rightwinger82 wrote:TexasBred wrote:rightwinger82 wrote:I am now considering a grain mix of half cracked corn half whole cotton seed. That would be around 15 protien and 15 fat. No out of wack minerals or trace elements for around the same price as cake, and no need to change mineral programs. If all a person was short was protien alfalfa would be fine. Especially if you feed twice the amount needed, cause they ain't gonna eat them stems. I am looking to push fat to keep consumption of hay up.
Have you considered just feeding straight cottonseed and feeding only half as much. Should still have adequate crude protein and great energy level not to mention milk production if you have cows nursing calves. Would be a great compliment to hay and your cattle should flourish.
I have considered straight cottonseed. I have no experience with it, only read about it. Due to my location and shipping and handling, i thought the addition of 50 percent cracked corn would help it flow and handle better. Also, i didn't know how the cows might react to them little fuzzy seeds, thought the corn wouldn't run them off. What percent waste would you think there would be feeding whole cottonseed on the ground? Lots of folks feed ddg or grain mix on the ground here out of a cake feeder. Thanks, i had been wanting to hear from someone with whole cottonseed experience.
Cattle will give them a strange look at first but will adjust quickly. I've never fed them on the ground but there will be waste. Probably 10-15% at least. The darn things stick together so your thoughts about adding the corn will certainly work for improving the flow of the seed. And the corn certainly won't hurt anything. You might begin by mixing then see how they react when you slip them some without the corn.