What should you feed your cows this winter?
The vast majority of beef production costs are caused by cattle feeding:
- buying and maintaining harvest and cattle feeding equipment,
- harvesting (or buying) feed,
- storing feed,
- transporting cattle feed rations to the cattle during the winter to feed them,
- building and maintaining cattle feeding areas,
- managing manure and waste-water in feed areas,
- treating the health issues that come up when cattle are confined to feed areas.
What did cows eat in winter before cattle farming?
- Images show animals before and after humans started breeding them
- The first animals were domesticated some 10,000 years ago
- Some animals are bred in order to avoid the spread of diseases
What do cows eat when winter is coming?
Peter Geiger
- Seeing lots of black hairy caterpillars. No orange visible–solid black.
- Excessive abundance of acorns this year. All of the oaks around the house are bombarding the roof and deck. ...
- Squirells are busy all day long gathering the abundance of acorns.
- Excessive spiderwebs.
- As of today, the geese are still around.
What do cows need to eat in winter Besides Grass?
What Do Cows Eat Besides Grass?
- Dry feed (hay)
- Wet feed (silage)
- Grain
- Barley
- Leftover products
- Salt licks
How do you feed cattle in the winter?
Make sure cows have enough feed and water. A cow's feed intake will increase by 20 percent during cold weather. Before temperatures drop, increase the amount of feed delivered. Provide additional hay, or offer 20 percent more cattle feed in the bunk.
How much do you feed a beef cow in the winter?
Cows will voluntarily consume about 2 percent of their body weight or 24 pounds per day. The 24 pounds is based on 100 percent dry matter. Grass hays often will be 7 percent to 10 percent moisture.
How often should cows be fed in winter?
Preliminary studies also suggest that lower-volume supplements (1 to 2 pounds per head per day) may be fed every third day without affecting rumen function. As an example, if cows are fed 2 pounds of a supplemental feed daily, feeding every third day means providing 6 pounds per head.
What do you feed beef cows?
Beef cattle can utilize roughages of both low and high quality, including pasture forage, hay, silage, corn (maize) fodder, straw, and grain by-products.
How many bales of hay does a cow need for winter?
For a cow needing 8,190 pounds of hay per year and a bale weight of 960 pounds, divide 8,190 by 960 for a yearly need of about 8.5 bales per cow. Multiply this by the total number of weaned cattle in your herd. For example, 45 cows multiplied by 8.5 bales per cow results in a total need of 383 bales.
How much grain does a beef cow need daily?
10-15 lbs. per day of corn, oats or barley fed to grazing cattle is a good finishing ration. This fed to a 900-1000 pound steer for 3-4 months should will you a nicely finished animal. If you do not have access to pasture or if you are finishing during the winter, you might increase the amount of grain to 15-18 lbs.
Do cows need salt blocks in the winter?
Cattle need salt in the winter Just to be sure keep a salt block available at all times anyway. It's a cheap way to let the cattle balance their own minerals when they feel they need to.
What is the cheapest way to feed cattle?
“Corn residue is one of the lowest cost forages on a cost per pound of energy. That's why mixing a high energy and protein feed like distillers' grains with a low quality forage like corn stalks is so cost effective. Distillers' is often a low-cost source of both energy and protein.
What is the best grain for cattle?
Corn, oats, and barley are the primary grains fed to cattle. Oats, which has a lower energy value due to its high fiber content, is considered the "safest" grain in regards to potential digestive disturbances.
What type of hay is best for beef cattle?
Timothy hay is recommended by many experts due to its ease on various animal's digestive system as well as promotion of bowel regularity. Additionally, there have been scientific studies done that show Timothy hay is an ideal feed for pregnant or lactating cows.
Is alfalfa hay good for beef cattle?
Alfalfa-grass hay is a good feed for producing beef cows. First cutting hay that is more mature or has been weather damaged can be well utilized by these cows; the best hay can be fed 30 days period to calving until about 60 days after calving.
Is oat hay good for beef cattle?
Oats is an ideal grain for starting cattle on feed because of its high hull and fiber content. Many experienced cattlemen prefer to start weaned calves on oats as the only or major grain, gradually shifting over to higher-energy grains as the animals become adapted to grain consumption.
How do you calculate feed ration for beef cattle?
% feed 1 x pounds of ration = total pounds needed for ration.% feed 2 x pounds of ration = total pounds needed for ration.
How much protein does a cow need in winter?
Generally speaking, if cows are in good condition then 1-1.5 pounds of a 40 percent protein cube or something similar is a good place to start for dry cows; 2-3 pounds per day would likely be needed for wet cows, Banta said. If cows also need energy, then something like a 20 percent protein cube could be a good option.
How much does it cost to feed a beef cow per day?
The estimated cost per head per day was $1.83 per beef cow, or $183 to feed 100 beef cows each day. Over the 120-day winter feeding period, feed costs totaled $220 per beef cow and $21,972 for the entire 100-head cowherd.
How many pounds of feed does a steer eat per day?
The steer will consume roughly 15-20 pounds of hay per day or 2 percent of his body weight. Grain is added to the diet three months before taking the steer to the processor. The amount of time on feed can vary from 60-150 days. For a backyard steer, 90 days on grain should be sufficient.
What do cattle eat in winter?
