We are having some issues with our cattle, and I am suspecting that our feed may be partly to blame.
Most of our cattle are in the 600# range. We primarily have heifers but also have about 1 load of bulls that became steers just under a month ago.
The cattle are running on our pasture that is mostly dormant this time of year. They have cleaned up the pasture considerably and there is still much grass left; however, the cattle are spending more time eating our hay than grazing our pasture.
We have hay out to help supplement the pasture. Our hay is baled pasture grass and wheat stalks.
We also have a wheat mix being fed in a limit feed feeder. The cattle are loving this and have been hitting it especially hard in the last week or so. (This is the “bug feed” I posted about a few months ago.)
Finally, we are feeding cubes at about half the rate we would like them to be eating daily. We are putting the cubes in bunks. Some days the cubes are eaten up, and some days they are not. The cattle do not seem to love the cubes, and I suspect that they may be stale; however, they are eating them, albeit slowly. (I previously posted about the cubes as well.)
A small portion of our cattle are really thriving; they are big and fat with plenty of energy. Another small portion of our cattle are doing poorly; they appear to be losing weight, and lack energy. Most of our cattle are in the middle; they are doing fine with no visible health issues, but their coats are not as shiny as I would prefer.
I am concerned that our pasture and hay are not of sufficient quality for 600# feeders, and that our supplemental feed (wheat mix and cubes) are not enough to overcome the lack of quality in our forage.
If you have opinions on our feed program, or experience with a similar situation; I would appreciate the feedback.
