what do you think of this ration?

[Cowgurl101]

I just recieved the ingred. list of the feed i will be buying, and am wondering if i should change it a little or not.  Here goes:
        60% barley
        32%corn
        5% SBM 448
        1.5% Veg oil
        1%3V4 S
        .5% Rumatone 2.5
I guess it works out to be 13% protein. It is ground up and doesnt have mollassas- should i have some added? I think that is quite a bit of barley - i dont want them too fat.....i want muscle mostly. What are your thoughts. Thankyou so  much for your answers! Sarah

 

[red]

adding molasses will make it more palatable & also keep down the dust. I'd add 5-8%. Of course I'm a little prejudice being an old molasses salesperson! 

 

[ratmama2]

We use a dry mollasses in our ground mix. I only use 50lbs in about 1800lbs of my corn, barley, oats and mineral mixture that I have ground up. We don't use a wet mollasses cause I am always worried about mold. Tried those already made mixes that the feed mill sells with wet mollasses and it molded before I could get it all fed. My cows, steers and heifers eat it fine with just a little in it.

 

[kanshow]

What are you feeding?  Steers?  Heifers?

That does seem like a lot of barley...

 

[rex]

Too much barley, if I was a cow I think I would prefer not that much barley

 

[Cowgurl101]

feeding steers.  What should i substitute for the barley... and how much barley should i take out?? Thanks alot!!
Sarah

 

[HGC]

Using that much barley, I assume that you are from somewhere in the for north, and therefore must be showing a spring born calf.  This is a finishing diet.
Unless you have a large framed, 700# plus steer that you need to slow down his skeletal growth and just put fat and muscle on for a June fat steer show this ration will be pretty hot.
The 13% is on a dry matter basis, not as-fed.  Which for a finishing ration is fine, but if you have a 500# slower growing heat wave type steer, this will be a tick shy on protein.
Is the barley ground or steam flaked? 
Unless your steer is a picky eater, I wouldn't add any molasses to this ration.
Give me a little more information on your calf and I can make a better recommendation.  Current weight, fair date, breeding, frame size.

 

[Cowgurl101]

We will be buying calves for a late june fair and another fair the 1st week of august. The calves will be med framed but some on the small side. We will probably have to push them a little. I when i used this ration last year that our calves ended up a little fatter on the rail then they looked live and i was thinking maybe they started putting on too much fat early on. This might not be the case- i dont know. I want muscle and bloom not the over fat look. The calves will be clubby bred - one is a heatwave, one a shorthorn cross, and the others will be get it dones, ect. Weight is from 500 to 675lbs. Thanks alot for all the help!!
Sarah

 

[Hoosier]

I've never had trouble feeding that much barley.  i took all the corn out of my ration last summer and replaced it with barley cause it's "cooler" than corn - meaning it doesn't cause the calf"s body to make extra heat from the energy content of the feed- main reason was to save what hair they had during the summer.  i agree that you may want a little more protein now to grow em up a little before you start putting finish on em if they're smaller framed

 

[Beach Limousin]

That is a lot of barley, but might work. I prefer a lot of wet molasses. We have our feed mixed to where it turns stiff when it gets cold. Calves seem to eat it better, again just my experience. We also have a lot of oil to raise the fat to around 5%.

 

[HGC]

I would increase the SBM to 160# per ton, to get it to a 14% protein on a DM basis.  I would also add atleast 200# per ton of oats.  If your calves have enough frame and need more cover you can finish them on your ration the last 90 to 150 days on feed.  With this amount of barley, I wouldn't get to carried away with adding mollasses.  To many rapidly fermentable carbohydrates.  If you are having palatibility problems you could add 50# per ton.

 

[shortdawg]

This is our mix for I think 2 tons. Our calves do better on this than any other we've tried. Any comments appreciated.