Benifits of Diet feeding /TMR

F.D

Something i was thinking about in the future, we are running a calf to beef system feeding meal to calves and weanlings and then finishing off grass try to do it without meal, currently we just feed pit silage and meal put on top but you tend to see some lads eating it quicker and some left behind, especially now as we made 2nd cut wraps and the contractor didnt realise the knifes were down do its all stringy and getting pulled into the slats and meal falling through it etc. we also have our own straw this year and was hoping to feed some
So Just wondering can it be justified, running a feeder the diesel etc, have you started using one and noticed any difference even with out changing the feeding pattern too much, ideally i would be hoping the do better over the winter and in turn have them finishing quicker, would like to hear peoples experiences please

whelan1

we have no waste at all, all troughs are clean every morning, wouldnt change back now at all , we have a keenan 170 feeder

flatout11

whelan1 wrote: »

we have no waste at all, all troughs are clean every morning, wouldnt change back now at all , we have a keenan 170 feeder

how often do you feed them

whelan1

cows are fed morning and evening when fully housed, other stock fed once a day, sucklers on out farm fed twice a week ( the sucklers just get straw, silage and minerals in the feeder)

irishh_bob

whelan1 wrote: »

cows are fed morning and evening when fully housed, other stock fed once a day, sucklers on out farm fed twice a week ( the sucklers just get straw, silage and minerals in the feeder)

twice per day , geez , thats laborious

whelan1

irishh_bob wrote: »

twice per day , geez , thats laborious

yup, but the trough would not hold enough for once per day feeding:rolleyes:

F.D

Thanks for the info so far, i would be hoping that i could make a mix stretch to 2 days if i was going down that road, i take it you dont feed bales with the keenan feeder Whelan, i was thinking a s/h tub feeder would be more verastile, @ whelan seen as your sucklers are only getting the silage/ straw mix would you think its worth it, i know you said less waste, did it make any difference to them over the normal way of doing it

whelan1

our sucklers are house in cubicles:eek: with automatic scrapers... its a set up i used when i was starting out dairying , so theres feeding troughs etc there, they do very well on the tmr . we have them in a few groups and can throw some meal on top- to bulls etc- if we want ....tbh the cows are as fat as fools when they go in so dont need meal, we dont feed baled silage in the feeder....over christmas etc we can stretch the cattle feed over 2/3 days instead of daily but the troughs would be over flowing iykwim

Nutcase

F.D wrote: »

Thanks for the info so far, i would be hoping that i could make a mix stretch to 2 days if i was going down that road, i take it you dont feed bales with the keenan feeder Whelan, i was thinking a s/h tub feeder would be more verastile, @ whelan seen as your sucklers are only getting the silage/ straw mix would you think its worth it, i know you said less waste, did it make any difference to them over the normal way of doing it

You could make a mix to last 2-3 days but cattle i feel are more content on fresh feed fed daily. It doesnt take long to feed them either sure all you have to do is throw some stuff into the feeder let it mix for few minutes then throw it out its handy really. No more back pains grapin at a bale of silage twice a day!

td5man

what ingredients are you putting in the milkers mix @ whelan, i've 20 heifers calving next week and i want to give them a bit of a push.

whelan1

i am getting a 21% coarse ration offlocal mill for €245,waiting on results of triticale/ lupins silage that i made- tests where done over 3 weeks ago and we will work from there, cows still out during the day so haven't fully worked everything out yet

valtraman

I have an old keenan ,no knives so bales a complete no no otherwise with planning of how you fill it having most meal premixed and thinking out time savings ,not running about all over the place for little bits of feed everyday feeding is no problem and the weight of feed for each group can be judged to have empty troughs most days .would you like to have the same dinner plate dished up to you for 3 days until it was all eaten :eek:

F.D

Fair point nutcase & valtraman, suppose if its easy to mix and feed out the correct amount once a day its a better idea,
so i'm taking it by the responses, theres no one that thinks its a waste of time or money then or regrets buying one

jeff greene

F.D wrote: »

Something i was thinking about in the future, we are running a calf to beef system feeding meal to calves and weanlings and then finishing off grass try to do it without meal, currently we just feed pit silage and meal put on top but you tend to see some lads eating it quicker and some left behind, especially now as we made 2nd cut wraps and the contractor didnt realise the knifes were down do its all stringy and getting pulled into the slats and meal falling through it etc. we also have our own straw this year and was hoping to feed some
So Just wondering can it be justified, running a feeder the diesel etc, have you started using one and noticed any difference even with out changing the feeding pattern too much, ideally i would be hoping the do better over the winter and in turn have them finishing quicker, would like to hear peoples experiences please

My contractor used to use that excuse also, unchopped bales use alot of diesel. My bales now are all chopped with 23 knives and its easier on everything and way faster.
Here, weanlings and heifers are fed every second day and as numbers change between drys and milkers, the smaller group is fed every second day too. Advantages are less mixes and no pushing up on the first day iykwim.


As for performance, it all depends on what you put in and the monkey loading it, get in some nutritionists and feed reps etc, milk info from them. Keeping it simple is the key, depending on the groups you have to feed, a single blend might do. Or with different forages and groups to feed have a wheat, barley, maize, hulls or citrus blend and a protein blend of soya, rape, distillers etc, allowing you to tailor their ration correctly. If you have scale, you can buy straights in full loads. By products like brewers etc or beet, lots of options.


I don’t regret buying one, for me, I have everything fed for 10 most mornings, no meal or minerals to carry around, just push it up for them a few times. I like the routine of it, before with bales or pit and meals and minerals it was never ending.

F.D

Hi jeff thanks for your info in the contractors defence also a friend of mine some thing broke and the knife bank fell down but he admitted it to me that evening along with another few customers he had done after me and gave a good discount because of the inconvienence,