Creep Feeding Late-Season

When it comes to creep feeding beef calves on pasture, every year can be a little different than the last. 
Timely rain or drought, duration of hot weather, and forage amount and condition are just a few of the factors influencing when calves start on creep and how much they choose to eat.  However, the decreases in milk quantity and forage quality are changes we can count on every year as the grazing season progresses.

After the cow’s milk production peaks at around 60 days post-calving, the calf is dealing with increasing requirements to maintain growth in an environment of diminishing resources.  The calf’s diet progresses through four basic changes prior to being weaned.
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Silage Avalanches Can be Deadly

 Silage avalanches are real and there is no way to predict when and where they will occur. It only takes a
fraction of a second for part of a silage face to silently break off and fall, and the result can be deadly for anyone located beneath it. There have been numerous avalanche fatalities in the US the past few years, and although rarely reported, we have heard many stories about someone having a near miss with a silage avalanche.

Far too many bunkers and piles are just too large to be safe. It is not uncommon to have silage feedout faces that are 15 to 20 feet tall or taller. Common sense tells us that a silage face, which is 20 to 22 feet high, is much more dangerous than one that is only 10 to 12 feet high.

Read the full article HERE

Sheep Tips and Tools

If you raise sheep for wool, meat, milk, showing or simply as pets, you know that your care is reflected in their health and well-being.

By keeping your lambs and sheep healthy, you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy them!

Learn more about feeding and performance with these helpful tips and tools that can be found HERE.

How Much should I feed my Dog?

Have you ever wondered how much food you should be feeding your dog? The American Club Kennel recognizes 167 different breeds that range in size from very small to very large breeds. It's important to feed your dog the right amount daily for many reasons, in particular  the majority of dogs that are seen by veterinarians that have hip, leg and back pain is caused by being over weight.

It's important to make sure your dog is getting a well balanced dog food as they progress from Puppy, Adult and then Senior ages. When changing a dog food use the above diagram to introduce the new food for optimal results.

What's the Deal with Hi Mag Mineral?

Putting cattle out to pasture in the spring is like Christmas for little kids!

Cows have been calved out, worked and are growing. Bulls have been performance tested. Grass is green!

With this sense of excitement you want to protect your investment. One of the best way's to do so is to make sure your putting out Hi Mag Mineral.

Why Hi Mag?

There is one reason why you want to use Hi Mag mineral. To aid in preventing Grass Tetany.

               grass tet-a-ny

                  a disease of livestock caused by magnesium deficiency, occurring especially when there is a change from indoor feeding to outdoor grazing.

Grass tetany is a serious, often fatal metabolic disorder characterized by low levels of magnesium in the blood serum of cattle.  It is also called grass staggers and wheat pasture poisoning.  It primarily affects older cows nursing calves less than two months old, but it may also occur in young or dry cows and growing calves.  It happens most frequently when cattle are grazing succulent, immature grass and often affects the best cows in the herd.

Don't take a risk, make sure your cattle are consuming adequate levels of magnesium to aid in avoiding Grass Tetany. 

Benefits of Feeding Crystalyx HE-20%

By feeding Crystalyx HE-20% tubs your ensuring Cows and Heifers have sufficient nutrition to maintain and improve condition in the last 50-60 days of gestation as well as improves these critical productive measures:

• Re breading performance.
• Bigger calves without added calving difficulties.
• Conception rate increase.
• Improved calf growth and performance.

Cattle typically consume between 0.5 and 1.1 pounds per head/day.

100 Fans = A Giveaway!

In our last post we mentioned that we're on Facebook now! We're going to be doing a Giveaway of a FREE bag of either our Homestead Layer mix or Our Traditional Cat Stars. All you have to do is click HERE and "Like" our page and you'll be instantly entered in our Giveaway. Once we get to 100 fans we'll announce our winner!

Here are some Feeding Tips when Feeding our Homestead Layer Mix:

• Poultry should have access to clean, fresh water at all times. After moving or transporting birds, provide access to water before putting feed in the feeders.
• When birds have access to coarse litter or whole grains, an insoluble grit should be fed. Limit intake of grit to 1 pound per 100 pounds of feed or 2 pounds per 100 birds per week. Grit can be blended with their regular ration or offered free choice in a separate feeder.
• Do not allow feeders to run empty or stale feed to accumulate.
• Never feed any feedstuffs that are moldy, musty or suspect in any way.
• Supplemental feeding of oyster shells may be necessary after 45 weeks of age to provide additional dietary calcium to improve egg shell quality.