeding from the new clamps until this weekend and it just felt so pointless double handling the silage to move it only a few metres

Foster still make them but they might not do one big enough for you.

 

[vantage]

Forage box has been my thought but they're generally quite small/old and knackered. I didn't start feeding from the new clamps until this weekend and it just felt so pointless double handling the silage to move it only a few metres

My Keenan is still available, certainly not small and knackered!

 

[Cows 'n grass]

Only just

Only just but still better than 16 rings. 3 troughs, one each side and one down the middle would give wider passages but would be more costly and fiddly.

 

[DairyGrazing]

I’ve visited a farm in Hereford, the Leen, where they fed blocks behind cow pow barriers. Gelli Aur also do similar, many hours to fill , but many days between fills, probably £££ now though.

Think they had switched to a big shear grab last time I was there. Block cutters are as fickle as a forage box parked in the rain.

 

[In the pit]

Skid steer driving into feeder and putting blocks in

 

[Cows 'n grass]

My Keenan is still available, certainly not small and knackered!

Mixer wagon is certainly not ruled out. The great thing about bales was anyone could put out a dozen bales and the cows would get the right amount of silage. There are three of us who feed now and I think/know that the amount they are given daily by counting grab fulls is quite variable. I quite like the idea of someone with weigh cells.

 

[vantage]

Skid steer driving into feeder and putting blocks in

My milker works on a 7-800 cow place that does just that, must be a full time job job for someone! Perhaps they have a mahoosive skiddy.

 

[vantage]

Mixer wagon is certainly not ruled out. The great thing about bales was anyone could put out a dozen bales and the cows would get the right amount of silage. There are three of us who feed now and I think/know that the amount they are given daily by counting grab fulls is quite variable. I quite like the idea of someone with weigh cells.

Plenty of cheap ones about, mate bought an immaculate twin auger tub, 24 cube, £12k.