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Strange weather...and the usual feeding pictures

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WyomingRancher

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Jan 7, 2007
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Wyoming
Strange weather to say the least... last night it was 12 degrees, this morning while feeding it was 40 degrees... now it's in the low 50s with a winter storm brewing :shock:.

I fed the heifer calves this morning :D . They've been getting about 10 pounds of 2-year old alfalfa/grass hay and a pound of cake a day. I gave them a little extra hay today and skipped the cake :wink: . The cake is more or less to keep them coming to feed since the bulls are directly across the west fenceline :shock: ... yep, I'm living on the edge :lol: .

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The majority of them look really good, but a few aren't as fleshy. I guess we all can guess which will make the better cow :D . The red heifer is a lot framier, and if she breeds than fine, but if not, "oh well" :wink: .

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The cows were happy for some feed this morning. They've been getting about 15 pounds of alfalfa/grass hay/day, but like the heifers, will be getting a little extra during this storm :D . We've had an open winter, so they've been able to get grass...which has been extremely nice on our hay piles :wink:

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Heifers are starting to show. I'll start calving the end of February.

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Like some of the folks we see at the buffet bar...I'm betting my cow's a lot cleaner though :lol: .

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I accidently sorted two heifer calves in with the cows... they're doing just fine :D.

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Really liked this picture from the other day
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Deer out the window
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Never have done this in January before :D .
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Have a great weekend!!!
 
How much (dollar wise) per head do you northerners feed in hay every year?

Seems like it would have to be cost prohibitive to run cattle.
 
nortexsook said:
How much (dollar wise) per head do you northerners feed in hay every year?

Seems like it would have to be cost prohibitive to run cattle.
Click to expand...

I guess I never figured it up dollar wise-- but mine have been getting around 30 lbs a day for almost a month and a half now-- since the sub zero cold moved in and the snow covered every bit of grazing I have (and I'm a chincy feeder- as some are feeding heavier than that)....Before that they were getting about 15 lbs a day- and grazing the hay meadows that still have a lot of grazing- if this snow would just leave...

I have enough to make it thru April if I have to- and never really figured the cost as it is raised- but I think (if you can find it) its going for about $120 a Ton...
 
For those of us who raise our own feed we sometimes take for granted what it costs us to winter cattle. If we had to write a check every day for the feed bill it would shock us a little bit. Might make us figure out a cheaper way to do business.

Kind of like if we had to write a check every month to pay all our taxes instead of it being withheld from paychecks.
 
Yur critters are sure looking good...fat and furry...see all happy cows don't live in California...lol Just love the scenery you have..In your other post there's lots of country to explore...

I wish we'd get our Jan. thaw back...2 days of warm temps are long gone now..back to frigid cold! Thanks for the great photo's.
 
nortexsook,
It's a fact of life as you go north although astute operators concentrate on reducing the number of days on feed. We are down at around 80-100 days per year which is about as far as we can go in fairly snowy country. Traditional winter feeding in my area lasts 6 months although we have one large outfit fairly close by (3-400 cows) who exceed that by quite a bit. They run cows on good farm country and spend all their time making big square silage bales from late June right through to freeze up. They usually start supplementing cows on (already bare) pastures in August and feed right through until May!! The economics of that outfit are beyond my understanding. They could be poster boys for the Case Corporation though as they probably operate a million dollars worth of machinery.
 
Wyoming Rancher, nice pictures - one question though. In your 3rd picture of the calves there is a black calf to the left side standing by a red with a real rough haircoat. Do all your leaner heifer calves have hair like that? it almost looks like a deficiency as it's quite dull but then again it may just be the photo not showing a true picture.
 
Grassfarmer said:
Wyoming Rancher, nice pictures - one question though. In your 3rd picture of the calves there is a black calf to the left side standing by a red with a real rough haircoat. Do all your leaner heifer calves have hair like that? it almost looks like a deficiency as it's quite dull but then again it may just be the photo not showing a true picture.
Click to expand...

That's a good question... I'm thinking that heifer is one with a longer, wavier coat. Some of the heifers were still a little wet when I clicked the pictures. If it's who I think it it, she's one of my favorites, and I'll try to get a picture of her. The red heifer's main issue is that she was in heat a few weeks ago, and must have twisted her foot or something since she's been a little lame... she is a framier heifer which doesn't help her situation much. The heifers have been coming into heat all along, so I don't really think there is a deficiency issue.

This is the first time I've ever been able to keep all the heifer calves (I did sort one head off who looked like a brisket candidate, sold her last fall). It has been so interesting watching these heifers change. A few have surprised me, but the ones I liked a lot last fall are still the ones I like the best now.
 
Your cattle look real good, looks like there out there getting some good Winter grazing. It's a tough winter up here, dry Summer didn't stockpile much. We feed 30 pounds a day for the cows. Some of the hay is 3-4 years old. And a pound of cake with lick tubs.
 
So here are some numbers by ya'lls estimates:


Hay Cost per Ton $120.00

Hay cost per pound 0.0600

Pounds fed per head per day 30

Cost per head per day $1.80

Feeding period 5 Months (30*5) 150

Total Hay cost per cow per year $270.00


This is just the actual hay cost per cow per year. Nothing for labor or delivery, or any additional protein or mineral supplementation.

Is this a fair estimate?
 
Add some protein to that using theony's 1 lb per day (seem light but we'll use it)

Cake cost per ton $200.00

Cake cost per pound $0.10

Pounds feed per head per day 1

Cost per head per day $0.10

Feeding period 5 months (30*5) 150

Total cake cost per cow per year $15.00

So now your at $270 + $15 = $285
 
Most years hay isn't that high.

Some producer are High cost and some are low. I run fewer cows to stretch my grazing season.

What I can't figure out is how some in the south can feed hay all year during droughts and why can't they graze all year with no snow?
 
>>What I can't figure out is how some in the south can feed hay all year during droughts and why can't they graze all year with no snow?<<

They either feed hay or sell out. They should probably sell. Sometimes your earliest loss is your best loss.

Also, a lot of people in Texas and Oklahoma overgraze so they don't have what I call "standing hay" in the winter.

I graze my cows year-round. In the winter (starting around Dec 5th or so) I start supplementing protein until end of Feb or so.

I buy 3 or 4 round bales just in case it snows for a few days in a row. Usually not an issue here since we have not had snow this year and most years we get about 3 inches total! It does get relatively cold with lows reaching the teens fairly regular (I know that is not cold to you guys).

My winter feed bill is about $50 per cow, so it is quite an advantage over having to hay that much.

Of course land is prohibitively high to purchase in the south.


I just wanted to put some numbers to you guy's operations since everyone posts this feeding pictures and I can't help but to think how expensive that has to be.
 
To quote Dave Pratt "You can't feed your way out of a drought" of course you can but you sure shouldn't if you want to be sustainable. Our drought is winter and some of you it is summer but in any case to minimize winter feeding is a laudable goal. We are down to 60-80 of feeding bales. Yes swathgrazing and bunch grazing have cost associated with them but it is less.
 
My costs here in NE TX to winter cows for about 120 days is, hay -3,000 lbs. .. $95, 20% cubes ..$18, total $113. I could probably trim a little more out of that , but it might cost me at getting a good healthy calf every 365 days.
 

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