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BCCC

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I have 2 October born heifers out of Paddy and a Strictly bussiness/foreplay cow. They are still plenty green, but I was wondering if I could do anything to get them to drop their flank some more. They get about 2lbs of full tank a day, and free choice grassy alfalfa, they also get a flake of grass hay. Its not really feasible to feed beet pulp as its around $25 a bag. Same reason they aren't on free choice grass hay, it's $240 a ton. Would kents winning fill help out any? Any opinions? Thanks in advance!
 

AAOK

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Sounds like too much grass to me.  Are they on a Show Ration grain?  They should be consuming at least 25lbs. per day of a good ration + mineral. 
 

Jill

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We don't feed any alfalfa, just too much protein, IMO Winning Fill isn't going to do a lot for you if you have them on a good ration and are already feeding full tank and hay.  Nothing wrong with Winning Fill I just don't think it is going to get you the boost you're looking for in that age heifer, and it is very costly at that, some things just take time and a little maturity.
 

kanshow

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Do you have any Power Up?  We added that to our ration last summer on our fall heifers.  They were sort of green as you describe.  I think its more of a maturity thing than anything. 
 

BCCC

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Jill said:
We don't feed any alfalfa, just too much protein, IMO Winning Fill isn't going to do a lot for you if you have them on a good ration and are already feeding full tank and hay.  Nothing wrong with Winning Fill I just don't think it is going to get you the boost you're looking for in that age heifer, and it is very costly at that, some things just take time and a little maturity.
Would oat hay be any better then grassy alfalfa? Right now they are eating about 12 pounds of grower and I am working on bumping them up.
 

Jill

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I'm not a feed specialist, but I would say yes, oat hay is more of a filler to keep the rumen working where alfalfa will drastically change the balance in your diet.
 

stangs13

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Friendswood,Tx
Fat naturally will deposit in the flanks...it will take a while, and you have to watch on heifers that they don't get to fat up front. A lot of it depends on the heifers natural flank and her genetics!
 

AAOK

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First, you should gradually switch your 12 pounds of Grower to 25 pounds Finisher.  Make sure each calf is getting 2oz. of a quality mineral each day.  You should see a dramatic difference within 3 -4 weeks.  If these are Show Heifers, and if they were mine, I would have had them up to 25 pounds of finisher daily at five months.
 
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