Dose anybody know of any online resources that would be able to tell me nutrient contents of common feed stuffs for purposes of balancing rations? If not would my county extention office beable to provide me with this information? Also would be nice to find information on nutrient requirements for differnt stages in differnt livestock.
Resource question
- Thread starter rittert3
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Pre-packaged feeds should have nutrient values on the bag or available from the seller. I asked my local elevator about beet pulp pellets, and they had information from the maker for me.
I actually haven't looked up my rolled corn and oats for values in a long time. Seems like I did get it from the Extension Office when we originally started using this mix. My oats are mostly for roughage of the digestive tract. In my "horse education", the good nutrition Dr. said only about 10% of food value of oats is used by the horse. Even with good teeth, a lot of oats go right thru horse and appear in the manure. So while you can feed lots of oats, they don't benefit the horse greatly to cause lots of weight gain or much more energy. Oats as roughage, do "scratch or tickle" the intestines more than grasses or hay, which is a good thing for the horse.
On the other hand, cracked or rolled corn allows the horse to get about 90% of the food value from the grain. So much LESS cracked or rolled corn fed to the horse, will give him a higher available calorie count. So the corn part will add weight gain, fat, with little effort by the horse. Just not much roughage in the diet. Whole corn kernels will probably just go right thru your equines, they don't chew it well so buying whole kernels is wasted money to me. Just feeding the birds who check manure!
He advised feeding with a scale, measuring your grain by the pound, not the feed can or scoop. Poundage measure is consistant, while can or scoop measure is not.
I am sure other animals would get different food values from the various grains you feed each species. I did feed the cattle and sheep plain oats and cracked corn as feed, mostly as treats since they had good grazing and were gaining on grass. They also need roughage for the digestive tract, keeps things moving well. Oats are nice and scratchy since they are not rolled. Mine (all species) ate the grain mix just fine without adding molasses. I don't like molasses in my grains since it molds easily, fast (have to toss the grain then) and is empty calories in the feed. Wasted money to my thinking.
I actually haven't looked up my rolled corn and oats for values in a long time. Seems like I did get it from the Extension Office when we originally started using this mix. My oats are mostly for roughage of the digestive tract. In my "horse education", the good nutrition Dr. said only about 10% of food value of oats is used by the horse. Even with good teeth, a lot of oats go right thru horse and appear in the manure. So while you can feed lots of oats, they don't benefit the horse greatly to cause lots of weight gain or much more energy. Oats as roughage, do "scratch or tickle" the intestines more than grasses or hay, which is a good thing for the horse.
On the other hand, cracked or rolled corn allows the horse to get about 90% of the food value from the grain. So much LESS cracked or rolled corn fed to the horse, will give him a higher available calorie count. So the corn part will add weight gain, fat, with little effort by the horse. Just not much roughage in the diet. Whole corn kernels will probably just go right thru your equines, they don't chew it well so buying whole kernels is wasted money to me. Just feeding the birds who check manure!
He advised feeding with a scale, measuring your grain by the pound, not the feed can or scoop. Poundage measure is consistant, while can or scoop measure is not.
I am sure other animals would get different food values from the various grains you feed each species. I did feed the cattle and sheep plain oats and cracked corn as feed, mostly as treats since they had good grazing and were gaining on grass. They also need roughage for the digestive tract, keeps things moving well. Oats are nice and scratchy since they are not rolled. Mine (all species) ate the grain mix just fine without adding molasses. I don't like molasses in my grains since it molds easily, fast (have to toss the grain then) and is empty calories in the feed. Wasted money to my thinking.
ksalvagno
Alpaca Master
You really should have everything tested. It would be different for different parts of the country. You could probably look online for places that test hay, feed, soil, water, etc.
patandchickens
Overrun with beasties
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Yeah, there are oodles of tables available, online or in animal-husbandry books, of the alleged protein/P/Ca/etc contents of various grains and hays.... HOWEVER the variation in real life analyses of actual supplies of grains or hays can be fairly far afield from the book values. (Particularly in comparison to the level of exactness required to make a balanced ration.) It varies with region, year, variety, growing conditions, harvesting conditions, exact time/stage of harvest, storage conditions, etc.
So really really the best thing is to have some LAB values for the PARTICULAR grains/hays/whatever that you're contemplating feeding. Or if an analysis is not available on the actual literal batch you're going to feed, at least ask around locally to find out what numbers typically come back for that type feed in your area, and what this year is expected to be like. My wheat ain't like your wheat; this year's hay from my back field ain't like last year's hay from my back field; you know?
Otherwise honestly I think there is no point in putting a lot of energy into doing major amounts of math when your numbers are so fuzzy to begin with. Just pick a general-purpose recipe that people have often had success with in the past, preferably in your region, and go for it.
(aside: goodhors, I know the thing about oats going straight through horses is "conventional wisdom" but research has not borne it out; oats are actually one of the *most* easily digested and assimilated grains for horses, with little if any difference between the digestibility of whole vs crimped oats. The "oats" you see in the manure are nearly all just the empty HULLS which were not intended to provide any food value anyhow. Oats do provide fewer calories per weight fed than do some other feeds such as corn, but that is not because the oats are just going thru the horse, it's simply because they are a lower-fat and thus lower-energy grain to begin with)
Pat
So really really the best thing is to have some LAB values for the PARTICULAR grains/hays/whatever that you're contemplating feeding. Or if an analysis is not available on the actual literal batch you're going to feed, at least ask around locally to find out what numbers typically come back for that type feed in your area, and what this year is expected to be like. My wheat ain't like your wheat; this year's hay from my back field ain't like last year's hay from my back field; you know?
Otherwise honestly I think there is no point in putting a lot of energy into doing major amounts of math when your numbers are so fuzzy to begin with. Just pick a general-purpose recipe that people have often had success with in the past, preferably in your region, and go for it.
(aside: goodhors, I know the thing about oats going straight through horses is "conventional wisdom" but research has not borne it out; oats are actually one of the *most* easily digested and assimilated grains for horses, with little if any difference between the digestibility of whole vs crimped oats. The "oats" you see in the manure are nearly all just the empty HULLS which were not intended to provide any food value anyhow. Oats do provide fewer calories per weight fed than do some other feeds such as corn, but that is not because the oats are just going thru the horse, it's simply because they are a lower-fat and thus lower-energy grain to begin with)
Pat
- Thread starter
- #5
Ok well i'll kind of clairify why i'm doing this reseach i want to start feeding out small numbers of various meat animals (Meat goats, Pigs, possibly a calf) and just want some fuzzy numbers so i can start trying to decided what i want in my rations and for who. Kind of trying to see how to put the most weight on them the quickest for the cheapest price, and I do realize that they all have differnt nutritional needs. Also a side question, can soy bean stalks be bailed? and if so would it be the same as grazing the stubble? I heard bean stubble was great for feeding meat goat kids but I have no cropland.
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