Field Testing 4 Types of Hay

In this episode of Our Wyoming Life - Preforming an experiment on the rach, what kind of hay do cows like best, or do they care?
Please comment, subscribe and share!
Subscribe Now goo.gl/5HfhGj
Facebook / ourwyominglife
Twitter / ourwyominglife
KZbin / ourwyominglife
Reddit / ourwyominglife
Website ourwyominglife...
Business Inquiries: For sponsorship requests or business opportunities please contact us directly: www.youtube.co...
~-~~-~~~-~~-~
Please watch: "Calving and Technology on the Ranch"
• Calving and Technology...
~-~~-~~~-~~-~

[@RobertPowell3]

My wife and I purchased land outside Dallas, just because we wanted the space and land, but were surrounded by farms. Not being farmers ourselves, we really have nothing to discuss with our neighbors. But after watching your videos for a few months now, we’ve learned so much about what’s going on on a farm and about what’s going on around us . We are now able to converse with our neighbors & do so in a knowledgeable fashion. We still don’t know much, but we do know enough now to at least have the conversation. So not sure if that’s what you were going for when you started this channel, but it’s been a great bi-product. So thanks for that. Best of luck- comedian robert powell

[@OurWyomingLife]

Thank you very much Robert. Had to check out your stuff, very funny. - Mike

[@mikeporter5977]

One of your best videos yet. I had no idea there were different types of hay

[@OurWyomingLife]

Thank you sir.

[@chasefrericks1394]

Our Wyoming Life have you ever thought or have fed silage?

[@OurWyomingLife]

Hi Chase. I have never feed it. We don't put up any corn or other cereal grains and we never have been set up for it. Might be something we could do in the future though. Thanks for the suggestion. - Mike

[@chasefrericks1394]

Our Wyoming Life you can use a moco and cut oats and take a pick up head when it is green and get a silage like material

[@mwmwmwmwmmdw]

this video was very interesting as someone from the city. as a kid when we would go up north on vacation in the summer we would see these hay fields of hay along the highway and they where a mystery of sorts to someone like me. its neat to know how they actually work now

[@OurWyomingLife]

Thank you very much. I hope you enjoy all we have to offer.

[@bilbobaggins293]

Thanks hoss in a young gun from Arizona looking to get into this in the future past couple years I've had an idea of what I wanted something decent about 100 or so acres with a mix of animals I've grown up around cowboys and lived on a humble 14 acres in public land these videos are helping me get a better understanding of what I want in life

[@OurWyomingLife]

That is awesome, thank you very much for watching - Mike

[@steveschneider8504]

Never really thought about seeing what types of hay the cows preferred? Always thinking about next year improving differrent fields that I use for haying but it always seems that when that time comes I'm to busy with something else or to few dollars to invest to see my winter thoughts through. Keep the video's coming... They are true ranching life.

[@OurWyomingLife]

Thank you Steve, we had never thought of it either, just an interesting experiment. - Mike

[@HumphreyFamilyHolsteins]

Awesome video mike!!! Very informative. I only have 2 heifers and 1 bull so cost are easily managed right now. We don't have our own source of hay so we buy from our neighbor. I'm currently sitting on 10 square bales of last years 2nd cut alfalfa. The cows absolutely love it. We tried an alfalfa and orchard grass mix earlier last month and the cows ate it but not like this alfalfa. They run for it when they see me. Thanks for the video!!

[@OurWyomingLife]

Ours are the same way, that alfalfa they just go crazy for! Thanks - Mike

[@AndersonCattleCo]

This year I put up some Barley for green feed and it didn't grow tall but it had lots of heads and when I fed out in the field the cows would leave the alfalfa to eat it They loved it , other years I've grown oats that grew tall and I had to grind them with 3rd cut alfalfa so the would clean it up thanks for sharing your life

[@OurWyomingLife]

We did put up hay barley in the past, it was hard to get put up at the right time as we had about 175 acres of it at a time and it was always ready in the rain and by the time it dried out it was too late. Cows loved it. Have you had any problems with it causing lump jaw? We had cows where the kernals would get stuck in the gum line and cause abscesses. Thank for continuing to watch.

