Grass-fed, how to supplement poor pasture

[tonyb]

I'm trying to improve the BCS of our Dexter cow so she's ready to breed in the fall. She doesn't look unhealthy, per se, but she could stand to gain some weight.

The problem is our pasture is not too great. Its on the road to recovery, but not there yet. What can I give her as a supplement with resorting to grain?

[tinknal]

I assume that you mean *without* resorting to grain. The answer is simple, either hay or silage. Is the problem with your pasture quantity, quality, or both?

Has the cow been wormed?

[tonyb]

oops. Yes, that would be without grain.

The problem is quality. It was a hay field that sat for three years. We brush hogged it last summer. It grew back as a mix of weeds, timothy, and red clover. This year I've managed it in two halves:
Section 1 was grazed, then mowed to 3" after each rotation.
Section 2 was cut for hay.

The hay was actually not bad. The re-growth this year is red clover, timothy, and some fine bladed grass -- maybe ryegrass?? The clover is looking really good; just need some rain to give it a boost.

Yes, she was wormed, but not until recently. Too soon to tell if that will help.

[tinknal]

Sounds like your pasture is not so bad. If she is gaining weight at breeding time she should breed fine. Can you post a pic?

[agmantoo]

tonyb
You are located where?

[RedDirt Cowgirl]

Good alfalfa hay

[tonyb]

Originally Posted by agmantoo

tonyb
You are located where?

We are in southeast Michigan.

[JulieLou42]

Get her some alfalfa pellets, as those she won't waste as she will alfalfa bales. Be sure that they're pure alfalfa, tho'. I've heard some tales of other than alfalfa in the pellets from some mfrs.

[lonelyfarmgirl]

Try hay-lage. When we were having the feed issue we had over this past winter, rye-lage saved our herd. After we started feeding that, the herd put on weight so fast, you could almost tell the difference by the bale. Now they look like there was never a problem.

[francismilker]

The only thing I might add to supplement poor pasture is some goats or hairsheep. (although what you describe doesn't sound like poor pasture.) If you're wanting to put weight on an underweight cow with grass alone, you're going to need some time. So.........in my opinion, you have two choices: 1) feed the cow some grain. 2) feed the pasture some fertilizer.

Both of those options take cash money so let the goats and/or sheep build your pastures up for you with some time and good pasture management. Just out of curiosity, why do you not desire to feed grain other than the expense of it?

[Lazy J]

This might be a novel thought.

What about some hay?

[tonyb]

Originally Posted by JulieLou42

Get her some alfalfa pellets, as those she won't waste as she will alfalfa bales. Be sure that they're pure alfalfa, tho'. I've heard some tales of other than alfalfa in the pellets from some mfrs.

Funny - I've been doing that, but not due to my "superior" stockmanship skills. It was more of a target of opportunity. I had a bag of alfalfa cubes laying around that I used for treats/bucket training to make rotations easier. So I've been giving her a small bucket full every day for about a week now.

[tonyb]

Originally Posted by francismilker

The only thing I might add to supplement poor pasture is some goats or hairsheep. (although what you describe doesn't sound like poor pasture.) If you're wanting to put weight on an underweight cow with grass alone, you're going to need some time. So.........in my opinion, you have two choices: 1) feed the cow some grain. 2) feed the pasture some fertilizer.

Both of those options take cash money so let the goats and/or sheep build your pastures up for you with some time and good pasture management. Just out of curiosity, why do you not desire to feed grain other than the expense of it?

I've got two goats with her now. I probably need more animals in general to really build up the pasture. That plan is in the works, just need to add some more fencing.

[tonyb]

Originally Posted by Lazy J

This might be a novel thought.

What about some hay?

Yeah, that's basically the route I had planned on when I first posted this thread, but was just looking for input from some folks with more experience. I wasn't sure if I needed to supplement her with energy (grass hay) or protein (alfalfa hay). I certainly do appreciate all of the feedback so far.

[tinknal]

To be honest, the easiest way would be a little grain. It would certainly do no harm.

[tonyb]

I took some pictures, but I can't figure out how to upload them.

[tonyb]

Zoey BCS Pic #1



Zoey BCS Pic #2



Pasture Regrowth (3wks rest)

[tinknal]

Does she appear to you to be gaining?

I'm not real familiar with Dexters, is she from more of a dairy line?

She looks OK to me as a dairy animal, on the thin side as a beef.

As I said before, the main thing is that she be gaining. At this condition she should breed if she is gaining.

[tonyb]

She was maintaining for quite awhile, then (of course) after I started this thread she seems to be improving. I did worm her recently -- no fecal count or anything, so it was a preventive measure, but I wouldn't have expected such fast improvement.

She's not registered, so I'm not sure if she's purebred. Her dam looked very milky and seemed large for a Dexter. In fact, she appeared to have some Jersey blood.

I don't have a trained eye, but her BCS seems like a 4 or so, based on pictures from a book. The author says that a BCS of 7 is desirable to maximize chances of breeding. As you can tell, this will be the first cow I've ever had bred...just trying to turn some book knowledge into experience I guess.