transitioning from hay to pasture

[dexterfarm]

It is that time of year to start moving cows to pasture. In the past I have done it slowly giving a few hours of grass at night and then pulling them back into dry lot for hay.
Most of our grazing ground is 7 miles away. I only have a few acres at my house where the cows over winter. As my herd grows making a slow transition from hay to grass is going to get more and more difficult. I keep a few back to milk so I do not want to over graze what I do have at my house or I will not have anything for my milkers. less green grass=less milk.
How do others that rotational graze and dry lot in the winter handle this. Are you just putting them out on pasture and hoping everyone adjust ok.

[zephyrhillsusan]

Thanks, I've been wondering about the transition, too, Mike. Ours have been on a pasture all winter (not my choice, but it's how it worked out this year) with a round bale under shelter. So as the grass has come in, they have kept it short without being able to gorge on it. It definitely qualifies as marginal! We're now transitioning them, like Mike, although putting them out for several hours a day some time after noon when the grass has dried well from the dew. We bring them back to the short pasture before the evening dew. My question is how much we should draw out this process--how many days and working up to how many hours a day? Last week they started out 2 hours a day for a couple days, missed Friday and Saturday because we were away, back out three hours on Sunday and Monday, four hours yesterday and the same today (if it doesn't rain first).

I get that minerals are a necessity, and thank you for pointing that out, Sheri. Would you use high-mag minerals even though there are just a young bull and 2 steers, so no one's lactating? Or just regular loose salt? Now that I'm home, I plan to go get Redmond's at the co-op because we're in a marginal selenium area. I want to check with my horse vet first and be sure it's okay. I also want to put a bloat treatment in the water tank if the horse vet says it's okay for the horses.

I'd be glad for any input. We've never had a problem in past years, but I'd like that to continue and to be because we're doing it right--not just lucky!

[midhilldexters]

I have to use bloat blocks, never used to, but too much clover here and after almost losing one a few years ago, two blocks is a cheap investment. Mine just get out on grass when they can, I don't transition but the blocks have been down already a week or two before hand. Sad to say I have used a broadleaf weed killer a few times to try and keep the clover down, sad but have to. After the Spring flush I'm generally ok and remove the blocks.

Carol

[lakeportfarms]

When...  ours will go out to pasture (maybe first of June this year) we immediately start with the rotational grazing.  They're so well trained to a single wire hot fence we can leave them with narrower strips to graze.  Like Sheri, we don't put them on the best pasture with clover right away, but rather the more marginal pasture that also was used as a late fall sacrifice area and the grass was eaten way down short.  We also put the very best hay we have so they like to consume that which helps with the transition.

I'd suggest a bloat block if you're concerned that they'll get into rich pasture that might pose problems.  They're a bit pricey, but they do help a lot.

[zephyrhillsusan]

Okay, so ours have been in the short, winter sacrifice pasture all along, just getting into the other pasture a few hours a day, as I described, for about 10 days now. I'll go order bloat blocks from the co-op tomorrow (they only special order them). I have two questions:

1. Is it okay to continue our routine of 3-4 hours a day on pasture and just put the bloat blocks out there as soon as I have them?
2. How long do you think we should do this limited grazing/ working up to longer grazing routine? The pasture they're going into already has fairly long grass going to seed, plus other green stuff and not tons of clover. So it's not as short and lush as it was in April.

We can put a hay bale out there, but it's going to get rained on, and then I'm not sure how much they're going to want to eat.  I guess we could pull a bunch of hay by hand and run it down in my Kubota RTV and put it out there.  That way if it rains, only a small amount would get rained on.  We don't get square bales here, and we only have two horses, a pony, a young bull and steer, and a full-grown steer together right now.

