A "new" way to feed dairy animals

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I had the good fortune today to meet the gentleman that just won "Dairy of Merit" for the fifth year in a row for our state. Now, most everything he told me about how to feed my dairy cows was different than anything I have learned or ever done, but then I learned from my dad, who was born in 1920, and raised on a dairy farm. And any book I have ever read for the small family dairy cow was published at least 35 years ago. I have read a new book for commercial dairymen, that has such wonderful quotes as "be sure to feed the animals the baked chicken manure before feeding the baked sawdust, as they will fill up on the sawdust, as they prefer the taste." No, I am not kidding! Anyway, he uses very little if any concentrates. He never gives any grain to a heifer, and at most gives them 2 lbs a day after they calf. He uses intensive grazing, and mows his pasture after they've grazed, and waters the fields. He also uses the very best alfalfa hay he can find, preferring to spend the money that most dairymen spend on grain to get the best hay. He also believes in supplements--not just a mineralized salt block, like I have always used, but loose mineralized salt, baking soda, and a magnesium/molasses block. Not unlike what I have used for my goats. And, I have to admit, while I have always given my goats the best alfalfa I could find, I have tended to give my dairy heifer the cheaper grass/alfalfa mix, or just grass hay. He also uses a dose of 100cc "calcium plus" in a cow's mouth after her first milking after calving, and the second. He also says that the "pre-wash" antiseptic is just as important as the after teat-dip. I am seriously considering switching to his way of thinking, since he has gotten such wonderful results. My own dairy heifer hasn't gotten any concentrates since she was just a calf, getting calf manna rolled down her throat. Not because I'm cheap, but because when I called her to the barn off the rich pasture, she would come to be petted, and loved, but has never shown any interest in grain, Cob, or anything that you would usually use to "entice" them. For those of you that are unfamiliar with a "dairy of merit" award, it is based on a DHI herd, not only for their production, but butterfat averages, protein averages, and their SNF averages. (Solids-not-Fats). Also on health of the cows, including bacterial counts on the milk, etc. He has never had a case of milk fever, ketosis, OR mastitus!!I find this all pretty impressive, don't you? BUT, it's still just all theory..what do you think? My dairy heifer is not due to calve until January, and I had planned on starting her on grain as soon as she shows any interest in it, which should be soon, as the pasture is drying up due to the hot weather, but now I am thinking differently, I do have the water to irrigate the pasture, and I can easily build electric fence to rotate my pastures for one heifer. Oh! One other point of interest, he NEVER leaves a calf on it's mother, but assists in the births like us goat owners do, and leaves the "smell" on himself so the mother accepts him as her calf, just like goats. What do you all think? I think it is worth the old college try, and if she freshens poorly I can always add concentrates a little at a time, and not really be out anything, but I would still like other opinions. KT

-- K.T.Simon (KTS@hotmail.com), August 11, 2001

Answers

Kt, thank you for the interesting post! What do you think of Joel Salatin's method of using kelp for minerals? It is high in an easily assimilated form of minerals, especially iodine. It has been proven that pinkeye is actually caused by iodine deficiency. His cows never get pinkeye, even after rubbing noses over the fence with the neighbors badly infected cows.

Also, kelp contains the exact balance of minerals that ocean water has, which is actually a reflection of all life. So in kelp, a perfect balance of minerals, which are molecularly sized to be biologically available, since they are in living form already, you have an easily-absorbable mineral mix, created by nature!

I use kelp, as I live close by Joel Salatin, and am very impressed by his methods. My cow is healthy, although I am convinced what you mentioned about spending the money on highest quality alfalfa hay instead of grain would benefit her. I think I am heading in that direction.

Thanks again for that excellent post.

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), August 11, 2001.


Hi, K.T. I think he has very good ideas, but also he can get really good results because he sounds like he is on top of his herd's nutrition 110% of the time! A real detail man and probably a dynamo combined. :) I wouldn't be surprised to see him get great results from different management systems, either. Concentrates cover up a lot of mistakes/deficiencies in any dairy program from poor quality forages, and top drawer forages like 20% protein alfalfa make most concentrates unnecessary. His lack of mastitis in the herd is the cleanliness factor, most likely, and the lack of ketosis is great body conditioning before the cow freshens. Same with the milk fever. What he's doing is everything right,and it's darned hard to do everything right. He sounds like an exceptional farmer!

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), August 11, 2001.

We have dairy goats and I find this post very interesting. I think you end up with problems giving too much grain versus forage, pasture and quality hay. We keep out kelp, baking soda, brewer's yeast and trace mineral salt at all times. When I first put out the kelp and brewer's yeast they inhaled it, now I fill up a small container of kelp every few days, haven't put the yeast out in several weeks. I just switched brands of the trace mineral salt as it was never being touched and had no copper as it was for sheep/goats. Again, they inhaled it for the first week, now it just needs to be filled every few days.

