firesweepranch
Well-known member
So, after great reading you all provided from tons of treads about fill products, my daughter did a little study. We have fed beet pulp in the past, but were looking for better fill. I had to drive 20 miles one way to find a feed store that carries any product besides beet pulp (which is $18 for 50#) . They carry ruma-fill by Moor Mans and Full tank by sun glow. I can order the wining fill, but it takes a week to get there, so I bought the two they had ($15 for RF and $18 for FT). My daughter did a little experiment to start with. She measured out exactly 1 cup of each product and put them in separate buckets, then added three cups of water to each. She let all of them soak for one hour, then went and remeasured. The RF was still sort of dry, so she added another cup of water. In the end, the beet pulp performed the worst, with just about a cup and a half of water absorbed (pulp measured cup and half). The FT was twice the absorption with two cups product measured (almost no water left) and the RF was three cups of product, thus three times the fill.
Now we are feeding the RF to one animal and the FT to another to see if one looks better than the other. They both look "Fuller" over all, and eat it like candy! She wanted to see if there was a difference, but I am not sure that is something we can measure. We know now that the ruma fill has better absorption, but does that make it the better product? I know it is cheaper! She liked it so much she wanted to feed it to her 90 day old calf to try to get her on feed (she shows a cow calf pair). Is that a wise idea? Shouldn't that calf be getting just show grain because she needs the protein to grow? Any input is appreciated. How do you get a calf to start eating? She comes in on a halter every evening and is tied and groomed with grain in front of her, she just shows no real interest in it yet.
Thanks!
Now we are feeding the RF to one animal and the FT to another to see if one looks better than the other. They both look "Fuller" over all, and eat it like candy! She wanted to see if there was a difference, but I am not sure that is something we can measure. We know now that the ruma fill has better absorption, but does that make it the better product? I know it is cheaper! She liked it so much she wanted to feed it to her 90 day old calf to try to get her on feed (she shows a cow calf pair). Is that a wise idea? Shouldn't that calf be getting just show grain because she needs the protein to grow? Any input is appreciated. How do you get a calf to start eating? She comes in on a halter every evening and is tied and groomed with grain in front of her, she just shows no real interest in it yet.
Thanks!
