North Dakota State University Extension Service - Burke County |
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Cattle Comments |
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July 13, 2004Creep FeedingWant extra pounds on the calves at weaning time? Try creep feeding. It's a great replacement for pasture that is short, hit with drought and/or flooded out. As a replacement for cow's milk, creep feed is a excellent alternative. Peak milk production occurs within two months after calving. However, milk production is decreasing just when the calf's nutrient needs are increasing. The fast growing calf has to consume more grass or creep feed to maintain his rapid rate of growth. Easy access to creep feed allows the calf to replace grass and milk with creep feed. This allows rapid calf growth to be maintained and that leads to heavy weaning weights. If pasture is short or overgrazed, creep feed is an easy alternative to early weaning. Early weaning is a better choice to maximize feed utilization on short pastures than creep feeding. However, early weaned calves will adapted easily to a good quality creep feed formulated for early weaned calves. If pastures are short, it makes more economic sense to wean the calves early. Removing calves from pasture will make more feed available for cows since large, growthy calves can eat a fourth to a third of the cow's daily grass consumption. Also, weaning the calves ceases the cow's nutrient needs for milk production. Less competition for forage and decreased production needs can result in the cow gaining weight after weaning. Consequently, removing calves from the cows will significantly extend the grazing period of the pasture. Creep feed can be formulated for the use desired. Creep feeds that are used as replacement for pasture are designed with a higher degree of starch and can be formulated to meet the calf's nutritional requirements as the sole feed source. These provide excellent calf gain and promote great feed efficiency when used after weaning. Creep feeds designed for supplementing pastures maybe higher in protein, higher in digestible fiber and lower in starch. Intake limiters maybe used to reduce the amount of feed a calf will consume per day. The strategy is to provide the nutrients that are missing in the grass. This will promote better forage utilization and increase weight gain on pasture through minimal creep supplementation. Other feeds can be used as creep feeds like oats, wheat midds or barley malt sprout pellets. These are very palatable and are moderately priced. While these alternative creep feeds are not a completely balanced feed, consumption, weight gain and price make these an attractive alternative. Creep feeding can put more pounds on calves. Calves with the genetic potential for fast weigh gain may benefit from creep feed. The amount of increase is directly related to the availability of good quality forage and the cow's milk production. Dan Folske |
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