Cow Treats?

[Ranch Girl]

Has anybody ever heard of giving your beef cow a beer once a day? I heard about it and they say it relieves stress and you will get better marbling meat.

That is the weirdest thing I've ever heard of!

 

[goodhors]

Well, beer IS made of grains! I know a lot of horses like beer in their grain. And Guiness Dark, seems to be a huge aid in helping horses who do not sweat! They often will go back to sweating if given the Guiness once a day. Without sweat, horses can overheat, hurt themselves. But for various unknown reasons, some horses shut down and won't sweat. Some never do again, and some folks have had the success with Guiness. I know in the UK, they often give the winning race horse a beer on his grain.

For my heifer and steer calf, we use alfalfa pellets for snacks. They were recommended to me for his first solid food, easing into eating hay and grain. He didn't eat many, so we were giving them as treats to the heifer as well, she LOVES them. I now just use the pellets for when she comes when called, put the halter on, lead her to the barn. She ACTUALLY ran to me, halfway across the field the other day to get her pellets!! You don't go thru pellets too fast with just a handful a day! I think these were the Dairy pellets. She also gets windfall apples cut up into quarters, in her handful of grain waiting in the stall. She appears to enjoy the apples a lot, but doesn't want to eat them from your hand. I have to keep the apples picked up away from the horses, limiting their intake. So I have plenty of apples for the cow. The lamb doesn't seem to like apples, just ignores them.

Our horses also like the alfalfa pellets! They consider them a snack, reward, and get them only for that reason. Like putting head down to put harness on or remove the breastcollar. Horses will really snuffle your pockets if you have any pellets in them, but I am mean, so they don't get pellets then. Horses do seem to just enjoy the smell, inhale deeply, while checking you out. None of our horses are rude, no pocket pulling stuff.

 

[purecountrycow]

Yes,,,my 2 cows love the apples as well. And the goats love apples and my turkeys love them too! I can see the alfalfa pellets being fed more to the heifer after she gives birth and starts milking for better milk production.

Thanks

 

[iowafarmlady]

Has anybody ever heard of giving your beef cow a beer once a day? I heard about it and they say it relieves stress and you will get better marbling meat.

I'm having this hilarious image of my cows standing around drinking a cold one every night.

 

[jhm47]

Giving beer to cattle is a common practice in Japan, where they raise "kobe" beef. They also massage their cattle daily, and feed them to be highly marbled. They have a special breed (Wagyu) that is said to be extremely tender and well marbled. I used some Wagyu semen on some of my cows. Only got one calf, and she died. Didn't seem to take the cold well.

 

[Royd Wood]

Its pears my cows go mad for and lots around here for the pigs and horses too.
Apples are fed whole as I never thought of it being a choking problem watching them munch em up but suppose it could happen.