swath grazing

[Hayguy]

with my main summer pasture being under anywhere's from 3 to 12 inches of water i am going to have to start grazing some hay land. 2 to 3 ft high and 30 to 50% alfalfa, am thinking of cutting some down,let it wilt/dry down for a day or two and then meter it out with a hot wire. ANY pro's or con's ???

 

[RSL]

Do you have to cut it, or can you just use the hot wire?
It would save quite a bit of $.

 

[burnt]

I just heading back to give the girls another 3' or 4' strip of hay, over 50% alfalfa, by moving the hot wire back that far. If I give them any more than that, they tramp about 1/3 of it.

Would it not be much easier just to let them do the cutting and processing, or is that not an option?

Man you guys are getting hammered with water this year. I hope things turn around real soon - like tonight maybe?

 

[Hayguy]

Burnt and RSL, my reasoning for cutting is,No.1 that they maybe wouldn't tramp/waste as much,2 i use 4ft rebar posts same as you RSL so would have to tramp some down with quad so cattle could see wire, cutting with 9 ft discbine would give bare spots to put up fence, 3 hoping that by cutting and wilt/drying somewhat would reduce risk of bloat. I like the idea ofjust using a wire,especially where fuel is now,as usual maybe just over thinking the situation :lol: THANK'S for the replies

 

[burnt]

So I went back and started moving the wire back, one post at a time and they know what's going on, get all keen to push their noses into fresh grass.

Got two posts moved back and just like that a stupid second calver steps up to the wire and clears it in one smooth jump. The rest of them are starting to crowd up and I'm thinking major breakout in the making.

But they settle down as I'm talking very very very earnestly to them and keep their snouts in the grass. Except for another second calver who jumps over with the first one before I'm right across the paddock.

But they both come back with minimal trouble and it's all good again.

But it's amazing how quickly and evenly they chew that 4' strip down, taking the top half off first pass and then cleaning the rest down over the next half day or so. This grass is about 3 - 4 ' tall and since the Timothy is just starting to flower, it's still fairly soft. Alfalfa is mid bloom.

Got one with sore feet the last two days so it might be a touch of founder - pretty rich feed.

So it works well for smaller bunches like mine, with minimal waste once they are trained.

 

[littlejoe]

Burnt and RSL, my reasoning for cutting is,No.1 that they maybe wouldn't tramp/waste as much,2 i use 4ft rebar posts same as you RSL so would have to tramp some down with quad so cattle could see wire, cutting with 9 ft discbine would give bare spots to put up fence, 3 hoping that by cutting and wilt/drying somewhat would reduce risk of bloat. I like the idea ofjust using a wire,especially where fuel is now,as usual maybe just over thinking the situation :lol: THANK'S for the replies

we typically use a cup of laundry soap to bag of salt when grazing risky---like 3rd cutting alfalfa---never lost any, have to have it in system before turning out---

 

[Hayguy]

Burnt and RSL, my reasoning for cutting is,No.1 that they maybe wouldn't tramp/waste as much,2 i use 4ft rebar posts same as you RSL so would have to tramp some down with quad so cattle could see wire, cutting with 9 ft discbine would give bare spots to put up fence, 3 hoping that by cutting and wilt/drying somewhat would reduce risk of bloat. I like the idea ofjust using a wire,especially where fuel is now,as usual maybe just over thinking the situation :lol: THANK'S for the replies

we typically use a cup of laundry soap to bag of salt when grazing risky---like 3rd cutting alfalfa---never lost any, have to have it in system before turning out---

any particular brand of soap? have also heard that a mineral called Silent Herder works well

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

Do you think bloat will be a problem with the Alfalfa at 30 to 50%? Being that tall it will be stemmy not like short lush second or third cut. :???:

 

[littlejoe]

Burnt and RSL, my reasoning for cutting is,No.1 that they maybe wouldn't tramp/waste as much,2 i use 4ft rebar posts same as you RSL so would have to tramp some down with quad so cattle could see wire, cutting with 9 ft discbine would give bare spots to put up fence, 3 hoping that by cutting and wilt/drying somewhat would reduce risk of bloat. I like the idea ofjust using a wire,especially where fuel is now,as usual maybe just over thinking the situation :lol: THANK'S for the replies

we typically use a cup of laundry soap to bag of salt when grazing risky---like 3rd cutting alfalfa---never lost any, have to have it in system before turning out---

any particular brand of soap? have also heard that a mineral called Silent Herder works well

This came from a vet. He actually recommended 1/2 cup of soap per 50#. If a little is good, well.......

Silent herder, bloat guard, etc---what they basically do is break big bubbles down into little bubbles (as I understand it) and soap does the same thing.

I use 'trace mineral' salt---just for the color, you can see if you got a good mix---and I make sure I don't buy laundry soap with any bleach in it. Been using arm and hammer---but not much science involved there, think it was first one I picked up w/o bleach.

I am a little paranoid about precipitation maybe 'leaching'? soap to bottem of tub, so tend to not put out too much at time and 'refresh' it often.----BUT--you GOTTA have any of this stuff in their system ahead of time and you GOTTA keep it in front of them---my experience, anyhow

 

[Jake]

we typically use a cup of laundry soap to bag of salt when grazing risky---like 3rd cutting alfalfa---never lost any, have to have it in system before turning out---

any particular brand of soap? have also heard that a mineral called Silent Herder works well

This came from a vet. He actually recommended 1/2 cup of soap per 50#. If a little is good, well.......

Silent herder, bloat guard, etc---what they basically do is break big bubbles down into little bubbles (as I understand it) and soap does the same thing.

I use 'trace mineral' salt---just for the color, you can see if you got a good mix---and I make sure I don't buy laundry soap with any bleach in it. Been using arm and hammer---but not much science involved there, think it was first one I picked up w/o bleach.

I am a little paranoid about precipitation maybe 'leaching'? soap to bottem of tub, so tend to not put out too much at time and 'refresh' it often.----BUT--you GOTTA have any of this stuff in their system ahead of time and you GOTTA keep it in front of them---my experience, anyhow

you can do the same thing with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and it is considerably cheaper than soap.