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I would only give them what they can eat in the first hour, so that the
stand is eaten well down (stems and all) then let them rest for an hour
then the days worth of feed. The fresher the stand the more careful you
need to be.
Cheers Tony Salisbury
'Warrileigh'
Running Ck Rd
Rathdowney
Queensland 4287
Australia
----- Original Message -----
From: Bruce R. Gerloff
To: graze-l@witt.ac.nz ; graze-l@taranaki.ac.nz
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2003 1:06 AM
Subject: Re: [Graze-l] grazing alfalfa/grass
Judy,
I have grazed alfalfa stands off in the fall for several years, & have
never had a single incidence of bloat. The rules I follow are: never
begin grazing until after the alfalfa goes dormant after a hard frost;
I always supplement the cattle with a bit of lower quality hay, a small
amount of grain, or corn stalks (sometimes using all 3 at the same time)
to keep them reasonably full at all times; & I NEVER give them a fresh
break of alfalfa when it's covered with frost -- I always will wait
until the sun &/or wind have evaporated the frost before turning the
cattle in on it. You will also want to watch the amount of forage you
offer them at one time - I always try to give them only what they can
clean up in 24 hrs. or so... that way, I figure they are forced to eat
most of the stems as well as the leaves, too. Having a fair amount of
grass in your stand will also help to dilute the alfalfa, too. When
watching my cattle on a fresh break, I've noticed that they strip the
leaves off the alfalfa 1st, then will eat the grass in the sward, & then
will eat the upper alfalfa stems & remaining leaves. If your daily
allowance is sized right to prevent them from gorging on just leaves,
I'd be very surprised if you have any trouble & you shouldn't need to
feed any surfactants.
Bruce Gerloff
Circle G Grassfed Beef
P.O. Box 105
Marengo, IL , USA 60152
----- Original Message -----
From: Judy Decker
To: graze-l@taranaki.ac.nz
Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2003 8:25 PM
Subject: [Graze-l] grazing alfalfa/grass
