Post by canesisters on Jul 13, 2016 6:38:31 GMT -5
Maddie is an angus/holstien - about a year & a half old - had a calf 4 weeks ago. She, her sister and her calf are staying with me for a few months (or so..).
I thought she was in pretty good condition before the calf. But now she's starting to worry me - just a bit. She's not skinny, but might be heading that way and I don't want to find myself behind the ball and trying to put weight on a skinny cow who is nursing a calf.
I know there are several threads about what feeds boost condition and what feeds boost milk production - but I can't seem to find them at the moment.
Here's what I'm doing now. Please feel free to make suggestions of anything I should be looking for on my feed run this weekend.
She has pasture and a round bale 24/7. Both just plain old grass, nothing fancy
In the AM she gets:
3.5lbs of a generic 12%protien 'livestock' pellet
1.5lbs of alfalfa pellets
1lb of calf manna
and as much grass hay as she wants to eat in the 2hrs between when I bring them in at 4am and head to work at 6
In the PM she gets:
6.5lbs of 12%protein pellet
1.5lbs of alfalfa pellets
1lb of calf manna
and whatever hay she left from the morning
There is also a mineral station in the paddock with a tub of Redmond salt, a tub of a mineral mix with kelp, and a tub of baking soda
Couple of questions.
Does it make any difference that there is a 'big' meal and a 'small' meal? Just the way my scoops are, it's easy to double in the PM.
Is it better to give a big grain meal in the AM instead of the PM?
Is it the high protein feeds that push milk but don't really help condition??? Should I cut the calf manna?
Beet Pulp shreds and diamond yeast are on the 'radar' - should they be part of my plan for her?