Rolled vs Whole

[Jerry]

What are the pros and cons of rolling barley to be fed through a 3 in 1 feeder to lambs?

Obviously there is a costs to rolling which I would have to have a friend do for me.

But what about feed conversion and digestibility?

Also what would you add into either mix?

Sugar beet pellets?

Aiming for a 16% feed to compliment the grass to start with and then when they move onto stubble turnips later in the year, So a finishing ration.

Second related question, come harvest I will have my own oats I can also feed, Which I assume whole is best, but again what to supplement with?

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Whole barley
Sugar beet
Soya
The end

 

[yellowbelly]

What are the pros and cons of rolling barley to be fed through a 3 in 1 feeder to lambs?

You struggle to get rolled barley to 'flow' through a 3 in 1. We haven't rolled barley for sheep for years.

Aiming for a 16% feed to compliment the grass to start with and then when they move onto stubble turnips later in the year, So a finishing ration.

Don't use hard feed on turnips here, but if you do, when you first put them on you'll not need anything other than straight barley - the tops are high in protein. Once they've eaten the tops off and they start on the roots, you can then add your protein.
We use 300kg of a 30% protein pellet (that's the same size as barley) with 700kg of whole barley to give us a 16% mix.
Goes through a 3 in 1 nicely.

 

[Bury the Trash]

3 in 1 feeders were / are designed for feeding whole grain.


Only trouble is with whole grain feeding it is better to be higher in moisture than will store totally easily. 17 to 18 % would be more suitable than 14 or 15 if you see what i mean, to get best digested that is.......


The only time rolling would be of any value would be maybe a bit initially to help palatabilty if fed solely.but of course you would have to be very, very carefull with introducing it unless they been on creep before
Blend pellets like yellowbelly mentions probably have molasses or similar 9n them which helps overall palatabilty of the mix anyway.

 

[Agrivator]

Whole barley, compared to rolled barley, produces a whiter firmer fat, and so a more acceptable carcass.

It's due to the fact that whole grain provides a different acetic acid : propionic acid ratio, and that is what affects the fat consistency.
( Ref. Bob Orskov, Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen).

Whole grain is also broken down more slowly and so reduces the risk of acidosis.

 

[andybk]

yep whole barley , and oats cheaper than SBP good digestible fibre and slower breakdown than barley , helps even out the acid loading , and soya for prot ,

 

[Bury the Trash]

Whole barley, compared to rolled barley, produces a whiter firmer fat, and so a more acceptable carcass.

It's due to the fact that whole grain provides a different acetic acid : propionic acid ratio, and that is what affects the fat consistency.
( Ref. Bob Orskov, Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeens.

I wonder how Urea treated whole barley would vary that.

 

[andybk]

I wonder how Urea treated whole barley would vary that.

urea treated is not very palatable, have used it for older stock when proteins were very expensive , would be sticky through a 3 in 1 ,
fed in a bunker caustic treated , with veg protein would be good at grass , but palitablity is still issue so molasses to improve intakes .

 

[neilo]

urea treated is not very palatable, have used it for older stock when proteins were very expensive , would be sticky through a 3 in 1 ,
fed in a bunker caustic treated , with veg protein would be good at grass , but palitablity is still issue so molasses to improve intakes .

Urea treated barley, as in Alkagrain, isn’t ‘sticky’ at all and flows exactly the same as whole barley. I fed it in a 3-in-1 to a bunch of fattening lambs last Autumn and use it for my early mob before the grass grows.
I always find they take to it as quickly as they do to untreated barley, but is one hell of a lot safer in terms of acidosis/barley poisoning.

If I was feeding ruminating lambs ad-lib it would be with whole Alkagrain every time, a 15% ration at £25-30 over the cereal cost. However, if feeding a small quantity alongside a high protein forage like grass or turnips, which is surely the point of that expensive feeder, then you wouldn’t need that high a protein.

If the claims are to be believed, and they were fed in such a way at grass, surely no lambs would be left to see stubble turnips anyway?

 

[andybk]

Urea treated barley, as in Alkagrain, isn’t ‘sticky’ at all and flows exactly the same as whole barley. I fed it in a 3-in-1 to a bunch of fattening lambs last Autumn and use it for my early mob before the grass grows.
I always find they take to it as quickly as they do to untreated barley, but is one hell of a lot safer in terms of acidosis/barley poisoning.

If I was feeding ruminating lambs ad-lib it would be with whole Alkagrain every time, a 15% ration at £25-30 over the cereal cost. However, if feeding a small quantity alongside a high protein forage like grass or turnips, which is surely the point of that expensive feeder, then you wouldn’t need that high a protein.

If the claims are to be believed, and they were fed in such a way at grass, surely no lambs would be left to see stubble turnips anyway?

yea fair comment with all the dry mixes , we were dissolving urea and mixing in a concrete mixer when i used it , so obviously had a higher moisture content , was mixed with caustic treated linseed (to burn husk ) at the time

 

[Bury the Trash]

One of the ingredients in home n dry is supposed to soften or effect the coating of the grain in some way , barley,. .. well ...and oats i suppose would be tougher skinned than wheat ??

 

[tr250]

@heyfarm