Creep feeding can be an excellent tool for improving the overall weaning weight of your calves. Thus it can be a good management and economic option for improving your bottom line.
There are many factors to consider when looking at creep feeding such as calf prices, the price of the feed itself, and the labor you are able to commit to it. Since this is not a one-and-done type of thing it is something that you will have to look at every year. This is because the factors involved, such as market prices, will change from one year to the next.
It is important to look at the factors that will matter to you because, like many other things that are involved with raising beef cattle, it is not a blanket option. What works for one operation will not always work for another.
So what are the options that you should look at when deciding to start creep feeding? Well here are some things that you can look at to decide if it is right for you.
Salt blocks are available to producers in a variety of different colors. This is something any trip to your local feed store can tell you. Each color represents different things about it.
A feed tag is a very informative but often overlooked item on a commercially produced feed. Other than looking at the Crude protein or maybe the energy content not many people really look at them. With some of the confusing numbers and such listed on them, it is understandable how that can happen.
Colostrum is one of, if not the, most important thing for newborn calves. It lays the very foundation for their health and well-being throughout the remainder of their life. Through the dam, the calf takes in all of the antibodies it will need to fight off disease. But what if they are not able to get it from their mother?
A new year is approaching for the cattle industry. Though we have had our issues this past year, like the drought, new opportunities are bound to return. It may not look like it but there are always positives to be found if you know how to look, even in our yoyo industry.
As sure as the turning of the world being in winter means having to buy feed. The reason for that is that during this time forages go dormant and provide less for animals. Though they do not like it producers have to buy supplements to feed their animals during this time.
Well, winter is finally here, though here in Texas it doesn’t really feel like it too much. But with this time of year, that means that producers will be putting hay out to feed their animals. Depending on how you get it hay is typically one of the cheaper options when it comes to supplements.
A wheat pasture is a valuable resource for many cattle operations. This plant is a valuable source of high-quality forage when most other forages are low in quantity and quality. The unique climate in areas of the Southern plains, like here in Texas can allow producers to use wheat as both a forage and a grain crop. This can potentially increase the overall profitability of many operations.
Cattle producers, like any other business, are always looking for ways to reduce costs. As any producer will tell you there is no greater expense than that feed costs. A management tool used quite often to regulate feed intake is using salt. Though it can have some impact regulating feed intake with salt is not precise and will require some tinkering in order to get it right.
When people think about tetany they think of something that happens only during the spring. It’s something that usually occurs when cattle are eating lush, spring grass, or annual cereal forages. However, it can also occur when cattle are being fed harvested forages like silage or hay.
