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Replacement Heifer question??

MN Farm Girl

Well-known member
Dad and I are wondering what you guys feed your replacement heifers. He is wondering what could be done differently. We usually feed alot of oats, and all the hay they want. What are your guy's thoughts??

MN Farm Girl
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
Ours get fed grass hay every morning and Forage Pro free choice.
The Forage Pro is a 22% Protein Supplement Vigortone product that has (in our area) soybean and mineral and salt. It works really well and the calves eat half pound to three-quarter pounds per head per day. In the south, Forage Pro is Cottonseed based, but contains the same mineral formula.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
MN FG-- Mine get all the good hay they want and access to a Smartlic stresstub- 12% Protein- when they are first weaned for about a month until they are settled down good and I'm confidant that none are going to get sick...I also give them a lb or so of calf pellets ( or oats or whatever is cheapest-- this year it was pellets made from screenings)- that I bucket carry out to them and dump in the feeders by hand to quiet them down....

Then I turn them out on pasture- and now have them grazing with the cows-- as I figure they have to start learning to live on their own- and they ain't gonna get any grain from now on :wink: .... I think they socialize with the cow herd better if they're ran with them from right after weaning...I started doing this 4 years ago because of necessity (snow so deep I couldn't keep it cleared to get into the lot to feed them- so turned them out with the cows that I could get to out in the open) and the heifers grew out just as good-- bred up as well or better- and didn't act like yearlings when you turned them out in the spring, so kept doing it.....
 

randiliana

Well-known member
We feed ours about 7 lbs of oats each, when we have it. Plus, all the hay they want. Right now we are using lentil/pea screenings, and I think that we will be feeding them about 4 lbs of that. We want to see them put on about 1.5 -1.75 lbs/day.
 

Doug Thorson

Well-known member
4-5 pounds of oats and all the not-too-good hay they eat is a great ration for heifers. Be carefull of good hay though. Too good of hay and they will get too big. Ask BRG about his ration. That is what I plan on next year because of feed costs rising.
 

MN Farm Girl

Well-known member
Thanks guys. Right now ours are getting 9 pounds of oats, and pound of 32% all natural protein. It is good grass hey. We try to mix it up a bit and give a grass bale, and then a alfalfa bale, never two alfalfa in a row.

Faster Horses, can you feed Forage Pro to 9 month old heifers, to grow them. How long should you feed it? Which is better Forage Pro, or oats? And what's it cost?
 

BRG

Well-known member
Ours run in a pasture to graze, but then they get some ground hay to make the grass go farther.(as we don't have enough grass to get them all the way through the winter) Then they get a liquid protein called Loomix. This is free choice but it is a sweet and sour ration. We have it set so they eat about 1 lbs a day. They do not get any grain at all.
 

alabama

Well-known member
The best thing for heifers is GRASS. in the winter youmay need to suplement just a little but not much. Raise your heifers the way your cows will be maintained.
 

Mike

Well-known member
alabama said:
The best thing for heifers is GRASS. in the winter youmay need to suplement just a little but not much. Raise your heifers the way your cows will be maintained.

How about Collards?

I turned some heifers in the Collard patch just this morning.
 

alabama

Well-known member
Mike said:
alabama said:
The best thing for heifers is GRASS. in the winter youmay need to suplement just a little but not much. Raise your heifers the way your cows will be maintained.

How about Collards?

I turned some heifers in the Collard patch just this morning.


well those ought to go right through them. that collard patch should be smelling right in a few days. :roll:
 

kolanuraven

Well-known member
alabama said:
Mike said:
alabama said:
The best thing for heifers is GRASS. in the winter youmay need to suplement just a little but not much. Raise your heifers the way your cows will be maintained.

How about Collards?

I turned some heifers in the Collard patch just this morning.


well those ought to go right through them. that collard patch should be smelling right in a few days. :roll:


Ohhhh.....they'll be squirtin' over the power lines!!!!
 

kolanuraven

Well-known member
alabama said:
Mike said:
alabama said:
The best thing for heifers is GRASS. in the winter youmay need to suplement just a little but not much. Raise your heifers the way your cows will be maintained.

How about Collards?

I turned some heifers in the Collard patch just this morning.


well those ought to go right through them. that collard patch should be smelling right in a few days. :roll:


Ohhhh.....they'll be squirtin' over the power lines!!!!
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
Sorry that I can't give you the price of Forage Pro in your area, because our freight is so much more than what it would be to your area.

It's so nice to feed because it is such a highly digestible source of protein and doesn't require packing buckets and buckets of grain when you are feeding by hand. The calves hair coat is just excellent on it AND health is super.
 

RobertMac

Well-known member
Mike said:
alabama said:
The best thing for heifers is GRASS. in the winter youmay need to suplement just a little but not much. Raise your heifers the way your cows will be maintained.

How about Collards?

I turned some heifers in the Collard patch just this morning.

Mike, remind me NOT to eat greens at your house!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 

Mike

Well-known member
RobertMac said:
Mike said:
alabama said:
The best thing for heifers is GRASS. in the winter youmay need to suplement just a little but not much. Raise your heifers the way your cows will be maintained.

How about Collards?

I turned some heifers in the Collard patch just this morning.

Mike, remind me NOT to eat greens at your house!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

What's wrong? You don't eat Organic greens? :lol:
 

alabama

Well-known member
Mike said:
RobertMac said:
Mike said:
How about Collards?

I turned some heifers in the Collard patch just this morning.

Mike, remind me NOT to eat greens at your house!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

What's wrong? You don't eat Organic greens? :lol:

Remind me not even to stop by your house until it rains. 70 deg weather and those heifers processing those collards. I would not want to be down wind.
 

MN Farm Girl

Well-known member
Thanks, Denny. Surprising that is higher priced than the 32% protein we feed. That stuff is $10.50 a bag. And dad thinks that is too high priced.
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
But what is the source of the protien you feed, MNfarmgirl? You could be feeding a lot of urea to get 32% protein. You must compare apples to apples (or protein to protein). Soybean is the most digestible form of protein...chicken feathers is one of the least digestible. So, what's your protein source to make that 32%. (And thanks for your reply.)


If it contains a lot of urea, then we will discuss the pro's and con's of urea. Nutritionists take the percent of urea out of the feed, as it is pretty worthless. 32% Protein, with 16% urea, they count as 16% protein.
 
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