Can someone help me understand COB, sweet mix, etc. feeds?
May 31, 2016 21:18:55 GMT -5
floweringtree likes this
Post by lilosbornefarm on May 31, 2016 21:18:55 GMT -5
Okay, so I know this question has round about been discussed in various threads under feed and the family cow, but there are a few I haven't found the specific answer to.
First, may I say that I am new to an all dairy cow. My husband has raised beef cows his entire life, but having a Jersey is the first time for us both. We have really been struggling to understand what our girl needs in feed. We have had 2 cases of bloat since we got her, 1 month apart. One was regular bloat, the other was frothy just last week which the vet thought may have been due to clover. Now that I'm understanding feed better I fear maybe I contributed to the second case of bloat. Anyway, my questions stem from the fact that I want to keep my cow "fluffy" enough and in condition for lack of better words and healthy, but I'm not sure I exactly know how to do that. I now have even more questions so I'll try to be orderly in asking them.
1. It took me a while to understand the COB thing that everyone recommends on here. Of course I knew it was corn, oats, barley and so I was feeding oats and a sweet feed mixed; whole oats may I add. And then I learned this was wrong..... Thankfully someone recently answered the question about what COB really was and they said basically it is sweet feed now, previously was called COB. So I felt great that I had been feeding a sweet feed the whole time. So is it TRUE that sweet feed is the same, or close to what everyone refers to here as COB? If not what is the best way to go about getting this type of ration or is there a pre made feed similar? Also are the horse feeds similar to this and are they okay to substitute?
2. In relation to the COB question and why everyone loves it....just how much protein do dairy cows need? I've read on here often that we don't have to feed the high levels of protein like 18-21% or more that dairies do because in a family cow situation we would rather them maintain condition than put it all in the bucket. And from my understanding if I push protein then she won't receive enough "carbs" or the sweet stuff she needs to prevent ketosis. However, when my vet was out last week I asked him this question "what do I really need to feed her"? I asked him to clarify the protein thing and he said, well really she needs the protein it is good for her conditioning too but dairy cows won't ever be fat and milk too. He then went on to reference a known dairy here and that there cows are skinny but very healthy and milking. However, he never would give me a solid answer about what protein percentage I needed to shoot for but said that giving her sweet feed was fine and of course not to do the whole oats even if I did soak them that they really don't get much out of whole oats. I asked him about Ellie May and he said she actually looks to be in good condition and he didn't see anything wrong with her in that way. He also said what I've read on here is that basically she will make however much milk she genetically is predisposed to make I just feed her to maintain her. So do I feed more protein than sweet feed offers or not? The sweet mix I give her is 12% and I am thinking of adding calf manna 1/2 to 1 cup to give her some more.
3. Do I need to feed beet pulp or additional feeds like calf manna, BOSS, or what? I don't like the way Ellie's condition is but again I'm not used to seeing a dairy cow. I want her to maintain herself and not just milk off her back but I have this feeling she is that type of cow. She has changed so much since we got her in slicking off and being nice and shiny and bright looking. She appears much healthier then when we got her so I feel we must be doing something right. I am keeping track of condition on the BCS app and she is around 2.5 if I'm remembering right now (I will check when I go back to my phone). If I do need to add these other things to keep her "fat" or at the same condition then what fat percentage or protein do I need to aim for?
4. Finally, I called around today to get some feed prices and our local guy told me his sweet feed was just 10% but he has a 12% standard beef mix with COB and molasses for cheaper that should be fine. I am attaching the sweet mix feed I'm using and the one he suggested. What are the percentages of things I need to aim for in picking a feed? I don't want to switch her up all the time because I want her rumen to be healthy and I don't want to cause any further problems, but I really need some help to make sure I'm doing things right. She currently gets 2 scoops (estimated to be 6 pounds) of sweet feed twice a day and until the bloat got beet pulp twice daily. I ran out and on advice from the vet he said just stick with sweet feed. She gets free choice minerals as well.
