New to diet feeders - advice needed!

[Rattie]

I guess it depends on feeding system as well.

If you have enough room to feed the cows silage twice a day and then let them top up from a feeder with straw what they dont eat can be used as bedding.
Or you chop the straw and put it through the wagon.
2nd option adds cost but maximises use of organic feed straw with less wastage.
Can then buy in conventional straw to bed up on.

Seems you are working through it and have lots of options which is always good

Like the feeder idea, will look at how it could work. Are you talking about feeding them a controlled quantity of silage, then ad-lib straw then? Do you think that would be better than mixing together a daily controlled ration of silage and straw? Some of these cows have come in at CS 4-5, weighed several over 850kg and one big HerefordX at 1060Kg this week. They are going on a crash diet and anything empty is going next week!!
We don't import any straw, no blackgrass here and I want to keep it that way, any Organic straw from contract farms with blackgrass or oats is sold for Mushrooms.

 

[Sid]

Like the feeder idea, will look at how it could work. Are you talking about feeding them a controlled quantity of silage, then ad-lib straw then? Do you think that would be better than mixing together a daily controlled ration of silage and straw? Some of these cows have come in at CS 4-5, weighed several over 850kg and one big HerefordX at 1060Kg this week. They are going on a crash diet and anything empty is going next week!!
We don't import any straw, no blackgrass here and I want to keep it that way, any Organic straw from contract farms with blackgrass or oats is sold for Mushrooms.

I am no expert in feeding suckler cows but if they are fat then they need some energy but still have a full belly.
We feed dry cows hay or haylage. Making sure they are right condition at drying off. More of a challenge when suckler cows at grass.
But you also mustn't compromise calf size or viability as this is the pay cheque.

On the straw in mix or separate you could even do a bit of both, wastage would be my main worry with too much straw in the wagon. At least if they waste it in the separate feeder you can use it for bedding, anything rejected in the trough has some silage in it, which you are short of , and would have to be dumped?

Totally understand the Black grass comment, not many care in the SW, makes some arable boys

 

[Celt83]

Like the feeder idea, will look at how it could work. Are you talking about feeding them a controlled quantity of silage, then ad-lib straw then? Do you think that would be better than mixing together a daily controlled ration of silage and straw? Some of these cows have come in at CS 4-5, weighed several over 850kg and one big HerefordX at 1060Kg this week. They are going on a crash diet and anything empty is going next week!!
We don't import any straw, no blackgrass here and I want to keep it that way, any Organic straw from contract farms with blackgrass or oats is sold for Mushrooms.

Be careful about putting them on a crash diet, I would thin them down gradually over some time. With the weights you quoted anything going cull would bring you a premium at the mart so I would start the diet after they have gone.

We ran out of silage a few years ago and had to buy some hay. Three cows went down and the vet said it was shock of change of diet which resulted in a lack of metabolic energy. Luckily they came better but the vet was shocked that they hadn't thrown the calves due to feed stress.

 

[haybob]

Feed cows straw and silage 50:50. Trade the feed wagon in for a straw blower. Sell your stores now or half of them to help with straw usage.

 

[wellingtonfarmer]

Why are the cows in yet? Keep them outside for as long as possible

 

[betweenthelines]

I guess it depends on feeding system as well.

If you have enough room to feed the cows silage twice a day and then let them top up from a feeder with straw what they dont eat can be used as bedding.
Or you chop the straw and put it through the wagon.
2nd option adds cost but maximises use of organic feed straw with less wastage.
Can then buy in conventional straw to bed up on.

Seems you are working through it and have lots of options which is always good

How do you stop the organic beasts eating the conventional straw bedding?

Do you take animals out of organic if they nibble their bedding?

 

[Sid]

How do you stop the organic beasts eating the conventional straw bedding?

Do you take animals out of organic if they nibble their bedding?

We don't we cram them full of cheaper conventional feed bought with cash and pass them off as organic, just like the magic farm assurance does with cattle after 90 days.


Tongue firmly in cheek

 

[hally]

Why are the cows in yet? Keep them outside for as long as possible

Coz we dont all live in Herefordshire

 

[wellingtonfarmer]

Coz we dont all live in Herefordshire

We have had a wetter October than last year. Keep cows thin on the ground and they don’t make much mess- people rush too much to house cows.

 

[JMTHORNLEY]

We have had a wetter October than last year. Keep cows thin on the ground and they don’t make much mess- people rush too much to house cows.

Sounds like you need a run up to Glossop shag, I’ll show you rushing to get cattle in... so wet here even the otters have f**ked off

 

[Rattie]

Feed cows straw and silage 50:50. Trade the feed wagon in for a straw blower. Sell your stores now or half of them to help with straw usage.

Yep, batch of stores going directly and cull cows to Melton this week. PD Monday, anything empty joining them to market. Annoying, but its not straw were short if, always have an excess, hence the decision to buy a wagon - to feed more of it effectively.
Is 50:50 a mix you use, by volume or weight? What protein levels are you aiming for? Cheerd

 

[Rattie]

Why are the cows in yet? Keep them outside for as long as possible

No grass growth and turning the place into a bog, usually keep them out until early December. Not worth the long term damage to the ground, I need 4 years of cereals out of it from next year!

 

[michael N123]

Coz we dont all live in Herefordshire

As a Cumbrian The most annoying thing about this forum is people saying why are your cows inside or why havnt you finished all your lambs on grass

 

[marco]

No the most annoying thing is a person asking how best to use his new purchase only to be told to sell it.

 

[haybob]

Yep, batch of stores going directly and cull cows to Melton this week. PD Monday, anything empty joining them to market. Annoying, but its not straw were short if, always have an excess, hence the decision to buy a wagon - to feed more of it effectively.
Is 50:50 a mix you use, by volume or weight? What protein levels are you aiming for? Cheerd

No precision testing here with what few sucklers we have. Some years we feed 50:50 untill they have calved depends how much old hay needs cleaning up . This year at moment Im feeding my sucklers 2 old round bales of hay and 1 good haylage. I don't like to feed too much good stuff until they calve. Your feedwagon should encourage them to clean up straw better where as we get a lot of waste around the feed rack when feeding straw. My friend used to soak some molasses into his straw bales.