|
Alberta | Baby Robin, I am no expert, but I would think to back them off is not an issue, bringing them up on grain is because of PH caused by the acid created by fermentation of the grain. once you slow them down, then its the time involved building them up again. IMHO, the fixed costs such as animal maintenance, interest, death loss, yardage don't change much regardless of gaining 1Lb or 4 lbs.. That animal needs a certain amount of nutrients a day to maintain itself and more to grow. The more you can put on per day, the faster it will get to the market, the lower your fixed daily cost will be. The second part of the equation is what those feed costs cost you. I have seen hungry critters clean strip scrubs and trees of leaves and growth as high as they can reach. I suppose there is no feed cost involved in that, once the growth is gone, its gone, there is no regrowth like grass. If you are going to tub grind cedar and hedge fine enough for a cow to eat and not pick through, I am not sure if that would be possible. I believe a cow can and will use anything as a filler so what you propose makes sense, its just a fact of will they eat it? I know I have a hard time getting my cows to clean up the longer cut corn stocks and cob "dimes" in the feed bunks. That said, if you can keep them in and they are hungry enough and the rations balance to what they need to maintain you do what you do. I definitely would be doing a TMR or individual feed sampling and doing a ration based on that. Not for my operation, but to each their own. | |
|
Free pounds
