Cattle feeding program for winter

westeast

I have 10 Hereford heifers all about 350 kg they are year and half old they are straw bed eating silage i have waste spuds and can get washer beet as well ..question is how much meal i will be feeding .selling end of march. or what weight do you think they will be by then .thanks ..

westeast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058321402/cattle-feeding-program-for-winter

Just said i would throw out the question .may be i have worded wrong

Fine Day

I do a few Herefords here also. They are getting good silage and around 1.5kg of beef finisher per day at the moment. I will up the meal in a few weeks. I am very happy in how they are doing as they have a lovely cover on them. I plan to start moving them February on l, they are in for the last Fortnight or so.

weatherbyfoxer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058321402/cattle-feeding-program-for-winter

They will be around 450kg roughly,in my opinion its waste of time feeding those type of stock at those weights anything more than good silage and minerals..you'll sink €200 worth of feed into them easily between now and the end of march plus straw and labour you would be as far on mart them now..probly worth €750-€800 to sell now now and will cost you €1000+ to get them back out to the ring again in late March

Belongamick

'all about 350 kg they are year and half old they'

Would they not be a bit heavier for 18 month old?

The problem is (I think - others can correct) the 'traditional breeds' tend not to respond well to concentrates like a continental animal will.

When you wander in to the meat counter you can see your Hereford steak with the marbled meat and then your lean continental type animal with no fat hardly. The traditional breeds tend to get fat quite quickly while the same larger framed continental breed will not.

westeast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121342877#Comment_121342877

Fair point know a lad that would be like me around 30 animal mark.he is getting knee done .so sold all his big cattle don.t know how big but he said would not have got any more next march .happy out with price ..but what about tax bill .sold them now instead of march..

westeast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121346702#Comment_121346702

I could be a be low with the weight i would think more near to 400kg most of them but is two smaller ones on it .most of the time i have sold them type of cattle end of march were from 475 kg to 520 kg....

Water John

The person buying will want to finish them off grass next summer. If they're too pushed he won't buy as they'll go backwards first. It all depends on the silage, but a mineral balancing the beet should be first. They need to grow, not fatten this winter.

westeast

Waste spuds and silage there getting now just wondering should give them much meal .......i am feeding waste spuds because i have them

Water John

I think protein may what is lacking in that diet. Maybe some soya and minerals.

funkey_monkey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121344410#Comment_121344410

Surely, the marbled meat is what you want as that is the more flavoursome meat?

funkey_monkey

At 18 months old are you sure they are not heavier than 350kg?

They should not be far off the weight for a finisher to take over at that age. Can you get them weighed - can you get someone with scales for the BEEP to come in and weigh them for you? Done deal has ad's for folk to come on farm and weigh them for you, or maybe you can hire them from somewhere.

If they are still growing you'll need protein for them. If you are going to just give silage get it tested to be sure it is decent stuff.

Get the silage tested and from that you will be able to determine how much meal they need.

kk.man

Take one of them in a trailer down to your nearest mill, co op or quarry to weigh.

Water John

OP, I don't believe everything in the IFJ but the table on page 44 this week may go some way to answering your question.

A store animal with a target gain of 0.6kg ADG would need these level of meals, depending on the quality of silage;

66 DMD - 2kg conc/day 70 DMD - 1.25kg/day 74 DMD - 0.5kg/day

To achieve similar gain with a weanling will require 3, 2, 1 kg/day respectively

To finish cattle with a gain of 1kg/day would require 7, 5.5, 4kg/day respectively

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121354422#Comment_121354422

biggest thing is minerals, and you will need calcium as well limestone flour is the cheapest form. Potatoes are low in protein 8% so a bit of soya as well white potatoes are about 20-25% DM and red ones 15%. what kind of amounts are you going feeding 350 kg animals well eat 7kgs DM/day. so 10kgs fresh potatoes would give 2 kgds DM.

Farmer Dan

Hi Bass, where do you get the limestone flour?

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121360481#Comment_121360481

It's feed grade limestone. It's basically ordinary lime but ground to a flour. It's ordinary cubicle lime just make sure it's not hydrated ( burnt) lime

Farmer Dan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121360899#Comment_121360899

Thanks Bass

Hard Knocks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121361804#Comment_121361804

It’s hard not to get the hydrated stuff around here

Conversations 3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121346730#Comment_121346730

You can hire a scales from Tirlan for €50.

It's a good deal, guaranteed it's always calibrated and takes the guess work out of weights

Wildsurfer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121360899#Comment_121360899

Is this to balance pH of rumen? What rate would you use and how would you feed it, mixed with meal or sprinkled on top?

westeast

Every year would feed around 20 kg per head per day of spuds and beet with soda and 1.5 to 2 kg of meal just wondering am i right or wrong as i said before i have the waste spuds so i have to use them up

Water John

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121364752#Comment_121364752

You have got it above in previous posts. The carb diet needs protein and mineral balancing to keep the animals growing.

148multi

Have you enough spuds until end of March

westeast

If i don.t i will feed beet ...

westeast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121365037#Comment_121365037

I all so would be giving beet /maize minerals mix

Water John

In that case the protein is the missing part, I would think. Others might know more here, but a bit of something high protein like soya, might be more advantageous than the ration/nuts. Looking to give them frame, that's what will sell.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121365795#Comment_121365795

@westeast as WT says aversion will not have enough P. You want to grow your stock first. About 170-200 grams of soya bean meal per 10kg of potatoes. If you are feeding maize about 80 grams of soya bean meal per kg of maize. Fodder beet is similar in protein DM as spuds so much the same treatment.

If you plan on finishing these out of the shed up the rate of feed but drop the protein to 100 grams/ 10 kgs of veet or potatoes for the last 10-12 weeks.

A lot will depend on the quality of your silage if it cut mid/late May or out in mid June. If it too early in May you may need to add a bit of straw to the diet during the last 70-80days or something like soya hulls or oat hulls

westeast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121365963#Comment_121365963

You 100% spot on you know your stuff....i was in to see my man in the grain store .this is what he said 2 kg beef ration plus 100 grams of soya per head per day +20 kg of spuds and silage if run out of spuds .and feed beet just ad beet maize minerals.....silage made 2 nd day of june