[dexterfarm]

zephyrhillsusan

we usually transition over a week. Its sounds like you have already done that should be good to go full time with it now. wait until they get a full belly of hay in the morning before letting them out. If yours are like ours it will be a waist of hay to put it out along with the grass if given a choice they will eat the grass and leave the hay

[dexterfarm]

I have never had an issue with the dexters. back when I had jerseys did loose a steer and that was even with a slow transition. I use to use high mag blocks but wasnt happy with the results. I read a study that showed much more success using salt to keep the system in balance versus trying to use mag to fix the in balance. it has worked well for us.
Thanks to the rotational grazing I dont really have any marginal land but I guess that is the point of rotating. Some is better than others but even the worst is better than the way most people graze around here.

[outofthebox]

I think we call the bloat blocks 'Grass Tetany blocks' here We make them available all year round along with multi-mineral blocks (property is low in magnesium) because we have warm and cool season grasses, plus I am a little paranoid at the thought of bloat.

A very small investment for peace of mind

[zephyrhillsusan]

Thanks for the input, you all. It sounds like we should be good to go, but I'm still going to get the bloat blocks--peace of mind is worth a lot! It's raining today and poured last night so I'd rather not let them out onto wet grass for the first time going all day. Once the bloat blocks are out, we'll wait for a dry day and keep an eye on them, of course.

In the past we managed grazing to keep the horses from colicking and never had a problem with the cows, who just did what the horses did. But this year we had a case of bloat with our newly-freshened cow (who's not with the others), and it scared the liver out of me and has made me paranoid about bloat. So thanks for the help!

[wagradexters]

In south-east Australia, grass tetany blocks are used for the prevention of grass tetany, ie hypomagnesaemia. Calcium/magnesium mineral blocks are made available prior to calving and for as long as the cows will eat them. Hopefully they will also prevent milk fever, but only if the cows lick them. I have never heard of them being used to prevent bloat.

A more effective prevention against grass tetany is causmag, made into a slurry and poured over hay, or sprinkled dry over dampened hay but care should be taken to get the balance of minerals right.

Farmers around here say it is called grass tetany because the time of greatest risk is when the grasses flush prior to the legumes coming on. The cows have calved and their magnesium requirements are not being met.

Legumes are more likely to cause bloat so all local farmers use bloat guard blocks and continue to allow access to hay well into the season, but cattle do not all choose to balance their diet wisely.
Margaret

[zephyrhillsusan]

Here's a helpful link on bloat from Cattle Today.

[Deleted]

We are in process of transitioning to pasture also, interesting thread.

[carragheendexters]

May 15, 2014 22:03:04 GMT -5 zephyrhillsusan said:

Here's a helpful link on bloat from Cattle Today.

What an excellent article. Says all that needs to be said about bloat.

[carragheendexters]

May 16, 2014 7:31:11 GMT -5 RedRidge said:

Interesting tidbit. Most people in the US "should" need to worry about this. However most people don't. Why? Because most people manage their forage so poorly that it isn't a factor. Sad but true.

Sheri, you are so right. We should all need to be worrying about bloat if we are managing our soils and pasture well. It is not only in US, the same here in Australia. The large commercial farmers put a lot of effort into managing their land for sustainability as that is their livelihood. It is the small farmer that is new to the land that don't do much to their soil or pasture to manage it well.

I wonder how many people soil test and act on the results to improve their soil, and encourage legumes and multi-species of grasses to grow for the health of the soil and land as well as their cattle.

 Most people graze the land too hard and short without time for rest for the pasture to recuperate. This is not the way to go for sustainability. Hmmm I am hijacking this thread, maybe I will start a new thread on this.

[dexterfarm]

I did not get the bloat blocks. they were expensive and no one seem to have them. In searching for info on them. I found several places where it indicated you should not attempt a slow transition as I was. Indicating that when you pull them on and off of pasture. they will not eat the hay when off of pasture and then gorge themselves when put back on.
I gave them a fresh hay bale the night before and a new trace mineral block because if its new it must be better than the one they had. The next day mid day after they had loaded up on hay I started moving. Takes me all day to move them 4 at a time in my trailer. I did move them to the paddock that had the least clover. no one had any issues and they did not look like they had over eaten. For my milkers I left them out on pasture all night the first night and skipped the morning milking. I resumed the next day pulling off of pasture at dark and putting them back out after their morning milking.