So what do cattle eat during the winter? Cattle eat a balanced diet of forages, crop residue, and supplements that are all inedible to humans. Because of their unique digestive tract, cattle are able to convert these products into high-quality beef,
What does a cow do when it is snowing?
A cow ambles over the top of a snow-crusted hill to greet a rancher rolling out hay in the pasture. With thick hides and plenty of fat, the cattle are just fine with the cold temperatures.
Why do cattle graze cover crops?
Grazing cover crops allows beef producers to add another layer of production to their land that helps offset the cost of planting soil-improving cover crops.
What is the purpose of cattle manure?
Now that's sustainability! As an added bonus, cattle manure offers a great source of organic fertilizer for the wheat fields.
How does wheat farming increase profitability?
Or, if a farmer grows both wheat and cattle, they are able to increase their profitability per acre by producing more food per unit of land.
Why are hay bales important?
While you may wonder why they’re just sitting there, each and every bale is a valuable source of nutrition for cattle, especially in the winter. Many beef producers will start planning their winter feed needs in the fall, and these hay bales are most likely a large part of that equation.
Do cattle have human-inedible byproducts?
In doing so, cattle are transforming a human-inedible byproduct of farming it into high-quality beef. This increases the sustainability of that land.
When feeding cattle in winter, what should you do?
When feeding cattle in winter, provide them with nutrition to meet their needs during cold stress. Plan out feeding strategies early, before cow body condition scores start to slip, to help your cows weather cold temperatures.
How much energy does a cow need to maintain body condition?
However, cow body condition scores impact nutritional requirements. A cow in a BCS 5 needs 30% more energy to maintain body condition than a cow in a BCS 6 at 32 degrees.
Why do cows have weaker calves?
Nutritional deficiency resulting from cold stress can lead to cows producing lighter and weaker calves. Low-quality colostrum and later return to estrus in the breeding season can also result, compromising conception rates and weaning weights. Strategies for managing and feeding cattle in the winter can help alleviate cold stress ...
Why do cows spend less time grazing?
Cows will likely spend less time grazing as temperatures decline. Less grazing time results in reduced forage intake which makes it challenging to meet cow energy requirements. Feeding cattle in winter with low-quality hay might not be enough to offset reduced forage intake.
Why do you test forages?
Testing forages gives you a better understanding of what you’re feeding cattle in winter when temperatures drop. Testing total digestible nutrients (TDN) will provide an estimate of the total amount of nutrients that could be digested by the animal. The greater the TDN value, the more energy cattle get from forages.
What does LCT mean for cows?
The LCT helps us understand when cows start experiencing cold stress. See the chart to the right for LCT broken down by hair coat. As temperatures decrease, cow nutritional requirements increase. Add in precipitation or wind and requirements increase even more.
How to mitigate cold stress?
How can you mitigate cold stress? Cold stress mitigation should start with keeping cattle warm. Offering protection from the elements like bedding, windbreaks, snow breaks and a place to get out of the mud can all help keep cattle warm and dry. Protecting cattle from wind, rain and snow isn’t always enough, however.
How much does it cost to keep a cow on pasture?
Cows on pasture. According to Loerch, it costs about 43 cents per day to maintain a cow on pasture. “The value of pasture is about $53 per acre,” Loerch said. “If you have other uses for your pasture that will generate more money than that, then stockpiling forage is not the best option.
When to set aside acreage for winter pasture?
Preparing pasture. Early August is the time to set aside acreage if you intend to stockpile winter pasture. Pasture land should also be fertilized, Loerch said, and by November or December, the land will be ready to support a herd. In research trials, 30 cows were grazed on 5-acre paddocks for 17 days.
Can beef cows eat hay in winter?
Feeding beef cows hay during winter months can tear up farm budget book. COSHOCTON, Ohio – Beef cattle farmers know all too well that winter feeding takes a big bite out of the ruminants’ maintenance budget. And it’s the tradition, the mindset that beef cows should be fed hay in the winter, that gnaws farthest into the farm budget book.
When do producers make hay?
Producers make hay off the pasture in the spring to feed during winter,” said Steven Loerch, a researcher with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster, during a presentation at the Agricultural Systems and the Environment field day in early July. “Producers always assume they have to bale and feed hay.”.
Is whole corn good for mixed diet?
Whole-shelled – not ground – corn is recommended for the mixed diet feeding method. Previous Ohio State research shows that whole corn works better when the daily intake of hay per cow is limited to five pounds or less.
Can cattle eat corn?
Feeding whole corn also helps cattle eat consistently and not go off feed. During the winter months, whole corn can also be fed in bunks or on the ground and remains easy for cattle to pick up, he said. Still need forage.
Do cattle need forage?
Still need forage. Cattle on this corn-based nutrition program also need to be fed a small amount of hay, since forage is essential to maintaining a healthy rumen. Also necessary is a supplement containing ground corn, soybean meal, urea, limestone, dicalcium phosphate, and other minerals and vitamins.
What do cows eat during winter?
Cattle and grass fed cows will eat hay, corn, wheat, and cover crops in winter. Here’s a bit more detail on this particular diet and why.
Related questions
Don’t stop, there’s a lot more to a cow’s diet during winter. Here’s the most common questions people would ask.
Conclusion
If you are thinking about getting cows, or are worried about wild cows living near you in winter, then don’t be. Wild cows have evolved to be able to find and forage for food in the cold.
