Cooked Feed, Advantages, Equipment, Ingredients

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HSV

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Apr 27, 2008
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Location
Coldwater, Ontario Canada
Just wondering how many people cook feed for their show cattle? Why do you do it? Does it work differently on different types of cattle? What equipment do you use? What type of feed do you cook?
I know a few people that have either tried it or do it and am thinking about it for another year. Your help and input is appreciated.
 

shortyjock89

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Mar 6, 2007
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IL
We have cooked corn and barley in the winter time.  We used it to get extra coverage on young steers for Beef Expo's, and on a heifer or two that were just too green.  We used equal parts of whatever feed we cooked, and water in a crock pot, and cooked on low setting for 12 hours.  We haven't cooked feed in a few years, but might do it again this winter since we plan on hitting more shows.  I wouldn't suggest doing it in the summer as it can get them really hot and burn off all their hair and get them stale in a hurry if they're already pretty fat.
 

HSV

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Apr 27, 2008
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70
Location
Coldwater, Ontario Canada
Thanks for your input. Sounds like a crockpot is a pretty cost effective solution. I gather that you feel cooked feed puts on finish faster?
 

shortyjock89

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I sure do. It seems like they can make better use of the feed, and it really helps their appetites if you have one that won't eat.
 

BCCC

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Jan 6, 2008
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Hillsboro, TX
The cracked feed doesnt take as long to cook, but in the end the calves will get the same out of it
 

shortyjock89

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I've only ever cooked whole corn or rolled barley.  The barley ends up looking like Oatmeal, and the corn swells up real big too.  Also, I don't know how you like to do things, but if there was left over water after the feed cooked, we would give most of that to them in their feed too, but some people like to drain it off, but I'm not sure if it makes a difference.
 

justintime

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May 26, 2007
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Saskatchewan Canada
I have a feed cooker, and it has sat in the corner of the barn for many years.I fired it up again this fall and both the cattle and I love it. I love the smell of it. The cattle go crazy for the cooked feed. I mix it with show ration. I mix barley with corn. I have used some rolled corn when I cannot find whole corn, and it has worked good as well. My cooker will handle about 10 gallon of grain. I add at least as much water as grain, and it cooks in about three hours.
 

renegade

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Jun 30, 2007
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Location
Caldwell, Idaho
Do you add it over what they are eating or do you substitute it - like take away 3lbs show ration and add 3lbs cooked? How much cooked do you feed at a time
 

M Bar

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May 21, 2008
Messages
134
The premise behind cooking feed ingredients such as corn or barley is to gelatinize the starch bonds that are in the whole grains.  This is the reason that most feedlots steam flake corn or use high moisture corn and ensile it.  Starch is stored in the kernal and the heating/moisture process of cooking/ensiling help to make the starch more readily availible for digestion.  Steam flaking adds to increased digestion as it physically fractures the starch bonds.  Flaking has to be done so that the width of the flake is the thickness of a dime.  Show feeds will ususally be flaked to the thickness of a couple of quarters put together, so the starch bonds will more than likely come out unscathed.  If you plan to cook ingredients, I would recommend that you not add more than 10% to the diet on a dry matter basis, as it can lead to acidosis, and potential scours/loose stools (makes that feed "hot").  It is best to talk to a professional feed formulator/University professor that has knowledge on this topic.  If you need assistance, please be sure to know the wieght of the animal(s) that you plan on feeding, the target weight desired and the target date desired.  This will get you to a hypothetical ADG that you need.  If you are feeding multiple animals, you can tailor your needs, but make sure you have a good feed scale.  I hear to many times that a "bucket per day" is good.  You need to know how many pounds, since bulk density of the feed can change.  Scoops don't serve well as a weight indicator.  If you want to learn how to feed like the pro's, spend a week with a bunk reader at a feedlot sometime.  One other item to consider is the forage that the animal is eating, and if you are hand feeding hay or letting the animal eat "ad libitum" (hay feeder with a round bale).  Forage testing is cheap, and it does a lot of good when deciding a best route of choice for putting pounds on a said animal. 
 
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