Unfavorable weather conditions last fall and winter meant more hay was fed than normal causing last year’s hay supplies to be running short. Unprecedented weather extremes through the spring are affecting the quality and availability of new hay for 2011. Whether you are suffering through the extreme drought in south Texas, excessive rainfall in the [...]
Nutritive value key to overall efficiency for beef cattle intake COLLEGE STATION – An inexpensive hay test can offer the best guidance as to how much supplemental feed is required for a beef cattle herd, and at the same time, save ranchers money, according to a Texas AgriLife Research scientist. Considering the historic drought conditions that prevail [...]
Autumn is a good time to make sure everything in is in tiptop shape for the cold weather that’s just around the corner. The preparations you make now can have a long-term impact on the health and comfort of your goats, so here are a few fall tips: • Even hardy animals like goats need a warm, dry [...]
Saving valuable landscapes – even successfully adding some new plants – depends on the length of one’s hose and depth of one’s commitment, according to a Texas AgriLife Extension Service gardening expert. “It’s the season. People are going to want to plant,” said Jayla Fry, AgriLife Extension Master Gardener program assistant in College Station. “ By [...]
Body Condition Scoring allows you to monitor the health and condition of your deer. Optimal Body Condition in bucks will allow for greater antler growth. Does will be more fertile: produce more high-quality milk, resulting in healthier, faster growing fawns. The Purina Mills Body Condition Scoring System allows you to visually score your deer based [...]
People often want to feed deer what is handy, which might be sheep, goat, dairy, or even horse feeds. The problem is these feeds are not formulated for deer, do not meet their specific needs, and may even cause problems. Sheep are very intolerant of dietary copper, so sheep feeds and, traditionally, most goat feeds contain [...]
There is considerable controversy regarding the percentage of dietary protein that deer should have. Many people believe that deer cannot tolerate more than 16% dietary protein and that high-protein diets are wasteful or even toxic. This simply is not true. Research in South Texas has shown that wild deer diets at certain times of the year [...]
A buck can have the best genetics in the world, but without the proper nutrition, he’ll never achieve his potential. One way to stack the deck in his favor is to supplement his nutrition. Fall is an excellent time to begin this. But before we talk about how to initiate a supplemental feeding program, let’s evaluate [...]
Now is the time to make plans for getting the most from your hay as fall winds down and winter approaches. These tips can help: 1. Inventory the quantity of your hay on hand. 2. Work with your nutrition consultant to determine the quality of the hay you have. 3. Forage analysis can be useful. Testing hays for [...]
PURINA’S IM TECHNOLOGY DELIVERS PREDICTABLE PERFORMANCE It’s a well-researched fact that a stable digestive system in cattle results in increased forage utilization, digestive function, and overall health and performance (see “Basic Cattle Nutrition”). Hand feeding range supplements such as range cubes, commodities, or grain mixes, may be causing instability in your animals’ digestive system. When cattle consume all their [...]