[@AndersonCattleCo]

I've had no problems with this Barley and lump jaw It was a smooth awn variety and bred for that I chopped some winter wheat 2 years ago and I had lots of problems with lump jaw. In southern Alberta there is a lot of barley put up for feed so there are many varieties good for cattle. And I was lucky and got my barley baled dry maybe even too dry but they loved it .

[@jjmcflurr]

Hey from Manitoba Canada, we’ve been feeding prozo and Siberian millet for 20 yrs up here . The cows go crazy over it as silage it’s not loved as much when its dry. For drought s it’s the best crop to have , we are having our own drought here this last year but still got 70 bales off 10 acres . It’s finicky you need at lest a week of 86 or higher and don’t plant anything before the temp is over 60 or it won’t work. All the best hope your drought is ended this year

[@ronniepate4315]

That's the first time I've seen someone test hay like that . Cool ! . I 'd say they will tell you what they like.

[@46rambo49]

This is like Ford or Chevy, question of the ages. Depending on when it was baled, what the cattle are used to, time of year, how was it stored, moisture can all effect what they eat and when. Good luck, grass fed is my favorite, Bison don't do well finished, no matter what they tell you, feed them grass all year and then finish them with corn and it will affect the taste and show in the liver when you butcher

[@OurWyomingLife]

Exactly, the cows just never warmed up to it. We finish our steers on corn oats and barley for about 60 to 90 days to add that fat and marbling. Everyone has different tastes and one of our neighbors does grass fed, we trade customers back and forth all the time! Thanks for watching. -Mike

[@patrickmbahi5177]

that didnt suprise me at all that the alfalfa was the most popular great video!

[@OurWyomingLife]

I figured it would be too. They love that stuff. Thanks Patrick - Mike

[@tinymach]

Great videos! Can you send me the link to the episode where you figured out how much hay an acre will produce. Please. Keep up the great work!

[@OurWyomingLife]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4mac5lsls6VhM0 Thank you very much - Mike

[@chadhazekamp6952]

could you do a video on the cake my grand father fed cake when he ranched in Sundance not sure what it consisted of . the weather was very dry in Sundance this past summer as well

[@OurWyomingLife]

Yes it was. I have friends over there. I think I can do a video on cake

[@stevenbertrand8508]

Been watching your new stuff for a bit. Man I'm glad I came up on this one. I have always wanted to do a bit of testing like this myself, but resource limited. For the barley hay when I find it dirt cheap I will buy a few bales and drop a big round for the cows to pick through during the day and I will feed the good stuff at night. I like to do my main feeding at nights because... There is an old wives tale about feeding right before the sun goes down makes them calve during the day. So I figure why not... FYI I started with cows 4 years ago and have NEVER dropped a calf at night yet. So there might be something to it. Any ways great video here.

[@billy653]

I just want to say thanks for including subtitles with your videos.

[@OurWyomingLife]

billy653 - you are very welcome. Thank you for watching. Means the world to us

[@cliffordanders6678]

Hello I like to see you use more horses but I know that's a little more work but it's what I did as a kid I am old now and wish I could go back to the life . But to old now to get on a horse now. I see your young and you don't know much about a horse but it be nice for your kids to learn any way. Take care . God bless your family.

[@OurWyomingLife]

The kids are going to learn to ride, in fact Kenzie has ridden already and we do ride our horses recreationally but we dont use them around the cows too much. Thank you very much - Mike

[@tomcampbell1066]

Simply outstanding (and that's no bull...(-:.)...I see syndication in your future...

[@OurWyomingLife]

Thank you Tom. We are glad you like what we are doing! Thanks for watching.

[@TG-fy3ew]

Hi, I'm a new subscriber to your channel and have enjoyed the few videos I've seen. I , like you before you began your life as a rancher, have never really given much thought to what cows eat. Managing what the herd eats seems complicated when you begin getting down to protein content. Once you determine how much protein the hay has, how do you determine how much extra protein is needed in their diet and how do you introduce that extra protein? When you began discussing how much hay is needed for each cow and determining how much hay you need for the winter seemed daunting, or am I just making seem more difficult that it really is? Enjoying the channel. You do a great job presenting and the production value is very good. You're not just a guy with a camcorder randomly discussing what you do. Everything is well thought out like you had a someone producing each one. I don't know where you find the time to do the recording and editing of each episode. Thank you for sharing what you do. Sometimes I wish I could do something like this instead of a 9 to 5 job. It takes a lot of determination, hard work, and faith to do what you and many other ranchers and farmers do. God bless you.