Sorry this was long, I hope my questions were clear I just really want some clarification to some things and what is a good choice for us to settle on.
First, may I say that I am new to an all dairy cow. My husband has raised beef cows his entire life, but having a Jersey is the first time for us both. We have really been struggling to understand what our girl needs in feed. We have had 2 cases of bloat since we got her, 1 month apart. One was regular bloat, the other was frothy just last week which the vet thought may have been due to clover. Now that I'm understanding feed better I fear maybe I contributed to the second case of bloat. Anyway, my questions stem from the fact that I want to keep my cow "fluffy" enough and in condition for lack of better words and healthy, but I'm not sure I exactly know how to do that. I now have even more questions so I'll try to be orderly in asking them.
1. It took me a while to understand the COB thing that everyone recommends on here. Of course I knew it was corn, oats, barley and so I was feeding oats and a sweet feed mixed; whole oats may I add. And then I learned this was wrong..... Thankfully someone recently answered the question about what COB really was and they said basically it is sweet feed now, previously was called COB. So I felt great that I had been feeding a sweet feed the whole time. So is it TRUE that sweet feed is the same, or close to what everyone refers to here as COB? If not what is the best way to go about getting this type of ration or is there a pre made feed similar? Also are the horse feeds similar to this and are they okay to substitute?
2. In relation to the COB question and why everyone loves it....just how much protein do dairy cows need? I've read on here often that we don't have to feed the high levels of protein like 18-21% or more that dairies do because in a family cow situation we would rather them maintain condition than put it all in the bucket. And from my understanding if I push protein then she won't receive enough "carbs" or the sweet stuff she needs to prevent ketosis. However, when my vet was out last week I asked him this question "what do I really need to feed her"? I asked him to clarify the protein thing and he said, well really she needs the protein it is good for her conditioning too but dairy cows won't ever be fat and milk too. He then went on to reference a known dairy here and that there cows are skinny but very healthy and milking. However, he never would give me a solid answer about what protein percentage I needed to shoot for but said that giving her sweet feed was fine and of course not to do the whole oats even if I did soak them that they really don't get much out of whole oats. I asked him about Ellie May and he said she actually looks to be in good condition and he didn't see anything wrong with her in that way. He also said what I've read on here is that basically she will make however much milk she genetically is predisposed to make I just feed her to maintain her. So do I feed more protein than sweet feed offers or not? The sweet mix I give her is 12% and I am thinking of adding calf manna 1/2 to 1 cup to give her some more.
3. Do I need to feed beet pulp or additional feeds like calf manna, BOSS, or what? I don't like the way Ellie's condition is but again I'm not used to seeing a dairy cow. I want her to maintain herself and not just milk off her back but I have this feeling she is that type of cow. She has changed so much since we got her in slicking off and being nice and shiny and bright looking. She appears much healthier then when we got her so I feel we must be doing something right. I am keeping track of condition on the BCS app and she is around 2.5 if I'm remembering right now (I will check when I go back to my phone). If I do need to add these other things to keep her "fat" or at the same condition then what fat percentage or protein do I need to aim for?
4. Finally, I called around today to get some feed prices and our local guy told me his sweet feed was just 10% but he has a 12% standard beef mix with COB and molasses for cheaper that should be fine. I am attaching the sweet mix feed I'm using and the one he suggested. What are the percentages of things I need to aim for in picking a feed? I don't want to switch her up all the time because I want her rumen to be healthy and I don't want to cause any further problems, but I really need some help to make sure I'm doing things right. She currently gets 2 scoops (estimated to be 6 pounds) of sweet feed twice a day and until the bloat got beet pulp twice daily. I ran out and on advice from the vet he said just stick with sweet feed. She gets free choice minerals as well.
Sorry this was long, I hope my questions were clear I just really want some clarification to some things and what is a good choice for us to settle on.