Post by maunomato on Nov 24, 2011 4:51:15 GMT -5
I have a couple of questions about hay and feeding that kind of tie into each other.
I've got three cows with four 5-6mo calves on them that I don't feed grain to. The cows look to me like they are still in decent condition and the calves are still nursing, but I don't know if it'll stay that way.
About half of the hay I've had has been too poor in my opinion, or something I've felt a little bad feeding. I think it would keep a dry cow in good condition without a problem, but will it keep these still nursing ones? If I've got this far without their condition plummeting, can I expect things to stay that way? Will the cows dry up on their own? I'll take a picture of them for you to look and see if it helps.
The other half of the hay has been excellent timothy hay, the kind the cows tear into. I may be able to get mostly that in the future, but it's a bit uncertain because of the human factor involved.
One thing that may've help the cows keep condition has been the bedding straw I've had up to now. This particular lot will run out in a few weeks. I think it was combined a little high and so there are some kernels of oats there. The cows will bawl after me when they hear me lift the tarp on those bales, even when they've had nothing but the excellent hay to eat. They seem to be of two minds which one's better, the hay or the straw. That was a complete surprise because the straw's not even lustrous and I got it for free. They show very little interest in the lustrous feeding straw that I also got to try out.
Then there's the slightly moldy hay I can get for next to nothing. It was made dry but left outside for nearly two weeks and maybe got rained on a little. The reason it's almost free is because it's from a friend who just retired from keeping animals. The cows overwhelmingly prefer it to the poor hay mentioned above. What kind of risks would I run feeding it? What's the risk of damage to the fetus or abortion? What about respiratory issues? What if I unrolled the bales on a pasture once the ground freezes and strip grazed it there? When I've tried feeding that hay, I haven't seen runny manure. Would I know from that or something else if it was having a bad effect on the animals? Would I know in time to change direction?
I also want to know about the poorer hay and poverty diets for cows just so I know. I think both the cows and myself are in for hard times, and as much as possible I'd like it not to be a completely new experience. If I can, I'd prefer to learn and make some mistakes beforehand, now that recovering from those mistakes is easier and less crucial. I'm looking to have a cow that is a seasonal producer and will milk less or dry up but stay alive when the feed gets poorer. I think the ones I have seem like good candidates so far. I do have one who's separated with her calf and who I'm feeding grain to to improve her condition before weaning and butchering, but it's not something I want to do routinely.
What about letting the cows dry up by themselves versus weaning? I don't know if I have the pens for weaning but I might be able to figure something out. I suppose I would then want to keep the cows on the poorer hay and feed the calves nothing but the excellent variety? In that case, I'd definitely need a separate pen instead of a weaning ring to make sure the cows wouldn't gobble up the better stuff from before the calves' noses.
Finally, I was also thinking about an emergency and at what age and with what kind of hay quality (and quantity) could I wean a calf and dry up a cow and expect both to pull through the winter? When should I butcher the calf and just keep the cow? I know when I would need the meat plays a big part too. I know there's not going to be an easy answer, but if anyone's thought or experienced something like this I'd like to hear about it. Unfortunately the people who have actually lived through very hard times are almost all gone.
I've got three cows with four 5-6mo calves on them that I don't feed grain to. The cows look to me like they are still in decent condition and the calves are still nursing, but I don't know if it'll stay that way.
About half of the hay I've had has been too poor in my opinion, or something I've felt a little bad feeding. I think it would keep a dry cow in good condition without a problem, but will it keep these still nursing ones? If I've got this far without their condition plummeting, can I expect things to stay that way? Will the cows dry up on their own? I'll take a picture of them for you to look and see if it helps.
The other half of the hay has been excellent timothy hay, the kind the cows tear into. I may be able to get mostly that in the future, but it's a bit uncertain because of the human factor involved.
One thing that may've help the cows keep condition has been the bedding straw I've had up to now. This particular lot will run out in a few weeks. I think it was combined a little high and so there are some kernels of oats there. The cows will bawl after me when they hear me lift the tarp on those bales, even when they've had nothing but the excellent hay to eat. They seem to be of two minds which one's better, the hay or the straw. That was a complete surprise because the straw's not even lustrous and I got it for free. They show very little interest in the lustrous feeding straw that I also got to try out.
Then there's the slightly moldy hay I can get for next to nothing. It was made dry but left outside for nearly two weeks and maybe got rained on a little. The reason it's almost free is because it's from a friend who just retired from keeping animals. The cows overwhelmingly prefer it to the poor hay mentioned above. What kind of risks would I run feeding it? What's the risk of damage to the fetus or abortion? What about respiratory issues? What if I unrolled the bales on a pasture once the ground freezes and strip grazed it there? When I've tried feeding that hay, I haven't seen runny manure. Would I know from that or something else if it was having a bad effect on the animals? Would I know in time to change direction?
I also want to know about the poorer hay and poverty diets for cows just so I know. I think both the cows and myself are in for hard times, and as much as possible I'd like it not to be a completely new experience. If I can, I'd prefer to learn and make some mistakes beforehand, now that recovering from those mistakes is easier and less crucial. I'm looking to have a cow that is a seasonal producer and will milk less or dry up but stay alive when the feed gets poorer. I think the ones I have seem like good candidates so far. I do have one who's separated with her calf and who I'm feeding grain to to improve her condition before weaning and butchering, but it's not something I want to do routinely.
What about letting the cows dry up by themselves versus weaning? I don't know if I have the pens for weaning but I might be able to figure something out. I suppose I would then want to keep the cows on the poorer hay and feed the calves nothing but the excellent variety? In that case, I'd definitely need a separate pen instead of a weaning ring to make sure the cows wouldn't gobble up the better stuff from before the calves' noses.
Finally, I was also thinking about an emergency and at what age and with what kind of hay quality (and quantity) could I wean a calf and dry up a cow and expect both to pull through the winter? When should I butcher the calf and just keep the cow? I know when I would need the meat plays a big part too. I know there's not going to be an easy answer, but if anyone's thought or experienced something like this I'd like to hear about it. Unfortunately the people who have actually lived through very hard times are almost all gone.