The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Cattle => Topic started by: SallyintNorth on October 27, 2016, 03:47:28 pm
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We're feeding three different feeds here at the mo, and would like to try to rationalise that.
Our regular supplier is Mole Valley, who do not seem to offer a feed suitable for both species, and male sheep too.
Anyone in N Devon / Cornwall know where we might get something?
We've got Dexter sucklers, Jersey house cows, one of whom is working very hard at the moment feeding two calves, breeding and store Zwartbles sheep, breeding and keeping fleece sheep, including several wethers and a Shetland tup.
Only Hillie the hard-working Jersey needs feeding, but we give the others nibbles for keeping them tame, and a couple of the Zwartbles had a hard year so are getting a bit extra.
If I were still in Cumbria I would be getting Jim Peet or Tarff Valley 'all stock' mix, which is suitable for cattle, sheep, even pigs. And is safe for male sheep. Then I'd get Carrs' dairy nuts for Hillie.
My experience with a hardworking dairy cow is that they must have the dairy feed; a beef feed or an all stock blend just goes into making more milk, it doesn't help them to keep condition on their backs while producing milk. So I was hoping for an 'all stock' feed, safe for male sheep, which everyone except Hillie could have.
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http://www.creditonmilling.co.uk/ (http://www.creditonmilling.co.uk/) ? Dunno if they do what you need, but I just remembered they are down that way :)
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Maybe give Cornwall Farmers (now owned by Countrywide) a ring, but I think most of their beef/dairy mixes are not suitable for sheep :-\
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Countrywide do a universal livestock mix
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[member=26580]Backinwellies[/member], could I trouble you for a link? I googled and read some of the pages I turned up, but wasn't successful. If you know what you're looking for...?
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Sally, be 'ee down yer among us already?
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Do a search for universal livestock mix on countrywide farmers website
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Can't use for male sheep tho
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If you go into ForFarmers uk and put in your postcode , probably a depot nearby , I use an 18% nut on everything
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Sally, be 'ee down yer among us already?
I be :)
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Do a search for universal livestock mix on countrywide farmers website
Great, found that, thanks. linky (https://www.countrywidefarmers.co.uk/countrywide-universal-value-nut-25kg-2). It is, however, as you say, not suitable for male sheep.
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If you go into ForFarmers uk and put in your postcode , probably a depot nearby , I use an 18% nut on everything
Ah, found the Farmgate All Stock Mix and Pencils in the Smallholder section - is that the one?
There's a stockist 6 miles away, so I'll get me a look into there. Thanks!
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No longer feeding nuts and grains to our stock. We are part of the pasture fed group and organic
As we mob graze and use rotation we find this works. The other option is lucerne which is highly palatable to all.
Animals shouldnt need to be fed grain if given sufficient grazing. But as you say you try to keep them tame lucerne would be ideal.
Try some lucerne for the dairy cow ours loved it. Think its 17/18%.
Costs are imperative too. Careful on the amounts fed you really cant justify being overzealous.
Have you seen Smiling tree farm? Christine raises Jerseys on pasture and https://www.facebook.com/Raw-Milk-from-Grass-Fed-Jersey-Cows-The-Calf-at-Foot-Dairy-172532919457078/?fref=ts (https://www.facebook.com/Raw-Milk-from-Grass-Fed-Jersey-Cows-The-Calf-at-Foot-Dairy-172532919457078/?fref=ts) worth a look or contact both?
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Yes, I know Christine - she was the star turn at the nanodairying conference in February - and am very keen to adopt some of her principles. Mob grazing isn't feasible for us, we're too small, but the once a day milking and using grass pellets I am very keen on, once we get into milking the Jerseys here.
However, at the mo I have a really quite skinny lady who will be feeding two 3-month old calves for another 3 weeks, and I want to at least stop her losing any more weight. I know that a pukka dairy ration works for her, so that's what she'll get, for now. Once the second calf gets switched onto the new calver, I shall try both of the ladies on a grass pellet. Maybe with sugar beet, if they need it, and/or a molassed chaff, if I need more bulk to keep Katy chomping while I milk her. And I'd much prefer grass pellets for treats/nibbles for the primitive type sheep, too, although we'll need to keep an eye on minerals then.
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Jersey cows are very prone to milk fever if heavy milkers (I think I used to treat 1 in 3 or 4 of our herd when I used to milk them) so I would be reluctant to rely on pasture at peak yield time if you are expecting them to multi suckle ...
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Jersey cows are very prone to milk fever if heavy milkers (I think I used to treat 1 in 3 or 4 of our herd when I used to milk them) so I would be reluctant to rely on pasture at peak yield time if you are expecting them to multi suckle ...
Totally, that's why Hillie's on dairy nuts at present, as she's feeding two. Katy will get dairy nuts if she looks to need them, when I switch Hillie's foster calf onto her when she calves in a few weeks' time. I've just got a pre-calver lick in for her.
They'll be rearing three between them, with me milking a little for us, for a few months, then the plan is that in March, we spean Hillie's own calf (who will then be 7-8 months old) and the shared foster and start a milking rota. After that, each Jersey will rear her own calf to 5 months or thereabouts plus give us milk for ourselves. We hope to make yoghurt, cheese, ice cream and so on.
Once we're on that regime, I will be looking to manage production and condition, if I can, to have them produce well but not excessively, and carry enough flesh for us not to think they look like hat racks! I know it can be hard to keep condition on lactating Jerseys, but we can manage demand by how much we take, so should be able to do it, I hope, and feed grass or Lucerne pellets, so that their diet is more natural and they have to work a little less hard. Maybe they might need diary nuts for a month or two or three, as their own calf gets to peak demand; we'll just have to see. Christine says she always wishes they'd carry a little more condition too; we would like to arrange a visit to Smiling Tree Farm and I will be interested to see what condition her girls maintain.
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I was just going to post to say about grass nuts then read the rest of the thread! I've been looking for the same sort of thing (but for ponies rather than cattle, but including the sheep brigade), just wanting something they can have handful of as a reward for being caught/messed with/whatever.
Between the shetlands and the mixed group of primitive sheep I'm going to give grass nuts a go, they are having a small handful each in a bucket at the moment and so far so good. The rabbits seem to like them too though the guinea pig isn't so sure yet...