What are you doing to cut your feed bill this year?

[normajeanbaker]

We aren't doing anything different to cut our feed bill. It'll cost me the same to go through the winter as it did the summer. We buy hay out of the field and get all we need for a year, so that helps a little. Cheaper then what you'd pay half way through winter out of the barn. We are set with hay until next August. I do supplements all year round, so no cost cutting there. I dont usually end up decreasing the amount of grain they get either. If they start to pork out, I'll cut them back, but for the most part, they stay steady with their weight, so no cost cutting their either. The only thing I am doing different is I did away with Hay Stretcher pellets for their lunch and am doing hay instead over the winter. But, cost wise, it evens out the same. Once early spring arrives, I'll cut back the hay and increase the hay stretcher again.

We also got 50 bales of shavings in and I am getting another 50 in a few weeks, which will carry us through winter. I am getting them cheaper this time of year then I will mid-winter, so that saves a bit too.

I pretty much just suck it up and get them what they need. They stay great looking weight wise all winter, which makes it much easier come spring to get them ready for the show ring. And by keeping them on their supplements all winter, they have great coats all year round. I only have 7 that I am feeding, so I have it much easier then some of you others that have alot more then I do. I know alot of people have a much higher feed bill then myself, so I tend not to complain one bit about it

~Jen~

 

[palsminihorses]

A tip on feeding round bales, use a hog panel!! Wrap the bale with a hog panel with bunge straps and tighten it as they eat. It makes a perfect round bale feeder and you have a lot less waste!!! We have been using them for the last 4 years. They work great for the minis, the big horses can be hard on them, but with the minis we can use the panels for more than one season. The big horses tend to bend them easier but at 18-22 dollars a panel we just scrap them and buy a new one if needed!!
Check with the sugar plant themselves to get the beet pulp in bulk. We lived in MI and when you buy it direct, it is not bagged, so you need a gravity box or something they can pour it into!! Also check your elevator, we bought a pallet at a time at a discount!!

What a great idea to use the hog panels! I had never thought of that. We are planning to put out round bales in each field in early November when we will be gone for 5 days...........to make it easier on the person feeding for us. We will be buying some of the hog panels. Thanks for sharing the info!

Pam C.

 

[Miniv]

I'm using more grocery store coupons and buying in bulk - eating out less and cooking at home more...
Oh wait -- you mean my horses' feed bill, not my feed bill?

Seriously, I am not changing my horses' diet at all - I really like the feed program I have them on and am not changing it at all!

Liz R.

Thanks for that laugh!!! I needed it!!!!

:BigGrin

I can picture it... someone could say my horses are eating better than ever but we just bought a truck load of Ramen noodles for ourselves

It may be funny...........but I know what she's saying!!! When things have been tight at the end of the month, I have always made sure we've had enough food for ALL our animals first! Then, there's the coupons and returning the bottles and cans to help pay for OUR groceries.........

It's been awhile..........and not often..........but there have been circumstances a few times where that's been the situation.

In looking ahead........it's not a bad idea to PLAN. When our favorite complete feed began going up drastically in price we started researching other feeds and found another with the same ingredients that was several dollars cheaper per bag, plus when we bought in bulk they gave us an additional 10% off. (Basically it's a free bag for every 10.)

We have been growing our own hay since we moved 4 years ago, which provides for ALMOST what we need. So we have changed our management a bit with our herd......... After we harvest our second (and last) cutting of hay off the 18 acres, and our seasonal irrigation water is stopped --- except for short monthly runs to fill our ponds --- We are putting a large group of our kids out on the cut field to graze. If we don't get horrible weather, we will only have to subsidize them with some extra through most of the winter. And what we harvested off that field will be providing that.

One thing we ALWAYS have to remember when calculating how much hay is going to be needed for winter is, whatever we have been feeding during summer -- expect to be doubling it. Even with shelter, the extra hay/forage is what helps to keep them warm when the temperatures drop below 32 degrees. (A horse is MOST comfortable between 40 to 65 degrees. Much below 40 -- I would guess 35 degrees -- and they will start burning off their body fat to stay warm.)

Sorry.........this turned into a long post. All I meant to say is to "plan ahead" for the coming months.........We try to........

 

[fancyappy]

I think our efforts to reduce our hay/feed bill for winter seriously backfired.

We decided this summer to sell several big horses...less mouths to feed. this winter....but then we adopted 3 minis, one which had a foal so actually we now have more horses, but well ok..."mini's eat less "we consoled ourselves.

Then we decided to buy our hay in bulk because last year we got stuck paying 5.00 a bale as winter progressed. We can get great hay at 3.00 a bale now but guess what ? we have to take it all. So ok we will take all 1000 bales it will be so much cheaper for us...but guess what..where do we put it? so now we are talking about refinancing and building a barn to put the bargain hay in for the horses we were not supposed to have going into winter...oh did I mention someone gave us a pony and we adopted 2 mini donks too?...we better stop trying to save money while we are ahead....

 

[h2t99]

Thanks for the tip. Are they hard to wrap around a bale? My farmer is going to make smaller bales for me and I was trying to come up with a way of keeping them from wasting the hay plus not make it so easy for them to pig out on it as it is about 19% protein. I do worry that they will somehow get it loose and have it spring out on them and injure one of the horses.

The first few times you wrap them it takes 2 people but then it is easier. Just make sure you use good straps, we have never had them come apart, I have also used baling twine to tie them together!! Then just cut the twine when you need a new bale.

The only way to limit them would be to take them away from the bale!! Although when we fed the rich stuff we also got some grass hay and would rotate them on the bales!!

 

[Bess Kelly]

Please be careful of the metal at the ends of the panels, that stuff can cut you if it snaps and pops into one (you or the horse), or they can push thru, etc. I've used duct tape, strapped a board to cover the edges at the tie point, etc., to help prevent a problem.

It does make a good "pen" for the hay. Cattle panels work but are much heavier to deal with.

I've use bales as a free feed situation in herd size hay racks. Of course, it's usually more of a 2-3 day quantity with those. But, it's there!

Besides, I don't have equipment to move those big rolls.

 

[LittleRibbie]

diane, I was thinking the same thing...Im moving to Michigan... I pay 16.50 a bale and 7.00 for a bag of shavings !! OOUCH.