What to grow as a complete suckler cow ration?

[Midlands Farmer]

Our sucklers just get silage and some mineral spread along the top. No mixer wagons. Only get straw if short of silage. Your good haylage should have good protein levels.
The philosophy is that the cow just gets through the winter in reasonable condition ready for grass.

No my problem is my silage too good so I have to bulk it out with straw else they’ll have eaten it all by lunchtime and just bellow all afternoon!

 

[Sharpy]

Ours get later made silage and about 500g of mineralised blend. Bugger all else.

 

[Midlands Farmer]

Sorry I probably didn’t explain my situation very well! The problem is my silage/Haylage is too good to give the cows straight, hence why I have to mix straw in (normally put more straw in but v short this year) so I’m looking for a whole crop that I can grow that is bulky and not too rich to feed dry cows and then add protein and oats if needs be nearer calving, they can then go onto silage once calved. Cheers

 

[Sharpy]

Sorry I probably didn’t explain my situation very well! The problem is my silage/Haylage is too good to give the cows straight, hence why I have to mix straw in (normally put more straw in but v short this year) so I’m looking for a whole crop that I can grow that is bulky and not too rich to feed dry cows and then add protein and oats if needs be nearer calving, they can then go onto silage once calved. Cheers

Then make it later when it has bulked up and the feed value is dropping. Simple.

 

[nails]

Hi everyone
I’m currently feeding my cows 14.5kg good Haylage, 5.5kg straw and minerals for their maintenance diet, I’ll start adding oats and protein as we near calving. My question is has anyone grown wholecrop oats as a complete feed for sucklers? I was thinking that if I left cutting it until it was almost ripe then it would be mainly straw as I don’t won’t to over feed my cows?
the issue I’m having is we grow very good grass here as all our fields are short term lays and I have to bulk it out with a lot of straw and it’s a lot of mixer work each day.
Does anyone grow a different crop as a complete feed for cows? I know I’ll have to add protein nearer calving but just try to make the job less time consuming! Any help much appreciated...

They wont get too fat on wholecrop oats, fed them for many years. They might well get too fat on Barley or wheat though.

 

[Midlands Farmer]

Ours get later made silage and about 500g of mineralised blend. Bugger all else.

This is my late Haylage, Christ they’d get massive on it!

 

[Sharpy]

This is my late Haylage, Christ they’d get massive on it!

Later as in June, or later as in end of August?

 

[Midlands Farmer]

Apologies this is this years 3rd cut

 

[Midlands Farmer]

Think it was cut beginning of August

 

[Sharpy]

Apologies this is this years 3rd cut

I'm talking about one cut only, no earlier than mid July.

 

[deleted user 837354]

Apologies this is this years 3rd cut

What the fudge!!?

 

[Cowgirl]

So like others on here I’m having difficulty understanding why you think your cows need more protein when your silage is so high in protein? Is it to do with when you are calving? If they were dairy cows I could understand it maybe but sucklers?

 

[puppet]

No my problem is my silage too good so I have to bulk it out with straw else they’ll have eaten it all by lunchtime and just bellow all afternoon!

Is the 12.5kg silage dry matter or total?
Just noted that analysis is 3rd cut so must be just dry leaf? That would be good for 1st cut here or dairy cows.
Let the grass shoot late June, 2nd cut end August, don't waste time drying it so much D value will be 68 and you will have enough bulk to save buying straw.
The cows ration will be the quantity of silage divided by the number of days to winter them.

 

[M-J-G]

Why not just drop the grass silage completely and just feed straw and grain with something like a bit of soya, gluten or dark grains for protein.

There's a farm near here who have 250 cows and finishers and they don't have any silage.
All straw and concentrate.

 

[Midlands Farmer]

So like others on here I’m having difficulty understanding why you think your cows need more protein when your silage is so high in protein? Is it to do with when you are calving? If they were dairy cows I could understand it maybe but sucklers?

Sorry I tried to explain (badly) that I don’t want higher protein but when I add rolled oats just before calving they will bring the level down as they’re only 11% so will bring the level back up with soya/rapemeal.

 

[Midlands Farmer]

Why not just drop the grass silage completely and just feed straw and grain with something like a bit of soya, gluten or dark grains for protein.

There's a farm near here who have 250 cows and finishers and they don't have any silage.
All straw and concentrate.

I’ve thought about it but grass ley’s are brilliant for my crop rotation!

 

[Midlands Farmer]

Is the 12.5kg silage dry matter or total?
Just noted that analysis is 3rd cut so must be just dry leaf? That would be good for 1st cut here or dairy cows.
Let the grass shoot late June, 2nd cut end August, don't waste time drying it so much D value will be 68 and you will have enough bulk to save buying straw.
The cows ration will be the quantity of silage divided by the number of days to winter them.

Thanks, it works out to approx 9kg DM of grass. The problem I’ve got is when I used to feed the cows straight Haylage they ate too much, and I can’t let the grass bulk out without it going to seed and I’m putting the ley back into wheat next year.

 

[puppet]

A guide is that a dry cow will need 2% body weight DM per day. So around 12kg which will be close to your figures. If you want bulk the grass will seed. Not a problem for a suckler.

 

[M-J-G]

I’ve thought about it but grass ley’s are brilliant for my crop rotation!

I'd have thought short term leys on multiple leafy cuts would be of limited benefit, albeit a big improvement on constant arable.

 

[Formatted]

Am I farming wrong? I just feed hay and straw in bedding? Why do you need to feed cows anything else?