This is not the easiest question to answer. As the quality of the forage increases, intake will increase because of an increase in the digestibility of the forage. Once calves are adapted, they will consume 2.5 to 2.7% of their body weight on a dry matter basis. So if the calves weigh 600 lb and they eat 2.5% of their body weight on a dry matter basis, then they will eat about 15 lb/hd/da of feed on a dry matter basis. If the ration is 90% dry matter, then they will eat about 16 lb/hd/da on an "as is" basis. So if you are feeding 6 lb/hd/da of the grain mixture, then they would eat about 10 lb/hd/da of the hay. Feeding the roughage "free choice" and not as part of a complete ration will pose some challenges to manage performance and maybe acidosis that could occur if you proceed to high-grain diets.
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I recently weaned 210 head of late March calves. This year we are trying bale rings to feed all of the hay. How much hay can I expect the calves to consume per day? Their weaning weight is 570 pounds average. I also feed a rolled corn-based grain mix twice a day.
Last Updated: March 06, 2008
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