Need help with feed mix

matlori · #1 06/19/13, 06:21 PM

Our herd only had low quality hay to eat all winter, I did not realize until now after she heas calved that our little dexter milker is quite thin. Hubby has been feeding her alfalfa pellets (I dont know how much) in the PM when he milks her, she is milked OAD and has her calf all night long. I picked up a salt lick for her, and range mineral mix, and today got some black oil sunflowers, and beat pulp pellets. We will also move her to a new pasture within the next couple days and hook up a hose so she gets more water (I can only haul water for so long with six littles in the house!).
Can anyone help me to give her a good mix of these foods (BOSS, ALFALFA PELLETS, BEAT PULP PELLETS)

matlori · #2 06/19/13, 09:59 PM

would 4 parts beet pulp pellets to one part each of BOSS and alfalfa pellets, sound ok? I was thinking the pulp to get us and the calf the amount of milk we need , and the alfalfa to help her gain muscle back, and the BOSS to help raise butterfat and help her to gain some fat back too?/

sammyd · #3 06/20/13, 07:40 AM

http://pubstorage.sdstate.edu/AgBio_...s/ExEx4003.pdf

G. Seddon · #4 06/20/13, 01:29 PM

Don't know how many in your herd, but I have a feeling your little cow needs more in the way of feed if she's raising a calf AND providing your family with milk. How much milk is she giving?

What really concerns me is your comment about the water! Cows need a LOT of water, especially with a calf, especially when being milked. If you have six children and have breastfed any of them, then you know how important liquid intake is. Please read this article and google cattle water requirements if you need more information; there are many articles about water for cattle:

http://www.cattlenetwork.com/cattle-...160879395.html

bigbluegrass · #5 06/20/13, 04:06 PM

If my math is right and depending on the particulars of your individual components - mixing equal parts is about a 16% protein mix with a lot of fat. That isn't bad at all. I would try to get the protein up a little more with linseed meal or soybean meal. But you are pretty close with your mix - I would go for it.

matlori · #6 06/24/13, 01:06 AM

Thanks everyone for your input! She is already looking much better. I know it will take time to get her weight back on, but the TLC she is getting has her coat shinning again. We are tieing her in a new spot every day for now until her pasture grows up. She has enough to eat (grass) by the end of the day coem milking time she still has some left in her circle. We have her close enough to the house now that we can have a hose go to her container. And have been keeping the salt lick with her all day. She did not like the mix the first day, but loves it now. She always had alot available to eat, it was just not the best hay, I dont think it was harvested at a good time. She is also lower on the herds top cow list, the others dont like her much. Our herd had 7 cows a bull and 6 yearlings in it over the winter. Now we have everyone separated again, so once the "milker" pasture grows back, she will have all she can eat. We have been milking dexters for 6 years now, and this is the first time I have had this happen, poor girl. She is only giving us sround 2.5 liters right now. But I am sure that will get better with time, and she seems to be one of those mams that likes to hold it up for her calf. Her mama had the same udder and build as she does and she used to give us two gallons a day with a calf. I am just happy to be getting a glass of milk again!