Feeding Grain to Cows

[Muttley]

I want to feed a larger quantity of barley to my cows, both calved and pregnant ones.
I am wondering how much grain can I feed a cow per day. How much is to much. The hay that I have looked at is poor quality and the good stuff is real expensive. I have the grain so I would like to make up their requirements with it.
Over the years I usually feed about 10 lbs. max this time of year after calving as I breed early. I usually have lot's of hay but with the drought it's getting hard to find at a reasonable price.
I hope to be in pasture within 30 days.

[cowman]

Just as a ball park guess I would think you could take it up to 15 lb. Maybe some of these guys who have cow-bytes could give you an answer.
If you are going to pasture by April 23 you must have some rye or else some good stock-piled forage!? I expect to feed at least to May 20 as we were pretty hard on our pastures last fall. A lot of people had to start feeding Oct. 1st and will be going to June 1st. 242 days! now lets see 242 days times $2/day = $484!!
Expensive winter wasn't it??

[nodongo]

Barley is a useful grain source for growing, pregnant, and lactating cattle. It provides more protein than most other grains, highly digestible starch (energy), and useful fiber. When feeding barley, it should be introduced gradually over a two- to three-week period to allow the rumen microbe to adapt.
Barley can comprise 40 - 50% of the diet. Higher levels of barley ranging from 1.0 % to 1.7 % of body weight on a dry matter basis are also possible as long as optimum rumen conditions are maintained (vigorous and frequent rumen contractions, a stable rate of volatile fatty acid production, a pH not below 6, a high acetate/propionate ratio, a high rate of NDF & ADF degradation). Processing barley by tempering and rolling improves digestion in the rumen, feed efficiency, and animal performance. The key is to feed properly processed barley with the appropriate amount and quality of forage to maintain optimum ruminal pH and nutrient digestibility. An excellent article on feeding barley to cattle can be found at:

http://beef.osu.edu/library/barley.html

[SFIRTH]

Cowman is likely right, as a barley silage - grain diet balances at roughly 13 lbs of grain and 16 lbs silage (on a dry matter basis) before serious issues surrounding NDF become apparent. This is on a cow at 1300 lbs in average condition. If your hay is poor (meaning it is mature) you can likely go with more grain as there is more fibre in the forage portion of the diet. Remember to watch calcium levels as barley is too low in Ca to support close up and lactating cows. Good luck.

[bombay_43]

If you already have very large calves being born, you may be well advised to consult a feed specialist.

We found that some cows, especially if they are not use to being fed a lot of barley, tended to have larger calves after feeding large amounts of grain.

The barley seemed to go right to fattening up that calf! With the price of c-sections, you don't want too many of them!