How to handle the high cost of livestock feed

charged · #1 10/13/12, 07:43 PM

We just came from one of those animal safari parks. You rent one of their vans and buy backs of pelletized food and drive through the park and feed the bison, giraffes, pigs, cattle, deer, elk, etc. The kids loved it, but I was talking to the other dad and we were like, what a racket, we buy the food and feed their animals for them.

So what ya'all need to do is start a petting zoo and charge families to feed your animals for you. Charge them for the food too.

Callieslamb · #2 10/13/12, 09:44 PM

Sounds like more work than just feeding them myself to me, but you have to hand it to them for thinking of it. If the animals are like my farm animals, they know what that van coming down the trail means and come running.

Helena · #3 10/14/12, 08:27 AM

The liablity/insurance issue would be too much for me. You know some kid will do something and the animal will get the blame and the kids mother will be hysterical..Such is life..

arabian knight · #4 10/14/12, 09:19 AM

Well I am handling the high cost of feed in this way. I sold my 5 month old steer, and have not had horses or donkeys now for more the 3 years.
I am animal less at this point in time.
The steer just went this morning to a new home. A nice family that bought the steer for their son. And they drove over an hour and half to pick him up.

Cliff · #5 10/14/12, 10:14 AM

Feed forage eating animals forage and hay. Their bodies are meant to use forage for feed. I think more people will be forced to raise animals like nature intended with the way prices are going. It's different from what some people are used to but it's healthier for the animals and for the people who consume the animals' products.

arabian knight · #6 10/14/12, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cliff

Feed forage eating animals forage and hay. Their bodies are meant to use forage for feed. I think more people will be forced to raise animals like nature intended with the way prices are going. It's different from what some people are used to but it's healthier for the animals and for the people who consume the animals' products.

Hay has doubled in price as well.
And for the last 5 months of my steers that have been raising for the last 30 years have ONLY had Grain, and grain only.
A grain mixture that was set up by my person veterinarian that had a BS in animal nutrition also in Animal husbandry. And that mixture can also be fed to horses. Been doing that same grain mixture now for the last 25 years. Before that I was on a program called Tend-R-Leen. http://www.tendrleen.com/proginfo.htm

Quote:

The simplest program requiring no grinding or processing of corn.
Less equipment and labor required.
Easily adapt an existing facility to fit program.
Up to 50% less manure.
Average daily gains up to 3.2 pounds or better.
Less than 6:1 feed to gain ratio from birth to market.
Less than 7:1 feed to gain ration for heavy short-term cattle.
Cattle yield high quality, lean, tender meat that meets consumer and packers demands. It makes for great tender beef, that steaks fall apart on the grill as you flip them over.

And one year I had a steer pastured out and that beef was tough and nothing like a grain fed one that I had been doing over the years.
So this year if I can't raise a Jersey steer like I want to only means I WON'T be raising any at all.
Rather go buy a 1/4 of a beef at the local butcher shop, that has been fed grain Or even store bought Corn Fed Beef before I will raise one on just hay again. Corn Fed Beef YEAH.

FarmerRob · #7 10/14/12, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cliff

Feed forage eating animals forage and hay. Their bodies are meant to use forage for feed. I think more people will be forced to raise animals like nature intended with the way prices are going. It's different from what some people are used to but it's healthier for the animals and for the people who consume the animals' products.

Agreed. I would rather spend on improving pastures, and feeding grass and hay, than on grain from a feed store.

ET1 SS · #8 10/14/12, 07:25 PM

Our feed bill has not changed yet.

PFS farmer · #9 10/14/12, 09:13 PM

Time to be creative and get back to the basics.

sammyd · #10 10/15/12, 05:14 AM

We have cut back on animals drastically. But along with the higher grain prices, we lost 20 acres of hay ground this year and have to rely on the stuff we put up over the last few years.
I planted 3 of our 5 tillable acres for cob corn and the other 2 have been pasture. Next year I hope to get 2 acres in for cob corn, 2 for hay and the last acre will be divided into 8ths sorta like in John Seymours book but with different stuff.

We put a pasture raised steer in the freezer this year and do not intend to ever do it again. I will be raising the next steer on the Tendrleen program as long as I have enough corn to do it. With 1 steer and 3 pigs I will need a little less than 160 bushel and I should get that easy enough on 2 acres. I can send any surplus to the mill and have it ground and used as part of a mash for chickens.

I am looking at purchasing a small thresher to do small grains like wheat and oats so I can use them as nurse crops when seeding hay or pasture land.

We will have 1 small milk cow strip grazing on the half acre during the day and in the barn at night and over winter, 3 pigs when the cow is milking good, a steer in a lot, and maybe 25 or so meat birds.

Cindy in PA · #11 10/15/12, 06:41 AM

I've been buying pasture raised beef for over a decade and will never go back to grain fed. never had a tough piece in the whole time.

brosil · #12 10/15/12, 07:29 AM

I tried permanent pasturage last winter and it worked. The ewes did better than they had in years. I'll see if it works again this year.

Tad · #13 10/15/12, 07:41 AM

We have one of those places a few miles from here, this spring they had 6 bull bison get out and run a muck across the country side. Think they caught 4 and shot 2, one went down the first day as it ran through the nieghbors woods the day after he finished putting his sap lines in and it was running around tearing them out.

KIT.S · #14 10/15/12, 03:19 PM

My friends have 35 acres of u-pick tree fruit and sell eggs. In order to keep the pickers' kids from feeding the chickens gum and other awful stuff, they got dixie cups and sold chicken feed for 25 cents a cup. The kids loved it! Best fed chickens ever. We've talked about taking some of my American Guinea Hogs over there since they're very personable, but they'd get sooo fat!
Kit

charged · #15 10/15/12, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KIT.S

My friends have 35 acres of u-pick tree fruit and sell eggs. In order to keep the pickers' kids from feeding the chickens gum and other awful stuff, they got dixie cups and sold chicken feed for 25 cents a cup. The kids loved it! Best fed chickens ever. We've talked about taking some of my American Guinea Hogs over there since they're very personable, but they'd get sooo fat!
Kit

Please tell me what an American Guinea Hog is.

Maura · #16 10/15/12, 05:06 PM

I think the animal park people are brilliant. Not only are they making extra money by selling tourists feed, but they are keeping the tourists from feeding the bison etc. corn chips and who-knows-what.

I just butchered the last three sheep, only have a couple of mini donkeys now, so my hay cost should go down. Grain is much cheaper, but donkeys and sheep do best on forage.

KIT.S · #17 10/15/12, 06:17 PM

Hi Charged - search for American Guinea Hog in Yahoo or whatever, or in Pigs here in HT. They're smaller, usually black, homestead lard type hogs. Calm, friendly, will graze on pasture along with supplimental feed. Mine don't push fences much or root up the pasture, and get fat on pasture, fruit and veggies and free brewer's grain.

My point was, if they were in a petting zoo situation they would be overfed and so fat they couldn't move. They taste good and are easier for people to butcher themselves, since mine are usually about 150-175 pounds at 10 months and easier for me to handle than a big 300 pound hog.
Kit