August 14, 2003

 

Creep Feeding May be the Only Alternative for Some

For producers that are running cattle on pastures struggling after last year's drought, creep feeding may be the only way to keep calves on target for market requirements and keep cows in good body condition, according to an Extension Service livestock specialist.

"Traditionally, creep feeding in North Dakota usually takes place with shorter pastures," says Karl Hoppe, a livestock specialist at the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center. "It's done to counteract reduced milk production in the cows. It is useful for adding pounds and preparing calves for the feeding lot. It also helps the cow's condition for the next year."

Some areas in the state are recovering from last year's drought, while others are having problems with short pastures due to inadequate rainfall this year. "Ideally, the objective of creep feeding should be to supplement grass, not replace it," Hoppe says. "If you have to replace pasture, then you are better off weaning early. Early weaning will, in the long run, help your operation by improving the cow's condition. However, if early weaning isn’t practical, creep feeding will provide extra nutrients that lead to added weight gain. Later on, compensatory weight gain can be achieved, but a bad start can result in sick, stunted or dead calves."

If faced with the need to creep feed, other factors come into play. There are many kinds of creep feed, and prices vary greatly as well. "Commercial feeds are convenient because their nutritional content is known," Hoppe says. "Also, they can be delivered. This savings in convenience, time and labor are reflected in the cost. Homegrown grain feeds are less expensive, but their nutritional content is not always precisely known."

According to Hoppe, creep feeds should ideally have 14 to 16 percent crude protein and provide adequate energy. For ruminants, the two main energy sources are starch and fiber. Small grains and corn are good providers of starch. However, too much starch can lead to acidosis, bloat and possibly death. Fiber feeds include oats, barley malt sprout pellets, wheat midds, corn gluten feed and soybean hulls. "If creep feed is being used to supplement pasture, fiber seems to perform better than starch," Hoppe says. "Commercial creep feeds usually contain helpful feed additives which make them better-suited as supplements."

Creep feeding does more than supplement or replace pasture. "Creep feeding is an excellent way to teach calves how to eat," Hoppe says. "Introducing creep feed to young calves can result in better adaptation to creep feed as compared to older calves. Older calves might eat more aggressively at the creep feeder. This can lead to overconsumption and possible calf death due to acidosis and bloat . Variety, in this case, is the spice of death. Creep feeding earlier prevents that."

The economics of creep feeding are critical for producers' decisions. "Commercial feeds are well-balanced. Many have additives that improve the digestibility and efficiency of the creep feed. The trade-off is the cost," Hoppe says. "Homegrown feeds are less expensive, but you have to factor in transportation costs, the time and labor required to fill the feeders. In purchased commodity coproduct feeds, integrity of the pellet needs close monitoring. Coproduct pellets powder easily, which means there is loss. Nutritional content of the coproduct should be analyzed to verify feed value."

"The producer needs to calculate the cost of creep feeding per pound, and if this cost is less than the price of additional weight, it's working," Hoppe says. "It's important to remember that the law of diminishing returns applies. The return per additional pound for larger calves gets smaller as the calves get heavier."

For those producers that are faced with deteriorating or short pastures, there is good news, even if they are assuming a larger-than-usual cost of creep feeding this year. "Feeder cattle prices are reaching cyclical highs," according to NDSU Extension Service livestock economist Tim Petry. "In addition, the USDA is predicting a record corn crop this year. This is a prediction, but so far it looks fairly strong."

The NDSU Extension Service has an online breakeven calculator and closeout analyzer that may be useful for producers faced with feeding decisions located at http://www.chaps2000.com/calfweb/index.htm.

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Source: Karl Hoppe, (701)652-2951, karl.hoppe@ndsu.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701)231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Writer: Scott Lowell, (701)231-8371, slowell@ndsuext.nodak.ed