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Millet straw
- Thread starter Pertnear
- Start date
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Well-known member
Pertnear said:Has any one feed millet straw to cows? I can get it cheap.What is feed value? I was thinking lick tubs.
Welcome to ranchers.net
We have not fed millet straw, but do feed millet hay.
I am not trying to be rude, but I'd encourage you to do two things:
1. Ask for a feed test or have the feed tested yourself. There is so much variability in quality of straw, hay, etc. A lot of this variability is due to the amount of grain in the straw, how the crop was fertilized, how the crop grew, etc. I have never not seen a feed test pay for itself. You/a nutritionist can then taylor a ration/diet to the feed you have, and the class of livestock it is being fed to.
2. Ask for a nitrate test. Millet is a notorious accumulator of nitrates. Nitrates are bad news for livestock.
While I have not answered your question directly, I hope I have given you some things to think about. I truly believe both of the above can save you a lot of money and heartache.
Cheers and good luck---
TTB :wink:
Faster horses
Well-known member
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I don't know about millet straw either, but I sure support the advice
given by TTB. I've never known a forage test that wasn't worth
much more than it cost.
given by TTB. I've never known a forage test that wasn't worth
much more than it cost.
BRG
Well-known member
We have fed it and it is pretty good feed. As long as it don't have any nitrates go for it. A couple years ago we had millet straw and millet hay. They actually like the straw better. But their was a difference as the straw had wider leaves and came from a little wetter area. It has much more value than say oats or wheat straw.
Soapweed
Well-known member
So, Pertnear, is your last name Perkins? :wink:
Purt Near!"
They called him "Purt Near Perkins,"
for unless the booger lied,
He'd purt near done most everything
that he had ever tried.
He'd purt near been a preacher
and he'd purt near roped a bear;
He'd met up with Comanches once
and purt near lost his hair.
He'd purt near wed an heiress
who had money by the keg,
He'd purt near had the measles,
and he'd purt near broke his leg.
He'd purt near been a trail boss,
and accordin' to his claim,
He'd purt near shot Bill Hickock--
which had purt near won him fame!
He'd purt near rode some broncs
upon which no one else had stuck
In fact he was the feller
Who had purt near drowned the duck!
Now mostly all the cowboys
On the Lazy S B spread,
They took his talkin' with a grin
And let him fight his head.
But one named Tom Maginnis
Sorter told it to him rough:
"You're ridin' with an outfit now
Where 'purt near' ain't enough!
We tie our lasso ropes to the horn,
An' what we ketch we hold,
And 'purt near' is one alibi
We never do unfold!
In fact, right now
I'll tell you that no word I ever hear
Sounds quite so plain damn useless
As that little pair: 'purt near'!"
That's how ol' Tom Maginnis
Laid it out upon the line,
And like a heap of preachin' talk,
It sounded mighty fine.
But one day Tom Maginnis,
While a-ridin' off alone,
He lamed his horse
And had to ketch some neighbor nester's roan
To ride back to the ranch on.
But somewhere along the way
A bunch of nesters held him up,
And there was hell to pay!
Tom claimed he hadn't stole the horse--
Just borrowed it to ride.
Them nesters hated cowboys,
And they told him that he lied.
The cussed him for a horsethief
And they'd caught him with the goods.
They set right out to hang him
In a nearby patch of woods.
They had pore Tom surrounded,
With their guns all fixed to shoot.
It looked like this pore cowboy
Sure had heard his last owl hoot!
They tied a rope around his neck
And throwed it o'er a limb
And Tom Maginnis purt near knowed
This was the last of him.
Then suddenly a shot rang out
From somewhere up the hill!
Them nesters dropped the rope an' ran,
Like nesters sometimes will
When bullets start to whizzin'.
Tom's heart lept up with hope
To see ol' Purt Near Perkins
Ridin' towards him at a lope.
