Keeping the Furnaces Stoked

[lonecowhand]

Okay, so I'm gathering we don't really need much in the way of shelter.
Do you change up on the type of feed to keep their bellies warmer on those frigid nights? Like a particular grain added or something? (hot chocolate?)

[otf]

Hay is what cattle eat to generate warmth, not grain. Depending on your numbers, a round bale in some sort of hay ring works well; they can help themselves as needed.

[wvdexters]

We just make sure they have plenty of hay. Full bellies make warm cows.

Now for me, I need plenty of cookies, cakes, homemade breads.... and hot tea!

[lonecowhand]

Most of the photos you all have shared show your hay rings out in the open, does that change with wet weather and snow, or does the hay get eaten faster than it can spoil?

[wvdexters]

This can be a problem especially if you have a small herd and feed the larger bales. We personally haven't had too much trouble with snow, it just lays on top of the bale and the cows go through it when they clean it up. A lot of rain on the other hand can go right through the bale and cause it to lose quality quickly. Our biggest problem here is with the sun drying it out before the cows can get it all eaten up. It has been so dry in this area. We try to put the bales out under the trees to shade and protect them from the sun/weather as much as possible.

[genebo]

My Dexters never liked to eat hay that had been too close to the ground, so I tried to put a new round bale in the feeder while there was still some left from previous bales.

I tried to place the new bale on it's side, so it would shed rain. They would eat it until it got too close to the ground or it started to mold. Usually, I had enough Dexters on the place to clean up a bale in 7 or 8 days.

Once a bale began to mold, I moved the round bale feeder. I did nothing with the old feeder location and by the end of summer next year that spot grew some really lush grass.

[lakeportfarms]

In our case, they like the hay, but it's best if it hasn't been soaked with rain.  They'll avoid that. They're fine with snow covered bales. Most of the time our bales are consumed quickly enough that it isn't a problem, but since we only have round bales, and I need to put just a few cows or a cow and a bull together for breeding or weaning, then the hay tends to sit a bit and is not as palatable.  I end up letting in a bigger group to clean it up, since competition makes them more likely to eat it.

The worst is if we get a cold rain, then a flash freeze which causes the rain soaked bale to become a "haycicle".  It may as well be used as organic matter for the pasture after that.

An often overlooked reason cows can get chilled, drinking cold water...this is one of the reasons that we decided to go back to feeding the beets this year.  Other than the inexpensive feed it provides, along with energy and nice conditioning, shiny coat, etc..., is that since the beets are delivered to us wet right from the sugar plant, it has tremendous amounts of moisture in them.  When I dig into the pile with the bucket of my tractor, they beets below the surface are steaming in the chilly air.  They are warm from the early process of breaking down and fermenting, and with the quantities that the cows eat, they are barely touching the waterers in the cold weather.  Sort of like warm oatmeal for them I guess.

If people are looking for non-GMO fed beef from us I can no longer supply them (few really did), but we still grass finish some steers, and people are more interested in non-hormone, non-antibiotic, raised in a pasture not a feedlot beef at a more affordable cost.