A protein tub is a very good way to provide extra nutrition when needed. One benefit is that once you have placed it in the pasture you don’t need to check it every day. This is helpful for those that may have a job back in town.
A benefit it can provide for both the full-time and “part-time” rancher is that a protein tub can be used to improve the overall grazing in a pasture. You can move them in to more underutilized areas to encourage cattle to move to those areas.
With making any type of investment it is prudent that you do your homework before you make any decision. So before you go running off to the local feed store I have 5 things that you can look at before you buy your first protein tub.
Feed costs remain the single largest expense for any cattle producer. This expense can easily be half of the total annual expenses for a rancher.
Anyone involved in cattle production is aware of the danger of internal parasites in cattle. Internal parasites, such as lung worms and coccidia, live in the gastro-intestinal tracts of cattle. They will cause decreased production and in some cases even death.
Having a good summer pasture management plan in place can save you a lot of headaches later on. It will give you a chance to put out any potential fires, not literally, before they can occur.
Will your cattle meet their mineral requirements this summer?
Pinkeye is a very common as well as a highly contagious disease in cattle. Once it shows up if you do not take proper steps it can quickly affect all of your cattle.
Breeding season preparations is a very important task for a cow/calf producer’s bottom line. The steps that they take now will determine if they will have a good calf crop or not. Having good quality calves to sell is the defining factor between a successful and a not successful rancher.
Trying to control flies that are on your cattle can be a very frustrating endeavor to say the least. It can often feel like an uphill climb with no rest in sight. No matter what you seem to do they just keep coming back year after year.
Creep feeding can be an excellent tool for improving the overall weaning weights of your calves. It can be a good management and economic option for improving your bottom line.
Using a mineral supplement is one of the most important yet overlooked parts of cattle management. Sure, we all are concerned with the amount of protein or energy they are getting but what about meeting their mineral needs?
