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Question on DDG

F

Faster horses

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Feb 11, 2005
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Location
NE WY at the foot of the Big Horn mountains
I asked this question on Political Bull as there was a short discussion about it. Here is the question along with IL Rancher's reply, which I appreciated.

QUESTION~

We know nothing about Distillers Grain. We can get some here, finally.
How would it work to put out for a cow/calf pairs in the pasture in
some kind of trough? Has anyone tried that? We have a friend who wants
to help his cattle in this way. Is is safe? Do you need to mix salt with it
as a limiter? What advice do you have?

It's $130/ton here laid in. He was thinking of giving 1# per head per day.
So that would be 1# for the cow and 1# for the calf.

Thanks.


IL Rancher replied:

130 a ton eh? Yikes.. That is a bit... WE buy it wet personally as it is cheaper 22-25 bucks a ton (Sometimes close to 30) but their is a plant 50 miles away so the frieght doesn't kill us and the wet mixes better. He is talking about self feeding or feeding it daily? On a daily basis it is safe wit the only concern being that it is very high in fat (At least our Distillers is) and a quick ramp up can cause bloat. 1 pound a day would be like 3 pounds of the wet but I don't think that would be a problem.

My neighbor is feeding 15 pounds wet Gluten and 15 pounds wet Distillers mixed in a fed trough to his cows right now.. Just drove by the mixing wagon. As long as you have enough trough space so that all animals can feed at once we have not had a problem and neither has he. The only problem is you will have t supplement Calcium or limit Phos for the ration a bit as Distillers has real high ratio.
 
Distillers grain or gluten, whatever it is called is very safe feed for cattle.

The process it has been through has taken much of the energy associated with the original grain.

It is very high in protien, but cattle do well on extra protien.

IL Rancher was right about the higher phos levels, but again, a bonus because cattle are usually on a diet deficient in phos.

$130 a ton laid in isn't great but isn't bad. Use the price of a feed grain like corn or barley to compare. It should be cheaper, if not, feed the grain.

The advantage to a distiller grain is it needs no processing to feed. Grain should be cracked or rolled.
 
Distillers and Gluten, at least in this neck of the woods are two different things.. Distillers has fat in it while Gluten does not, makes. Distillers is a bit different in texture as well FH.. Again, maybe this is a midwest thing just between the two plants we use but there is a difference.

Gluten is generally considered very safe in that it is very hard to bloat a cow on gluten as the fiber is there but the startch is gone.. Not a lot of chance of acidosis on that diet. We started off our cows on 10 pounds a day right from the begining if I remember correct and I will tell you they either hit it right away or they take forever.

I have herad of Distillers being ramped up to quickly causing more problems becasue of the fat percentage iin it..

We generally don't base our decison on buying gluten or distillers on the price of grain, we generally do it on the price of hay vs distillers/corn stalk feeding. Out west I suppose you could do it on a wheat straw and DDGS vs hay.... our cows where happier than pigs in... Well you know... last winter on that stuff. My one piece of advice, if you re going to feed a lot of it preg check first...
 
He just plans to use this on grazing cattle on pasture.

And it is different than corn gluten or at least different than corn gluten pellets. There has been problems with corn gluten here. It is fed as pellets, and some people have burned up buildings and graineries with the corn gluten pellets. Those that use them are satisfied, but from what I understand, they are not consistent and the processing is of utmost importance. Corn gluten pellets have stuck together and they've had to use a chain saw to cut them apart.


This is supposedly more like a meal in consistency.
 
I wonder if this is what the one place was trying to sell me. It wasn't dry but it wasn't wet either.... It was 67-75% DM or something like that and is suppossed to be a nice product.. I have thought about using it but probably won't.


We store our gluten on cement and it is gone pretty darn fast but we only feed it in December-March usually, sometimes April. We can go through a smi in 4-6 days depending on how hot and heavy we are feeding so mold is not a problem for us. I will tell you one thing, reach your arm into a pile of gluten when it is -10 out and your arm will feel like it is on fire.. That stuff is hot..
 
Here is some good info on DDG's, FH. We have fed the wet in the past. Mixed with hay it is amazing how much you can feed with no problems, at least thru the winter.

http://agebb.missouri.edu/dairy/byprod/index.htm
 
P.S.
Numerous beef cattle feeding trials have been conducted to establish the energy values of DDG and DDGS. The energy value of DDG and DDGS is equal or slightly superior to corn grain because it contains highly digestible fiber, its protein is partially protected from rumen breakdown, and it contains three times as much fat as corn.

Quote from; http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/fieldcrops/mp51.htm#bc

While the energy content of gluten is less than corn, DDG's Is about the same.
 
The problem with DDG is that it will have to be fed everyday and when you feed it on grass it will blow away. If you have a way to mix it (TMR)i would add about half water and a couple of pounds of ground hay as a carrier.
I use the MWDG and alfalfa as a suppelment to cows on corn stalks and get along great.
 
It will blow away? YIKES. I better pass that along for sure. He isn't planning on feeding anything as a carrier. These cattle are scattered
in pastures. He will put the DDG in troughs. Will it still blow away in
troughs? That could be a major concern.

Thanks everyone for the links and the info. We aren't very knowledgeable about feeding grain by-products to range cattle because we don't grow that stuff here or have the plants for the by-products. To us $120-$130 sounds cheap. But you shouldn't base your decision on just the price.
 
Faster horses said:
It will blow away? YIKES. I better pass that along for sure. He isn't planning on feeding anything as a carrier. These cattle are scattered
in pastures. He will put the DDG in troughs. Will it still blow away in
troughs? That could be a major concern.

Thanks everyone for the links and the info. We aren't very knowledgeable about feeding grain by-products to range cattle because we don't grow that stuff here or have the plants for the by-products. To us $120-$130 sounds cheap. But you shouldn't base your decision on just the price.
Click to expand...

The dried distillers I have had was mixed in a feed ration but it's about the same as soybean meal.We have an ethanol plant here that sells the wet distillars for $18 per ton plus trucking its about 65% moisture I live 30 miles from there and plan on feeding some this winter with my poor hay.I will haul it on my flatbed with side's
 
Denny said:
Faster horses said:
It will blow away? YIKES. I better pass that along for sure. He isn't planning on feeding anything as a carrier. These cattle are scattered
in pastures. He will put the DDG in troughs. Will it still blow away in
troughs? That could be a major concern.

Thanks everyone for the links and the info. We aren't very knowledgeable about feeding grain by-products to range cattle because we don't grow that stuff here or have the plants for the by-products. To us $120-$130 sounds cheap. But you shouldn't base your decision on just the price.
Click to expand...

The dried distillers I have had was mixed in a feed ration but it's about the same as soybean meal.We have an ethanol plant here that sells the wet distillars for $18 per ton plus trucking its about 65% moisture I live 30 miles from there and plan on feeding some this winter with my poor hay.I will haul it on my flatbed with side's
Click to expand...

Denny drill some holes in the floor of your trailer and it will only be 40% wet when it gets home.
 

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