Dealing With Dry Conditions
Given the recent dry weather and heat, grass growth has started to tail off and fields are beginning to burn up. Ewes and cows with lambs and calves at foot should be the main focus to maintain intakes and support continued growth. Not supporting these animals at this critical stage may result in poorer performance and fertility, poorer animals to sell in the autumn and an increase in supplementary feed required to regain lost body condition later in the year.
Grass, which is available will be dry and stemmy, with varying nutritional value. It is essential to estimate daily dry matter intakes and gauge the shortfall for each class of livestock. Supplementation can then be matched accordingly.
Where animals are getting almost enough dry matter intake from their grazing, consideration should be given to supplementing with a feed bucket. Intakes of 100g/head/day for ewes and 250g/head/day for cows will provide enough energy and protein to make use of the available early summer grass. If grass stops growing completely, supplementary forage will have to be offered alongside the feed buckets.
Key features in our Feed Buckets:
Urea – stimulate rumen bugs to maximise forage utilisation
By-pass protein – support growth and milk production
Sel-plex – enhance growth, reproduction and essential tissue repair
Omega 3 – boost performance and maintain overall animal health
Cattle Forage Booster
Molassed feed bucket which provides instant energy, quality protein sources and essential nutrients to support rumen function, forage digestion and utilisation to ensure animals maintain performance.
Top tips for feeding buckets:
1 bucket or block per 20 ewes or 15 cows
Place close to supplementary forage or water source