"Looks like I purt near
Got here just in time," ol' Perkins said,
"To see them nesters hang you!"
Tom's face got kinder red.
"You purt near did!" he purt near grinned.
"They purt near had me strung!
You're lookin' at a cowboy
That has pert near just been hung!
And also one that's changed his mind--
For no word ever said,
Can sound as sweet as 'purt near',
When a man's been purt near dead!"
By S. Omar Barker, reprinted with permission from Classic Rhymes by S. Omar Barker from Cowboy Miner Publications
Purt Near!"
They called him "Purt Near Perkins,"
for unless the booger lied,
He'd purt near done most everything
that he had ever tried.
He'd purt near been a preacher
and he'd purt near roped a bear;
He'd met up with Comanches once
and purt near lost his hair.
He'd purt near wed an heiress
who had money by the keg,
He'd purt near had the measles,
and he'd purt near broke his leg.
He'd purt near been a trail boss,
and accordin' to his claim,
He'd purt near shot Bill Hickock--
which had purt near won him fame!
He'd purt near rode some broncs
upon which no one else had stuck
In fact he was the feller
Who had purt near drowned the duck!
Now mostly all the cowboys
On the Lazy S B spread,
They took his talkin' with a grin
And let him fight his head.
But one named Tom Maginnis
Sorter told it to him rough:
"You're ridin' with an outfit now
Where 'purt near' ain't enough!
We tie our lasso ropes to the horn,
An' what we ketch we hold,
And 'purt near' is one alibi
We never do unfold!
In fact, right now
I'll tell you that no word I ever hear
Sounds quite so plain damn useless
As that little pair: 'purt near'!"
That's how ol' Tom Maginnis
Laid it out upon the line,
And like a heap of preachin' talk,
It sounded mighty fine.
But one day Tom Maginnis,
While a-ridin' off alone,
He lamed his horse
And had to ketch some neighbor nester's roan
To ride back to the ranch on.
But somewhere along the way
A bunch of nesters held him up,
And there was hell to pay!
Tom claimed he hadn't stole the horse--
Just borrowed it to ride.
Them nesters hated cowboys,
And they told him that he lied.
The cussed him for a horsethief
And they'd caught him with the goods.
They set right out to hang him
In a nearby patch of woods.
They had pore Tom surrounded,
With their guns all fixed to shoot.
It looked like this pore cowboy
Sure had heard his last owl hoot!
They tied a rope around his neck
And throwed it o'er a limb
And Tom Maginnis purt near knowed
This was the last of him.
Then suddenly a shot rang out
From somewhere up the hill!
Them nesters dropped the rope an' ran,
Like nesters sometimes will
When bullets start to whizzin'.
Tom's heart lept up with hope
To see ol' Purt Near Perkins
Ridin' towards him at a lope.
"Looks like I purt near
Got here just in time," ol' Perkins said,
"To see them nesters hang you!"
Tom's face got kinder red.
"You purt near did!" he purt near grinned.
"They purt near had me strung!
You're lookin' at a cowboy
That has pert near just been hung!
And also one that's changed his mind--
For no word ever said,
Can sound as sweet as 'purt near',
When a man's been purt near dead!"
By S. Omar Barker, reprinted with permission from Classic Rhymes by S. Omar Barker from Cowboy Miner Publications
rancherfred
Well-known member
If you are talking about proso millet straw the cattle will eat it like candy. When we used to bale our straw the cattle will lick the ground where you fed the bales. I don't know what the forage tests would show, but I don't think I have ever heard of proso straw having high nitrates. Good feed for cold weather.
AX-
Well-known member
Millet straw can be a lot different. Are you talking Golden German straw or Proso (Hershey) Millet? Golden German (Hay Millet) will probably have some green in it if it was cut for seed, where the proso straw will not have as much and won't be real good. They will eat it a little better the second year after it rots a little, but there's typically very, very little nutrients in proso straw. Hay Millet Straw can be ok.