-- Leslie in Western WA (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), August 11, 2001.

Hi from dairy farmers wife milking 300 cows.

What herd size does this man have. Here in New Zealand our cows are all grazed and in winter fed siliage, hay, baelage etc on the feed pad and in dry paddocks.. Alfalfa hay sounds interesting. Karen

-- Karen Holmes (gnkholmes@hotmail.com), August 11, 2001.


Wow, Karen, 300 head? I can't even imagine! Compared to you he has a very small dairy. 17 head of Guernseys milking at a time, plus the accompanying dry cows, replacement heifers, etc. He works a full time job off the farm, and is not married, so has no help in the care, feeding and milking. He is my hero! KT

-- K.T.Simon (kts@hotmail.com), August 12, 2001.


KT,

Do you know how much alfalfa is allright to give a Gurnsey? She's milking, We've given her a good sized flake each milking to get her used to it slowly, but how much hay (this is good alfalfa) can she have each feeding if we slowly cut out the grain? She's a big cow. She is feeding 3 big calves. She would have too much milk for 4 itty bitty calves though, we would have to milk some out first.

Our grain prices are still climbing, we're up to 9 or 10 dollars a 100 pound (sweet feed), or just cracked corn, soybean, and vitimines is 7 a 100 if you order 1000 lbs. That's as low as it goes around here. 4 gallons of grain a day adds up fast for a milk cow. We have close access to beautiful alfalfa hay, large round bales for 20.00. Have some grass mixed in but you can see and smell it's mostly alfalfa. And it's stored inside. This is horse alfalfa.

Alfalfa would be the better way to go here for sure, because we have so much good hay around the area and at good price. I can give Ginger as much alfalfa as I need to to keep the milk flowing. But I don't know how much is allright. I don't want to give her too much. Or scour the calves. We still have thick green pastures, and we rotate the cow onto new grass. She eats allot of grass. How much alfalfa without grain does she need to keep a big full bag? Thanks.

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@msn.com), September 09, 2001.


Cindy, I have a Jersey I am switching to a non-grain feeding program. She is a rather high producer, I think, as she is giving 4 gallons a day, halfway through her 4th lactation. She was giving 6 gallons at her peak.

What you need to watch is protein percentages of her feedstuffs. Dairy rations run at 16% protein. Alfalfa can be as high as above 20% protein, depending on how it was harvested. Of course, the protein is in the leaves, so if the hay was baled too dry, so the leaves are shattering, and she doesnt get the leaves, then... you get the picture. I rigged up a hay feeder that has a place for the little goodies to fall down a sloped bottom and out the front, so that she can lick up those high-protein leaves from the little trough in front. She actually shakes the bale to make the leaves fall, and then goes and licks the leaves up.

some farmers have found it profitable to switch totally off of feed, and totally onto grass and hay. If you manage the protein levels, and the quality of the food, you should have no problem. But any changes that are made in her diet, should be made gradually, as the bacteria in the rumen must adjust to the new stuff coming in. It takes a totally different bacteria to digest grass, as it takes to digest grain. And the PH of the rumen has to change, too. Dont decrease her grain any more than a pound per day. Take even longer if you wish. She will make the transition better for you.

I am getting more cream on the milk since I started switching to alfalfa. (And I am getting $5 a lb for the butter, all I can spare.)

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), September 09, 2001.


How many flakes are you giving your cow now each feeding? This alfalfa is bailed good, the leaves don't fall off, they are stuck on, and not too dry. We are doing it slowly. When you switch completely over, how much hay will she get each feeding?

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@msn.com), September 10, 2001.

Cindy, I've always fed good dry hay free choice. So does my dairyman mentor. When you have good green pasture, they'll eat less, but usually still nibble enough to cut down on the green-grass-squirts, and prevent bloat. I agree with Daffodyl-lady about changing the grain a little at a time...maybe even sprinkle a little Probious on her grain while you are cutting back. I envy you your prices, here alfalfa is $225.00 a ton and 16% grain is $12.95 a 50 pound bag. I have been doing more research, and there is a real demand for raw milk from cows fed a grass and hay based diet (no grain). Go to realmilk.com, and read about the health benefits. I found a dairy about 45 minutes from here that sells it, but they have a THREE year waiting list to become a customer. Also, they charge $8.00 a gallon, and can't keep up with the demand. They get around the legalities by "selling" you a share of the cow, and then you pay for the milk in lieu of maintenance. I'll just have to wait until Dottie freshens to get all the benefits. Also, in connection with the realmilk website is a foundation--www.westonaprice.org and they have chapters in most states, and they will discreetly connect people who want the milk with ones who have it. At $8.00 a gallon--maybe a little less where you are, I would think that selling the milk might bring you more return than raising calves on her. Don't you just love your Guernsey? Dottie is a Guernsey, too. Good luck with switching over! K.T.

