# How much hay does.....



## dragonfly1113 (Nov 29, 2006)

Research question... How much hay would a cow need for winter? Say, someone used small bales.... about how many bales would it take? How many acres does a cow need? 
Susie


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## Karin L (Oct 5, 2006)

A cow consumes 2% to 3% of her body weight, depending on what condition she is in. If she is thin, she will eat more. If she is fat, she will eat less.

Also it depends on what size the cow is, whether she is 1000 lb or 1400 lb no matter what body condition score she is in.

Once you got a projected amount of feed (a.k.a hay) of how much she will eat per day, then estimate the number of days that she is needing to be on feed, then do the math.

Your result will determine how much hay she needs, whether it be in the form of small squares or large round bales. A small square bale weighs around 50 to 75 lb, where a large round will weight closer to 1200 lb (hope I got this right). 

Now your third question could refer to either pasture or hay? Or both? Look up your extension agent and see what the stocking rate is per acre. I'm assuming around Kentucky it's 2 AUM/acre or 2 cow-calf pairs or 2 dry cows per acre. Not sure about the mathematics for determining how much forage, but I assume it could be around the same thing, except in lb/acre in forage production.

Hope that helps.


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## Patt (May 18, 2003)

Depends on the size and breed of the cow and whether it is a steer, a bull or a cow who is prenant/nursing. Then we'd need to know your average winter, when does your grazing run out, how cold is it, how much snow. Are you going to feed any grain? 

We have Dexters and Highlands and they need a half an acre of good grass each. They are smaller cows that forage well. This winter we were down to our last three steers and we had a fairly mild winter. We fed one round bale every 4 weeks in november, every three weeks in December and then about every 2 1/2 in January and February. They are back up to every 3 weeks now. This should be our last bale for this year. I think it has been 7 round bales this year. They did share some with the goats though.


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## copperhead46 (Jan 25, 2008)

Around here the rule of thumb for square bales is a ton and a half per cow/calf pair, to get them through the winter.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Q.How much hay would a cow need for winter? 

A. How long is your winter. When do you start suplementing pasture? When do you turn them out in the spring? How much does this research cow weigh?


Q. Say, someone used small bales.... about how many bales would it take?

A. How much does a square bale weigh in your barn. They can weigh between 45 and 85 pounds in this area. How much does the cow weigh?


Q.How many acres does a cow need? 

To do what? Area to provide enough hay to get it thru the winter? Pasture? Some soils can produce 6000 pounds of dry hay. Some soils can't get 1000 pounds. Do you pull the cow off in the fall and let it recover before hard frost? Do you let it grow in the spring to get a good start?

So, in summary, the answer to your question is: 6000, 120 and 2.


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## Jennifer L. (May 10, 2002)

Also don't forget waste. They may eat 2-3% of bodyweight, but they also are going to waste some every day, 10% or so. Over the course of the winter it does add up some.

Jennifer


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## travlnusa (Dec 12, 2004)

Keep in mind that the 3% of body weight is 3% of DRY MATTER. 

Meaning if your hay is 10% moisture, you will need 10% more.

10% of waste is a high working number. Not out of line, but on the high side.


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## rancher1913 (Dec 5, 2008)

around here, my rule of thumb is 50 lbs per cow per day for 6 months. this usually leaves me leftovers in spring that are the first feed for the next winter and beets the heck out of running short and having to pay the price.


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## francismilker (Jan 12, 2006)

I'm with rancher1913. It's better to overstock this year than have to pay highway robbery prices for it in early Spring to get you through to green grass. 

I don't go as high as 50# per head per day though. I generally figure 1 grass square bale (roughly 50# each) for two cows per day.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

In addition to what the others said, I'll add that all hay is not created equal. Various cuttings will vary in nutritional quality. Some like the first cut. I like the second, assuming they didn't let it form seed. Any hay with seed in it has lost a lot of its nutrition. I find that sometimes I end up having to almost DOUBLE the recommended dry weight in order to keep weight on a cow and if they drop a calf in the winter (my preferred calving time) then once they get behind the curve on the weight loss they never will catch up on poor quality hay.

You'll need to become a hay expert or the grass farmers will consistently sell you their poorest quality stuff for the highest price. You'll become known for taking their trash hay and word will spread across three counties. 

There are books, websites, and forums like this where people can help you "grade" hay. You want to be feeding your animals the best stuff for the least cost.


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## stifflej (Aug 11, 2008)

dragonfly1113 said:


> Research question... How much hay would a cow need for winter? Say, someone used small bales.... about how many bales would it take?
> Susie


This past winter was my first go with with Angus, I have 2 heifers, bought in November, ~500lb each, I bought 150 small square bales (~40lbs) and 3 round bales (~450lbs), and as of now, I have used 1 round bale, and about 100 square bales. (The round bales didn't work out real well for me, didn't have equipment to move like I would have liked to, the one that was used, was thrown in the coral when bought, other 2 are still sitting in barn). I also feed about 4lb of grain to each every day. According to my math, I should have about 25 bales left when they are able to go on pasture. When I was researching, I asked the same question here, and someone stated about a half a bale a day per cow, so that is what I figured. For the first 2-3 months, they weren't eating that much, but they are now. I will be cutting up the round bales soon to feed to the pigs.


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