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Wet Distillers Grain

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Mike

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Have access to some and want to know how you feed it, handle it, etc. Tell me all you know. Thanks...............
 
Most around here that use it just put it on a concrete slab. Lots use some kind of concrete blocks or some kind of wall on three sides. Pretty hard to chase around to get a loader bucket full. Pretty much all the trucks that haul it are now aluminum end dumps. Mac brand I believe. Used to be a lot of those belt bottom trailers but not any more. Have heard of some blending it with straw or corn stalks when getting it and packing it like silage. Know of some other guys that have put it in a silage bag. Not sure how they got it in there.????? Have heard of it fed up to like 60% of ration once when feedlot ran out of wet corn and before harvest started. People feed it in about any percent in a ration. Will get moldy and kind of crappy looking but I guess doesn't bother. Dad tried to feed some once with his Kelly ryan feed wagon. It didn't blend it very good and so couldn't really utilize a filler feed source like corn stalks very good. Need a mixer to make it nice. Most cow guys around here feed it in the winter with some crappy corn they chopped for silage and a touch of ground hay.
 
I would highly recommend a feed test. You may need to add a balancer with thiamine.....I've seen 5 weight calves on that stuff with no balancer develop polio like symptoms and die.

If I had cattle of my own I'd stay away from the stuff. Too many variables, and dead cows don't make a profit, no matter how cheap the feed is.
 
We will get a feed test, for sure. The polio like symptoms are caused by a reaction to sulfur? This guy has no where to dump this stuff and will bring it to me free in open top barrels. When he delivers the next load he'll pick up the previous barrels. Just wonderin how everyone else does it.
 
Is it syrup? In barrels we would put a layer of water on top and it would keep longer.We fed a lot to cows one winter like 60#s a day its a bypass protein so they crap out the excess. There are a lot of co-product minerals to be fed while feeding it any mineral company will have an idea. I went away from wet cake because the price it pencils out better to use dried distillers freight is a big cost here on it. We also are fertilizeing all of our hayground and our hay is about 4% higher protein now so we only feed some to the replacement heifers and bulls now. It was a good deal before everyone figured out how to use it and now it's not cost effective for me.
 
You need to feed a special formula mineral with it due to the sulfur content. Ours is called DG 435SRU Balancer and it's really reasonable. Our customers that feed Distillers Grain, use this formula with no problems. Other than that, I don't know much about it....maybe what they feed isn't wet distillers grain.... :oops:
 
We have been using it for several years, we also get it free but have to supply the containers then pick them up once a week. We sent a sample for testing to Auburn I would be happy to share the information if I can find it. We like it have had no issues with any sick cattle. With our heat and humidity we find it only holds up for between 7 and 10 days we just keep it in the containers then dump them into a front end loader daily to feed. We have found supply is heavier in the summer (imagine that) but the brewery is growing so our supply is as well.

gizmom
 
I have fed it for years. I have fed it to about every class of cattle. Make sure you know what the analysis is, what percent moisture and feed a balancer mineral and you will love it. The only people thats gonna tell you that it's bad is the competition. I store my on dirt with no retaining walls. I have also mixed it with straw in August and packed it and then feed it in March and April. Kept great but I don't think it was worth the labor invoked so now i just buy it thru a broker and get it delivered as needed. Get hooked up with somebody that buys from multiple plants. I fed 25 loads last year and came from 5 different plants. There are certain plants I would never get it from because the feed value is junk. Just do your homework and your cattle will shine.
 
The stuff I feed is like a syrup I go and get it twice a week in a 2500 gallon tank. We just pull out in the fields and fill troughs that are around 300 gallon a piece never had any issues with sick cattle from it. It was the best thing I have ever run across it stretches the grass out in the summer and lowers the hay intake in the winter. The stuff I feed tests around 16 percent protein. I have noticed with our cattle you need good access to water and salt. The plant I picked up from used rye and wheat. I don't think you will be disappointed in the stuff once you get the hang of it.
 
Modified you can put in a silage bag. The really wet stuff won't bag. Its good stuff, handling is what sucks. As said above, use a ballancer or limestone....calcium. I liked it as cake. Say its 50% moisture & 30% protein roughly. Feed some hay, then take this stuff out in feed wagon (kelly ryan) and dump 4# on hay....just like feeding 2#'s of cubes.
 

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