First of all, apologies for the strange email sent earlier. The tech nerds decided that the Classic Editor for WordPress wasn't good enough for their modern tastes, and they hacked my previous post, which you can take a good look at here:
https://spiritedrose.wordpress.com/2022/12/08/blood-pregnancy-testing-how-to/
Now the current information about grains:
We try not to feed a lot of grain, but in our northern location a grain supplement helps our cow maintain condition and allows us to increase her mineral intake to ensure reproductive efficiency. We have tried a variety of diets from high grain rations to TMR mixes (in commercial dairy settings) to silage/bale feed to grain free. Baleage is beautiful, but not a practical option for small farms. Then there remains something in between –a combination of a little grain, if necessary, and a diet of the best hay and grass we can find.
Our current ration:
- 2 to 3 pounds of cracked barley (we run whole barley through our mill every few days)
- 1/2 ounce mineral mix (currently a combination of equal amounts of New Country Organics Dairy Mineral, Kelp and Redmond SE90 Selenium Salt – please note, our animals also have free access to this mix in the barn)
- One-half cup of liquid cane molasses (purchased at our local feed store in a 3-gallon bucket)
- 2 to 3 cups alfalfa leaves
- water
This is how we make our mix:
Takeaway tips
Grain is an easy and effective way to get medicine or nutritional supplements into a cow. For example, when Briar is calving, I like to give her vitamin E for a few weeks. If we feed this mix, I might throw in a few vitamin E capsules and put them in her grain ration. I also wanted to add a trace mineral supplement to improve her reproduction so I could sprinkle that mixture in her cereal.
Other grains can be used. We have access to barley and didn't need to increase the protein in Briar's diet (she already gets a LOT of alfalfa hay), we just needed to provide some extra energy. If you need a more complete "Dairy 16" type breakfast cereal, read more here:
https://spiritedrose.wordpress.com/jersey-cattle/2b-feeds/grinding-grain-for-animals/
There are alternatives to grain – we tried alfalfa pellets, but Briar found them too coarse to chew so we had to put them through the grinder. At that point we realized we might as well go back to using the falling alfalfa leaves. a bale of hay! But if you don't have good hay, alfalfa pellets are a clear alternative (not as good as fresh hay, but decent).
We do not feed grain in the summer, because the grassland meets our dairy cows' needs for energy, proteins and vitamins.
Our calves (bulls and heifers) are never fed grain because we feed enough milk feed to meet their growth needs.
That said, there are times when we feed grains – in the fall, especially in years of drought when we lose grazing opportunities in the fall, and in the coldest winter when our cow is in milk. This year Briar is still in milk in December, so we continue to give her a little supplementary food. When she is dry we stop the grain ration and she only gets hay, water and her free choice of minerals and salt.
Teaching a bred heifer to eat grain can be difficult if she was never fed grain growing up - if your heifer is genetically going to be a heavy milker and you think you need to feed grain, it's best to start a few weeks earlier and "teach her from to enjoy the taste. You may need to purchase a commercially available dairy grain mix and from there switch to a homemade mix. Commercial mixes are designed for taste, they are formulated based on the protein, energy and mineral needs, and they often contain enhancers such as flavorings to encourage the cow to eat the mixture. I generally don't like buying food that I'm not sure what's in it or what's healthiest, but sometimes it is bag of dairy grains really is the easiest way to get started!
The most important thing is to think FIRST about what is best for your cow's health, rather than your wishes for a particular quality or type of milk. We see many cows that do not breed back or score very poor on the body condition scale. Most modern dairy cows require at least the absolute best quality hay and pasture you can offer/develop. But there are sometimes things outside of our control – such as dietary mineral deficiencies, genetic potential or drought conditions – that mean we may have to compromise a little for the well-being of our animals. Remember, when you care for your cows, they deserve to be as healthy as possible, even if that means feeding them a little grain sometimes!
