Alfalfa hay

[kobo_ranch]

Here in central TX don't get to feed much alfalfa.  Just the basic sudan hay usually or coastal.  Always fed more sudan.  Husband ran into some beautiful green alfalfa (real leafy) and we bought some here recently.  Is it good to feed your steers this stuff if wanting them to get more finish on them?  How much would you say or best to stay away from it.  Pushing em pretty hard right now on the fat percentage. 

 

[showsteerdlux]

Stay away from it. That will send a steer the exact opposite way you are wanting to go.

 

[Earthmover]

Save it for show day to fill them out. A little flake and add water and watch them fill out. Feeding every day will result in loose stools, I mean shooting acrosss the pen loose.

 

[MCC]

I don't know what cutting you bought but I'm guessing  it's 4th if it's green and leafy. I'd stay clear away from it on cattle besides making them washy it's a bloat waiting to happen. Best thing to do is feed it to horses.

 

[showsteerdlux]

Save it for show day to fill them out. A little flake and add water and watch them fill out. Feeding every day will result in loose stools, I mean shooting acrosss the pen loose.

A good 1st cutting hay will do the same thing you are saying without risking bloat. Consistency pays off. If you have sorghum hay available as you said, this is one of my favorite things to use, especially for fill. On show day give them all they will eat.

I agree with MCC, give the alfalfa to the horses.

 

[knabe]

in college, some bull calves were brought in and started on a too high alfalfa diet and 4 or 5 of 25 or so started bloating.  this was during school so i was tubing them before, between and after classes. one died.  no, i didn't decide what to feed them, but they were off the alf hay pretty fast.  amazing how much pressure shot out of them, like a massive exhale.  gave them boluses for the bloat and they had light tan runny poop for a long time to me which can mean touch and go.  it's different than the pumpkin pie pile.

 

[slowburn]

Actually high quality hay has as much energy as grain if the person feeding it knows what they r doing. It can not be fed with high amounts of grain or protein but it can be fed to replace grain and protein which very few people in the world understand. Everyone thinks high quality hay is to hot which is a true statement if you don't know how to feed it. Now days you need to look at hay as a comodity because of the high corn and protein price if you can feed high quality hay and not as much corn and protein it is a win. 

 

[Ag Man]

You got it slowburn....

You could remove most of the protein from your grain feed and feed a flake or so of high quality alfalfa...but run the numbers first.  You can feed it to cows along with the coastal grass or other grass hays just a couple of flakes per cow...it can again replace what ever protein supplement you are giving.

If this makes you un-comfortable there is always a great demand for high (dairy) quality alfalfa.  Check out the advertisements and see what others are asking and price accordingly.  When I was young we use to sell a lot of alfalfa this time of year.  I hated loading out those semis and 10 wheelers on weekends.  Just what a kid wanted to be doing at 7 am on a cold Saturday morning.  You had to put it in the barn on 90 degree days and take it out at 10 degrees.

 

[GoWyo]

I have some little feeder steers that I am roughing through the winter on free choice grass hay.  Just getting them by cheap so they can go on pasture in the spring.  They get about 2 lbs. of high quality alfalfa per day to provide the protein for their rumen so they use the grass hay more effectively.  Just have to use it where it does the most good.  In the right quantities, depending on other feedstuffs, it can be a really cost-effective source of protein.

 

[MCC]

I agree that alfalfa is a good feed source to use in feeding cattle. It is our main cash crop here and I've made alot of money over the years from alfalfa. Good hay will run between 18 and 21% protein. BUT, if I read kobo_ranches post correctly it sounds like they bought 4th cutting hay and are going to feed it on the side. Trust me that kind of hay is short, fine stemed and full of leaves and will bloat one quicker than you can pull the stomach tube out of your show box. First cutting through 3rd would be ok but the way this hay has been described I'd send it to the horses.

 

[kanshow]

Just like the others  have said.  Alfalfa will bloat them if fed incorrectly.  It's a SUPER feed if you know how to use it.  It's our main protien source for our cow herd, but they are limited to a certain amount and they do not get any grain.  I think where you really get into trouble with alfalfa is when you feed large quantities of grain (corn) with it.  That would be a huge NO NO.