[@OurWyomingLife]

The protein content of the hay tells us if we are going to have to supplement or not, which is usually a yes. We supplement with a product called cake or cow cubes, we can get it in different protein percentages and we monitor the cows manure to tell if they are getting too much or not enough based on the consistency, If they get too much then they will get too loose. I dont know where we find the time either but we really try to make it work. Thanks Todd - Mike

[@kaycox5555]

Question - provided there's no injuries or major health issues, approximately how long do cows, steers and bulls live?

[@OurWyomingLife]

Cows can live up to 18-22 years but they will lose productivity long before that. Thanks for watching - Mike

[@PAFarms]

I often wondered if cattle ranchers out west would feed any corn silage to cattle? Here in the east, that is the primary feed, hay is secondary usually.

[@OurWyomingLife]

Some ranchers do feed corn out here but the ones that do have easy access to it, through fields of their own or very close by. Hay is the primary feed here because it is something we can make on our own and keep costs down. I hope that makes sense. Thanks for watching! -Mike

[@ryanwilliams77480]

PA Farms did

[@nmelkhunter1]

Hay Mike! Sorry, I could resist. I was wondering what mix of cake you use. In central New Mexico, my Uncle feeds Hi Pro 20% protein breeder cubes. I'm curious if the colder climate in Wyomng requires a different mix. Great video!

[@OurWyomingLife]

I haven't heard of the colder climate needing a different mix, we feed a 20% Rangeland Cake and in the springtime we feed the same with magnesium in it. Ours also includes 2% fat and 12% crude fiber. Normally I feed Hubbard feed. Thanks! - Mike

[@Keythers]

Great camera work. Looks like you get a lot of use out of that drone.

[@OurWyomingLife]

you have to for the cost of the thing, thanks for watching - Mike

[@oby-1607]

No surprise on the alfalfa. Everything around here loves to eat it.

[@OurWyomingLife]

Very true, thanks - Mike

[@davidconnolly7693]

Awesome channel! I really enjoy your videos! Keep up the great work!

[@OurWyomingLife]

Thanks David, I'm glad you enjoy them and thank you for watching!

[@dougmerril7129]

i have wathed your channel for years even moved to wyo becaeof you las year

[@brentfarrow8125]

Another great video as always, would it ever be feasible or profitable to irrigate some of the ranch to produce better hay. Better hay is not only better but they consume less.

[@OurWyomingLife]

Thanks Brent, We have looked into it some. The problem we have is the lack of water. In order to irrigate 100 acres you need almost 1 million gallons of water per week in a really dry year. We would have to pump it out of he aquifer and the state would have to approve it and I doubt they would. There is a local irrigation consulting company I have been debating calling and seeing if there is anything we can do. Thanks for watching! -Mike

[@jeanettewaverly2590]

Great video! I've recently started replacing some of my horse's alfalfa ration with teff hay -- A grain that originated in Ethiopia and is well-suited to arid climates. She still prefers alfalfa but she'll accept teff as a chaser, lol.

[@OurWyomingLife]

Haha. That's the way the cows are. We've been feeding millet this winter and the still choose it second. Thanks for watching -Mike

[@jeanettewaverly2590]

Alfalfa is like livestock crack!

[@OurWyomingLife]

That it is

[@Justin-fi7qz]

Very interesting about the hay types. Cool stuff! How do you get your hay tested?

[@OurWyomingLife]

Good question. We send a sample of hay to the university of Wyoming. Thanks. -Mike

[@patrickmukora9767]

Hi Mike do you have passive water harvesting structures to capture rainfall on the range?

[@OurWyomingLife]

About as passive as it gets, there are a number of reservoirs that are strategically placed all over the ranch. They catch a majority of the run off that we get. One issue we deal with is that we have very sandy soil and alot of the run off doesnt make it to the reservoirs. Thanks Patrick - Mike

[@chadhazekamp6952]

another great Video. do you supplement your cows with any corn meal or rolled oats for energy ?

