Ranchers take several things into account when deciding whether beef creep feed in Seneca KS is right for their calves, including the quality of grazing, the price of meat vs. feed, and when they intend to sell the calves.
Creep feeding is the practice of supplementing the diet of nursing calves or other animals in order to achieve a more desirable weaning weight. It is done in cases when the return on the investment is greater than the cost of the feed. There are several situations in which this might be the case.
The first situation is for calves born in the spring. Since calves need about ten percent of their body weight in milk, they outpace their mothers’ milk supplies as they grow. This means all calves need to supplement their diet with grazing before they are weaned. Calves born in the spring or during a dry year may have difficulty getting enough nutrition for optimal weight gain from grazing alone. Creep feeding can solve this problem.
A second situation in which creep feeding can be cost effective is when the price of meat is high and the price of feed is low. Calculating the amount of feed that it takes to produce the extra weight gain helps determine the profit. Creep-feeding calves helps them gain weight more rapidly, but ranchers should avoid overfeeding in order to maintain the quality and optimum price of the meat.
A third situation in which creep feeding can be helpful is when the beef calves are being raised to sell directly after weaning. This is because creep-fed calves have the greatest advantage over their non-creep-fed fellows at weaning weight.
Ranchers looking for beef creep feed in Seneca, KS want to be sure their calves are getting quality feed at an affordable price. Contact the experts at Countryside Feed, LLC today.