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Feeding
the Cow Herd - Winter 2000/2001
Darrell Rankins, Jr.,
Extension Nutritionist - Beef Cattle
If hay supplies are
adequate, then free-choice, good-quality (53% TDN or greater) hay
will maintain a pregnant cow. However, once the cow has calved, a
supplement will be needed. Depending on hay quality, the cow should
be supplemented with 5 to 7 pounds of supplement. If the hay
contains at least 10.5% protein, then the supplement should be an
energy supplement. If the hay contains less than 10.5% protein, then
the supplement should contain both energy and protein. Corn is an
energy supplement, whole cottonseed is an energy and protein
supplement. Cottonseed and soybean meal are protein supplements.
Most of the commercially blended supplements (range pellets, blocks,
mixed feeds) contain both energy and protein.
Because of this year’s
drought it is likely that many producers have inadequate supplies of
hay, yet must focus on providing adequate nutrition with limited
amounts of hay. First of all, it is important to remember that
cattle are ruminants and thus need some forage (fiber) in their
daily diet. In general, the minimal amount required is about .5% of
body weight which would equate to 5 to 6 pounds for 1,000 to
1,200-pound cows. Because most beef producers use hay in the form of
a large round bale, it is difficult to limit hay consumption to 5 to
6 pounds per day. There are only two realistic ways to limit hay
consumption with round bales. The hay can be unrolled and offered at
a predetermined amount. Another way would be to put an adequate
number of rolls in a small area such that the cows can be put for
about 2 hours per day in order to control the amount of hay that
they consume. With this program it is important that all cows have
access to the hay, approximately one roll for every 10 cows. If
small, square bales of hay are available, then it becomes much
easier to offer 5 to 6 pounds of hay per day.
Another alternative for
providing 5 to 6 pounds of forage per day is by limited access to
stockpiled forage. If you are in the fescue region, this would be an
excellent choice for stockpiling. We can assume that fescue with 70
to 80 pounds of nitrogen per acre and adequate moisture would
accumulate approximately 1,800 to 2,000 pounds of utilizable forage
per acre by December 1. With proper fencing, the animals could be
given a fraction of an acre every day or every other day, giving
them access to about 5 to 6 pounds of forage dry matter per day.
This technique works extremely well with the use of electric
fencing. The same principles could be used with winter annuals in
the nonfescue growing areas of the state.
A final option for
providing roughage to the cows would be the use of various
by-products such as peanut hulls, cottonseed hulls, gin trash,
cotton motes or any other by-product roughages that may be available
in your area.
Now that the hay has
been conserved by some sort of limit-feeding system, what is
required to meet the nutrient needs of the cow? For a 1,000-pound
cow that has not yet calved, provide her with about 12 pounds of a
grain mix that contains approximately 12% crude protein. One such
mix would be to blend 575 pounds of corn with 50 pounds of soybean
meal. Another possibility would be to feed her soybean hulls, which
usually contain about 11.5% crude protein. Once the cows calve and
begin lactating, then their daily nutrient requirements will
increase, and they will require approximately 18 pounds of the grain
mix or soybean hulls per day plus their hay allowance. With this
system, the cows would be fed 12 to 18 pounds of the concentrate per
day (depending on stage of production) and given 5 to 6 pounds of
forage per day. For this system, it is important to have adequate
bunk space for feeding the cows. In general, if the cows can access
both sides of the bunk, then a 10-foot trough will accommodate 10 to
12 mature cows. Obviously, this system is quite labor-intensive and
requires a large amount of daily feeding; however, if hay supplies
are severely limited, it may be the only alternative available.
There are other ways to
limit intake of the grain without daily feeding. One such option
would be to incorporate salt into the mix. This strategy requires
art in addition to science and one should be very careful not to
founder the animals while they are adapting to the mix. For
specifics on this practice see Extension publication ANR-288
("Feed Intake Limiters for Beef Cattle"). Another option
is to mix the grain with broiler litter. Mixing 80% litter and 20%
corn for pregnant cows and 70% litter and 30% corn for lactating
cows will provide adequate nutrition to the herd. These mixes can be
offered free-choice and the cows will generally consume about 30
pounds per day. It is also important to provide the 5 to 6 pounds of
forage to the cows. All broiler litter should be deep-stacked and
covered for at least 21 days prior to feeding it to ensure that it
is safe. For detailed information on the use of broiler litter as a
cattle feed please see Extension publication ANR-557 (Feeding
Broiler Litter to Beef Cattle).
Each of the three
previous options are compared below. It is important to note that
the price comparisons do not include labor and equipment costs
associated with each feeding strategy. For these examples, I assumed
a cost of $60/ton for round bales of hay, $3/bale for square bales
(50 pounds), $25/ton for broiler litter and $90/ton for soybean
hulls. The length of the feeding period has been established at 140
days. All three examples provide adequate nutrient intake for a
lactating cow that will breed back within 80 to 90 days of calving.
Example 1.
Free-choice hay plus 7 pounds of soybean hulls per day.
Consume 25 pounds
hay/day (round bales) = $105
Supplement 7 pounds
soyhulls/day = $44.10
TOTAL = $149.10/cow =
$1.06/cow/day
Example 2.
Free-choice broiler litter and soyhulls (70:30) + hay.
Consume 30 pounds of
litter mix = $93.45
Consume 9 pounds of
hay/day = $37.80
TOTAL = $131.25/cow =
$0.94/cow/day
Example 3. Limit-fed
soyhulls and limit-fed hay (daily feeding).
Feed 18 pounds
soyhulls/day = $113.40
Feed 5 pounds square
hay/day = $42.00
TOTAL = $155.40/cow =
$1.11/cow/day
As you can see there is
very little difference in actual feed costs for feeding unlimited
hay and a supplement versus limit feeding the hay and providing
larger quantities of the supplement. However, there are substantial
differences in daily labor requirements.
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