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Farmers buy our Feeders to save hay and they certainly do that.
However each time we do a comparative trial, we measure the growth rates of each group.
Constantly the researchers find an increase in growth rates, JUST because of the FEEDERS!
In the trial conducted at Dookie Agricultural College it was a 27% increase. In other trials it has been as high as 34%.
That is - the cattle fed with the hay feeder have constantly grown faster, than cattle fed hay on the ground.
How can this be so?
- Cattle get all the hay and all the goodies - leaf, grain, everything
- Feed is always clean and fresh - not soiled, muddied, trampled on
- Lush pasture can be balanced by fibre in a Feeder
- Once cattle are used to being fed hay in a Feeder - adlib works best - they no longer hang around the gate waiting for the tractor to start and there is no charging up and down the paddock bellowing. (Less pasture damage)
- There's also less "pig out" factor and less pushing & shoving when the Feeder is re-filled.
- Shy animals have a "Fair Go" without bossing and bullying.
- Trials show that the Feeder group spent more time GRAZING … that's just the opposite to what most people assume.
Worried they will eat too much?
You have lots of control over intakes, by controlling feed quality. If they eat more of a particular quality than you are comfortable with, the Feeder allows you to reduce quality - and allow the cattle to choose to eat less - without waste.
Normally, feeding lower quality hay out in the paddock results in intolerable wastage.
The Result: "I tried feeding lower quality/fibre quality hay and they wasted most of it. That was a dumb idea and I won't make that mistake again. I'd better get hold of some better quality (read higher priced!) hay."
Consequences:
The increases in growth rate are probably worth more than the saving of hay.
In addition, the faster growth rate animals are more likely to be prime (and therefore sold) than the slower growth rate stores (which are still on the farm - eating their heads off.)
Plus there is always the possibility of fattening a second batch once calves have been sold. (Fattening someone else's left over vealers) and get some real throughput.
Note also what the Feeder does to the profitability of feeding brought-in hay.
The Farmer travelling to the "Ground Group" (see Trial) concludes that "We only feed hay when we really have to … there's no profit in it" And he is quite right!
But once you look at that decision with the "Feeder Group" figures in mind, $28 profit per roll - it alters your decision. Buying (or feeding) hay now becomes a profitable input. Hay prices could go up to $62 / roll and the "Feeder Group" would still be more profitable than the "Ground group."
Contact us to have your questions answered.
PS: As far as I can find, no-one else has ever claimed
an increase growth rate with a hay feeder.
We find it every time we do a comparable trial.
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