Feeding Cows (photos)

[randiliana]

NOT......

Swath and aftermath grazing.....

Here is their winter grounds, at least for about the next 4-6 weeks.



Lots to eat...






Even the 4H heifer is out there, she's the black one.

[MO_cows]

Your cows are lookin good. Wish I could say we weren't feeding hay yet! Can you tell a little more about the swath grazing? Such as, what keeps it from blowing away before you turn the cows in? It's been cut, right?

[randiliana]

Normally we would be feeding or close to feeding now too.

Basically swath grazing is exactly what it says. You swath the crop, usually oats or barley, but in these photos it is Triticale, and then you leave it in the field in windrows. There is really nothing holding it from being blown away, other than the stubble. I guess you could roll the swaths to push it down and that would help. This stuff was cut at the end of July. But we have oats that was cut late Aug or Early Sept (I can't remember).

The best thing with swath grazing is you save the cost of baling ($10/ bale around here), the trucking, and the fuel/machinery wear and tear of putting it back out for them. Plus all the manure/urine gets left on the field, rather than having to haul it out.

Even once we have to start feeding the cows will be left out on the fields until a week or so before they start calving (Mar 5). And then we just sort the heavy looking ones off about once a week, and the rest still stay out.

[bigfoot2you]

just curious what do you have for shelter?

[Jackie]

I am SURE I have talked to you on here, but I am bad with screen names. I saw the first pic and I was thinking! Oh that HAS to be Saskatchwan! Obviously it could be Manitoba or Alberta or whatever, but I was sure it was a Saskie pic.

[randiliana]

Bigfoot, we use portable windbreaks, or we will be as soon as we get them. In past years we have used big square flax bales.

Jackie, yep, it is Saskatchewan....

[bigfoot2you]

Fantastic looking animals!!

[agmantoo]

Very impressive!. The cattle are in certainly good condition going into Winter. Then again, I would expect that of you. One brief question. Would there be any benefit in reducing/restricting the area allocated forcing the cattle to clean up the area they are grazing prior to moving to another section?

[randiliana]

In some cases there would be, but most of these swaths are fairly small. I think with a heavy swath it would probably be a good idea. It would keep them from soiling the swaths as much.

They actually do not have that much area, maybe about 50 acres that has swaths on it. The rest was combined or baled.

[willow_girl]

Your cows look great! They certainly are a rugged bunch.

[Menglish]

Randalina, we have our Dexters on corn stubble right now. While doing research we found that the corn stubble nutrition begins to drop below optimum at about 60 days...that is after 60 days they may need some supplement feed...ie grain or hay. I'm guessing that the Triticale or oat straw does not lose so quickly?

Thanks for posting I always enjoy your pictures...just kinda glad I dont' have your winters!

Mike

[randiliana]

Well, the thing is that we are grazing on swaths, the same stuff that you would have put into a bale, not just stubble. It still has the grain in the head as well.

[bruce2288]

Cows grazing cornstalks will benefit from some protein. Randilla, What would be your average weight of the mature cows? They look great.

[randiliana]

Well, before we weighed some this fall I would have said 1250-1300 lbs. Of course we had and exceptionally good year, so that has added some weight to them. I would put them at around 1400 lbs.