The Shell Knob Basin (Southwest Missouri) | id back both the corn and wdgs back and try to get ahold of some gluten or soyhulls or even some wheat mids... seems odd that your feed guy isnt questioning you about that much corn.... your corn is acidic and your wdgs and hay arent... youve prob got them all in ruminal limbo like a bunch of dairy cows..... do you ever have acidosis issues with that ration?? Is the manure real "loose" becasue of the fat and how much WDGS your feeding?? Do you have liver issues? If your going to feed them corn, better be ready to feed corn!... but if you want to try to get by with a less acidic low starch co-product, might need to think about backing the corn up, and inturn raising the ruminal ph, and trying to get the most out of your non starch energy sources (fat and digestible fiber in your hay and dgs).... this is one of those situations that if youre not going to get them on full feed with a corn base, then might be better to sell that 7 dollar corn and come up with something that isnt being counter prohibitive in your situation!.... and for your initial question, yes, thats alot of wet distellers.... has to be alot of fat in that diet!... and remember fat is the number one thing that will actually decrease digestibility and thus ADG if you get too much of it.... could they all crap through a screen door??.... if so your fat is TOO high..... also you prob need to be feeding an arse load of calcium if you aren't already.......
here are some common rules for feeding distillers...
1) Feeding amounts of distillers grains are limited by the fat content of the product
(often 10% on a dry matter basis). Keep dietary fat levels below 8% in mature cattle, 6% in
growing cattle, and 4% in lightweight or very young calves.
2) Distillers grains are relatively high in phosphorus. When low quality forages or feeds high in
phosphorus (such as corn or corn gluten feed) are used in combination with distillers grains,
the phosphorus to calcium ratio will be high. Calcium supplementation (e.g., feed grade
limestone or calcium carbonate) may be necessary to keep the calcium to phosphorus ratio
within a 1:1 to 2:1 range in the total diet for beef cattle.
3) Monitor sulfur levels when feeding ethanol co-products including distillers grains. Distillers
grains average approximately 0.7 to 0.8% sulfur on a dry matter basis, but sulfur content can be
highly variable. Take care to make sure that sulfur intake from all dietary sources including
water does not exceed 0.4% of the dry matter intake. Excessive sulfur intake can inhibit an
animal’s ability to properly utilize thiamine and result in polioencephalomalacia in cattle.
Cattle suffering from this condition are often called “brainers”. Signs can include but are not
limited to blindness, inconsistent and uncoordinated movements, head pressing, “goose”
stepping, lying with full body contact with the ground with the head and legs extended, tetany
(muscle spasms), convulsions with paddling motions, and death. These signs usually exhibit
sudden onset.
Hope that helps a little... |
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