sweetlix - cattle feed supplement: any good?

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Our hay is terrible. We're trying to supplement with some alfalfa hay until stuff starts to grow around here.

We found some information on something called sweelix. It claims to have lots of protein, vitamins, etc. My concern is that it is probably less than organic.

Their web site does not share what the ingredients are.

Does anyone know of similar products that might be a bit more organic?

-- Paul Wheaton (paul@javaranch.com), April 08, 2002

Answers

Get your self a good feeds book or pamphlet that gives you the concentrations of the various feeds and a profile of what your ration should contain to fulfill your purpose. Then think outside the box. You could supplement with linseed meal instead of alfalfa or soybean meal and this usually will save on the feed bill when protein is short and good hay is very high. Check out sources for brewer's grains left over from making alcoholic beverages, anyone in your area have this to sell? Good luck.

-- Sandra Nelson (magin@starband.net), April 08, 2002.

They also make a mineral geared towards the meat goat industry, contains way to much mollassas which gives you a wide swing in the amount of minerals the goat should and will eat. Pretty easy to state that their mineral is liked by goats, eaten by more goats in trials etc. when it is candy coated :) We are bombarded by sales from this place on all the yahoo lists. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (Nubians) (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 08, 2002.

What do you mean - your hay is terrible? If it's just more like straw than hay - stemmy and not much leaf or legumes, then most ruminants can live with that. If you mean the hay's gone mouldy, then forget it - it could kill them, or cause them to abort.

Are you talking about feeding cattle (I assume), or something else? Cattle can be fed on the most incredible stuff in feed lots - shredded paper, orange peels - provided they get protein and mineral supplements. As usual, talk to your local extension agent about what would be best in your situation - after all, that's why you pay them.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), April 08, 2002.


Feeding cattle is all about keeping costs down. Sweetlix is kinda spendy if all you need is protien - get some corn, corn byproducts, or soy byproducts if you have many cattle to feed. If you need the minerals too and are only feeding a couple head, it will help fill in the gap in nutrition, and might be convienient for the next month until the pasture kicks in.

Obviously, the minerals could be inorganic, but the bulk of the protien will come from organic sources - do you mean the organic movement issue, or just organic in origin?

--->Paul

-- paul (ramblerplm@hotmail.com), April 09, 2002.


A good product for temporary or short term use, I use crystalyx, the ingredients of the product can be found at crystalyx.com. I just imagine that sweetlix has a site also. For the most part all the animal byproducts that cause any problems has been eleminated, by mandate of the USDA. Always keep a tag from the feed ingredients on file at home, just in case. Like the man says, any dry matter as long as its not mouldy will work with a little cow cake, they are fussy when green grass just starts and not enough to satisfy. PS molasses is organic to me.

-- susan norfolk/wy (susan_norfolk@yahoo.com), April 09, 2002.


In a pinch, I use the back fat off the cattle to see them through...plan for it with good grazing in season. My feed rep still stops but he just likes to jaw with me since i never buy any lix of any kind. I have bulk applied corn steep liquor to straw and really stemmy weed hay in some droughty and therefore low backfat years. Oh, i never buy any feed of any kind unless it is hay or corn from the neighbor who does not care about the nutrients leaving his farm.

Oscar

-- Oscar Will (owill@mail.whittier.edu), April 14, 2002.


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