Ad-lib meal

Thomas Farrell

When finishing bulls on ad-lib meal without silage, how much would they typically eat in a day?

Farmer Pudsey

They will eat about 2-2.5% of there body weight in DM. Most ration are 85% DM and silage at 25% DM. If they are about 600KG LW they will need 12-15Kgs DM. If on ad lib they will eat 15-20-kgs of ration. However ideally you will need a haylage type product amd they will need access to straw as well. IMO it is better to limit bulls to about 1.8-2% of there LW in ration unless they are really top quality cattle as there feed efficiency fall the more they eat. Also you have less issue with accidosis or other sicknesses. Genearlly 600kg animals get 10-12kgs of ration with access to the best silage you have available and straw.

On how much bulls will eat I had JE/FR bulls one year eating 3% of there bodyweight and they were not on ad-lib. They were about 500kgs eating 10kgs of ration amd 7kgs DM of silage/day that is near enough 15kgs DM/day

Thomas Farrell

Perfect. Thanks very much Pudsey. would straw and concentrate suffice or is the haylage critical

Farmer Pudsey

Thomas Farrell wrote: »

Perfect. Thanks very much Pudsey. would straw and concentrate suffice or is the haylage critical

Yes straw and concentrate will suffice. I taught you mentioned silage however I see it was without silage in your first post.

Robson99

Would hay be as good as straw as a source of fibre where cattle would be getting a high concentrate finishing diet?? Have access to some hay and it would save me getting straw