[@OurWyomingLife]

The main supplement that we feed around here is called cake it's a protein supplement. Thanks Chad good question

[@masquitaful]

It would be awesome to see the same sort of comparison made between burmuda and alfalfa. We have bahaya, rye or burmuda. 007 burmuda is about 22% protein. Bahaya is around 5%. Rye is around 10% but deficient in magnesium. Guess which one is most popular. We feed the bahaya in the dead of winter to the beef cows, with some burmuda mixed in. My dairy cows only get burmuda and rye grass grazing. Burmuda is the alfalfa of the south. We are wayyyyyyyyy too hot to grow alfalfa down here. Good thing, it's a perennial, bad thing, it attracts stem maggots and army worms. I'm fixing to put guineas in the hay field to try to cut down on the army worms. I hate having to spray.

[@OurWyomingLife]

I hear ya there, would be a neat experiment. Thanks - Mike

[@hellyeahshescool]

I didn't know that chickens ate hay! Do you ever feed haylage or silage?

[@OurWyomingLife]

Actually we don't feed haulage or silage. And chickens love alfalfa! Thanks

[@bcooper7352]

Do you have any hay ground you can irrigate in a dry year?

[@OurWyomingLife]

At this point we dont, irrigation in this part of Wyoming is tough and you rarely see any unless a flowing river or creek runs through your property. There is an irrigation consulting company in Casper that we have talked to but we would have to pump out of a well and into a stock pond then irrigate out of that, which logistically is expensive and hard to do. We are working on some other solutions but man it would be nice to irrigate thats for sure. Great questions, thanks - Mike

[@martinspijker9661]

is there a big prize difference between the millethay and the alfalfa?

[@OurWyomingLife]

Millet hay tends to be quite abit cheaper than alfalfa....usually 20 to 30 $ per ton cheaper.

[@offroadoutdoorist0376]

So are y'all going to plant alfalfa

[@OurWyomingLife]

We actually drilled alfalfa into most of the hay fields two years ago. We havent had a good year of rain to really get it going though. Thanks - Mike

[@doriswalker7492]

Hello everyone work is never done on the farm from westmlnster MD

[@OurWyomingLife]

Thats for sure, thanks Doris - Mike

[@jaykettlewell3922]

Ever consider buying all the hay? You could pasture the whole ranch that way, and you wouldn't need so much equipment.

[@OurWyomingLife]

Thats an option that we have looked into at times. Thanks - Mike

[@syabushcraft3417]

If y'all had pine trees, you could give all your cow's sun glasses and they could eat pine straw, and wouldn't know the difference.

[@OurWyomingLife]

Nice, thank you very much - Mike

[@InsaneFirebat]

Is there enough supply for you to stock just one type that your cows prefer? How much does protein content affect the price?

[@haydenschmitt7926]

do you guys go hunting if so can you do a video and if you colabed with a another you tuber you can get more subs.

[@OurWyomingLife]

We've sent out a few collaboration offers but we haven't heard anything back also we will be doing probably some hunting videos in October that's when our hunting season is. Thanks for watching

[@kathyowen4849]

I feed ours coastal hay

[@blindwisdom9665]

What about peanut hay have y'all tried that

[@OurWyomingLife]

Never have. In fact I've never even seen it for sale in these parts. I'm sure trucking it up here makes it cost prohibitive. Thanks -Mike

[@SMiller5488]

No haylage?

[@OurWyomingLife]

No we are all dry land farming, when we put up hay it is normally below 20% moisture when its cut and within a day we are baling at 12-14% Thanks for watching - Mike

[@brandeissports3436]

❤️👍

[@sixtoes2313]

🐄

[@stewartcampbell7794]

Release da Kow's of Horde's ? That's Exactly Like Daily Feasti'n" Tyme after the Dinner Chime at da Campbell Canteen & Corral ! K/D or Chef -Bored R D ! Pass da Ketchup Pl's . Just cause It's Good Doesn't Mean U Should . Any Quantitative Science 2 This ? I Always Wondered about this Issue & Always Tried 2 Keep the Critter's Happy ! YYZ-Planker .

[@OurWyomingLife]

Gotta keep them happy. Thanks Stewart -Mike