-- K.T.Simon (KTS@hotmail.com), September 15, 2001.

Yes, Ginger is a great cow. We are up to 2 big flakes of alfalfa at each feeding and about 1/2 the grain. Her bag is still full. Free Choice? Ginger just sucks it up, all I give her now. Plus the donkey is in her barn and pasture and sometimes goats too (to eat the weeds out of the pastures). We'll keep upping it slowly. She looks real good. How much alfalfa are you up too Daffadillady?

I am giving my milk goats allot of alfalfa, and less grain also. I would love to cut out their grain entirely, as they act so stupid when you give them sweet feed. They go crazy and ram each other even before you separate them and feed them. You have to separtate them and it's a pain. I have 9 real nice milk does now. And the younger ones will get pushed out the door by the older ones if I don't separtate them. Free choice alfalfa would solve allot of problems there.

What state are you in KT? I checked on the site and there is one girl in KY.

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@msn.com), September 15, 2001.



Hi, Cindy--The nearest town to me is Shelton, in western Washington. The heart of logging country. My husband and I cleared our 15 acres 17 years ago, and we are surrounded by dense forest--DNR land. I am a recent widow (March of this year) and have 2 sons, 12, and 11. I am trying to keep a very low profile, this isn't even my real e-address. All the local "gentlemen" (mostly loggers and fishermen) seem to think that me, my farm and my insurance money are ripe for a hostile takeover. I homeschool the boys, and am working at making most of my living off the farm. My goats get free choice alfalfa, too, but they only get grain on the milkstands, dry does and doelings only get a scant handful, the milking does get about a pound to a pound and a half, depending on how much milk they give. I have suddenly gotten a serious problem with Dottie--she WILL NOT stanchion break! I will be writing a post about it asking for help when I have more time. I just got back from the farmers' market in Olympia. It was really slow, due, I'm sure to the tradgedies on the East coast, but I still sold out 2 1/2 hours before it closed, with $243.00 more than I left with, so can't complain. I sold organic vegetables, flowers and eggs. My goat milk sales are direct from the farm and very discreet. And boy, are the customers eager for Dottie to freshen! K.T.

-- K.T.Simon (KTS@hotmail.com), September 15, 2001.

Well, cindy, truth to be told, Pearl is eating that alfalfa like as if it were candy. She waits for me to open that door to the barn, and as soon as it is wide enough open to get in, she will push through, and do a dance to celebrate the occasion. Then she tears into the hay like its all she lives for. I simply cant afford to feed that glutton all she wants, so I have arrived at a simple equation to aim for. Since good alfalfa runs about 18 to 20 % protein, and dairy feed is 16% protein, I feel I can safely substitute it lb for lb instead of feed that is usually called for.

They say to feed 1/2 lb of grain for each lb of milk per day that the cow produces. Pearl is producing 4 gallons a day, which translates roughly to 34 lbs. This would call for 17 lbs of grain a day. Since these bales of alfalfa weigh about 60 lbs apeice, I figure a bale should last 3 days. Therefore I give her two flakes in the morning, and the balance of 1/3 of a bale in the evening. She is giving very rich milk, and is happy as a clam.

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), September 15, 2001.


A pint is a pound the world around. Ginger is giving about 6 gallons a day, so that's 48 pounds. That means 24 pounds of alfalfa a day. 12 pounds a feeding. Thanks. I'll weight it in the morning. She waits by the gate too and just loves the alfalfa. It's so much easier because she dosen't run out so fast like the grain. She used to bop me in the head with her lips when her grain box was empty. Now we leave her locked in her area for about 30 minutes after we're done, so she can finish all her hay. She comes out into the paddock and yells that she's done and to let her out to the field.

One of my does, Holly, eats allot of alfalfa and her bag is really large. The others aren't as good lately at eating enough and their bags aren't near as full as Hollys. I leave it in there free choice for them but they hightail it out to the edge of the woods right after milking in the morning. Now I suppose I will have to put the milkers in a stall at night with alfalfa so they will eat it all. They now sleep outside under the light up by the house.

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@msn.com), September 15, 2001.


Karen, I guess you know that 'alfalfa' is what we kiwis know to be 'lucern'. I guess you are not from Canterbury if you are not familiar with lucern hay, or is there something about dairy herds and lucern I don't know about?

-- john hill (john@cnd.co.nz), September 16, 2001.

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