Key Technical Points of Feed Formulas for Raising Cattle with Distiller's Grains

Raising cattle with distiller's grains has always been a very common practice among cattle farmers. Cattle particularly like eating fermented products, and distiller's grains, a fermented by-product of the brewing industry, have a very strong aroma.

When distiller's grains are used to feed cattle and mixed with straw feed, beef cattle love eating it. After feeding, it is easy to digest in the beef cattle's rumen, and the cattle become a bit drowsy and grow sturdy and fast, greatly increasing the economic benefits of cattle raising. Below, let's take a look at the feed formula for raising cattle with distiller's grains!

Advantages of Raising Cattle with Distiller's Grains

Distiller's grains are all formed after fermentation and high-temperature steaming, so their crude fiber content is relatively low. This determines that distiller's grains, as cattle feed, have good palatability and are easy to digest, and can also effectively prevent cattle from developing rumen bloat.

Distiller's grains are a direct by-product of the brewing process. They not only contain a certain proportion of grain, which can save concentrate feed for cattle, but are also rich in crude protein, about 2—3 times higher than the content in corn. They also contain a variety of trace elements, vitamins, yeast, etc., and the content of lysine, methionine and tryptophan is also very high, which crop straw cannot provide.

Distiller's grains contain a certain amount of alcohol. After feeding, cattle can lie down peacefully and ruminate. After feeding cattle distiller's grains for about 20—30 days, you will find that the cattle's coat becomes glossier and softer, and they are no longer picky about eating. Cattle fed with distiller's grains have good meat quality, fine fibers, bright color, and toughness, and the net meat rate increases by about 4%-7%. Each cow can increase income by 660—960 yuan.

Feed Formula for Raising Cattle with Distiller's Grains

The crude protein content of distiller's grains can reach about 25%, making them a very good choice as feed for cattle or other animals. However, directly using distiller's grains to feed cattle or other animals not only fails to fully utilize the nutritional value, but also has poor taste. Therefore, it is best to ferment them with lactic acid bacteria starter before feeding cattle or other animals, which is safer and better. Only in this way is the feed more complete in nutrition and better in taste.

The following is the operation method and precautions for fermenting distiller's grains into pig feed, for everyone's reference:

1. Prepare materials. About 50% distiller's grains, about 30% cornmeal, about 20% bran or rice bran, and about 0.5-1‰ lactic acid bacteria starter;

2. Dilute the bacterial strain. First use rice bran, cornmeal or bran to dry-dilute the feed fermentation starter at a ratio of 1:5-10, mix evenly without adding water first, and set aside;

3. Mix the materials. Mix the prepared distiller's grains, cornmeal, bran and the pre-diluted feed fermentation starter together, and be sure to stir evenly. If there is a relatively large amount of fermentation material, you can first mix the diluted feed fermentation starter with part of the material, then sprinkle it into the fermentation material, in order to achieve a more even mix of material and fermentation starter.

4. Moisture requirements. The moisture content of the prepared material should be controlled at about 65%. Judgment method: grab a handful of material and it can form a ball, water is visible between the fingers but does not drip, and it disperses when dropped to the ground. Too much water makes it difficult to raise the temperature, and too little water makes fermentation difficult. When adding water, note that you should add less first, and if the moisture is insufficient, add more until appropriate.

5. Sealing requirements. The fermentation material can be placed in containers such as barrels, vats, pools, or plastic bags. During fermentation, the material should be completely sealed, but the material should not be pressed too tightly. When using containers with poor sealing for fermentation, an outer layer of plastic film or bag should be added and tied tightly with a rubber band to ensure sealing.

6. Complete fermentation. Seal and ferment for about 3 days under natural temperature (the starting temperature is best above 15°C). When there is a wine aroma, it indicates that fermentation is complete.

7. Precautions. During fermentation, it must not be opened or turned over. After the fermented finished product is taken for feeding each time, it should be sealed again immediately. The finished product can be stored separately in small sealed bags, or preserved by air-drying for dehydration, low-temperature drying, or granulation. Moldy and spoiled distiller's grains must not be used.

Feeding Methods for Raising Cattle with Distiller's Grains

It is divided into three stages: before fattening, during fattening and after fattening.

Daily ration composition for beef cattle before fattening: 7 kg distiller's grains, 3 kg concentrate, 13 kg grass meal.

Daily ration composition for beef cattle during the mid-fattening period: 10 kg distiller's grains, 4—4.2 kg concentrate, 20 kg forage.

Daily ration composition for beef cattle during the late fattening period: 8 kg distiller's grains, 3.5 kg concentrate, 15 kg forage.

Precautions for Raising Cattle with Distiller's Grains

Distiller's grains are the residue of the brewing industry. They are not only rich in nutrients and energy, but also have the effect of improving appetite. When feeding distiller's grains, attention should be paid to the following aspects:

1. At the beginning, cattle may be somewhat unaccustomed to being fed distiller's grains, but after a 3—5 day adaptation period, the cattle will get used to it. When feeding distiller's grains, start with less and gradually increase, and after the cattle are used to eating it, feed according to the set amount.

2. Feed at fixed times and in fixed amounts. In spring and winter, feed 2 times a day: add distiller's grains at 7:30 in the morning, provide warm water once at noon, and add distiller's grains at 6 in the afternoon. In autumn, add distiller's grains at 7 in the morning, provide warm water once at noon, and add distiller's grains at 5:30 in the evening. In summer, add distiller's grains at 4 in the morning, add distiller's grains at 6:30 in the evening, and provide clean cool water twice at noon. In the early fattening period, feed 4 kg of fresh distiller's grains per cow per day; in the mid period, feed 6 kg; in the late period, feed 5.5 kg.

3. Add frequently and mix frequently. When feeding, give less at a time but add frequently, and mix as they eat.

4. The feeding amount must not be too large. Feeding too much distiller's grains for a long time can easily cause diseases such as excessive stomach acid and rumen bloating in beef cattle. Adding an appropriate amount of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to the distiller's grains can reduce acidity.

Both beer distiller's grains and white liquor distiller's grains can be used to feed cattle, and beer distiller's grains have stronger palatability.

Disease Prevention and Control Measures for Raising Cattle with Distiller's Grains

1. Vaccinate regularly to prevent the occurrence of infectious diseases. In spring and autumn, carry out preventive vaccination against foot-and-mouth disease, bovine pasteurellosis and bovine blackleg according to the immunization program.

2. Strictly implement the relevant departments' regulations on introducing breeding stock. Do not introduce breeding stock randomly from other places, and do not introduce breeding stock from epidemic areas. For local introductions, do a good job of isolation and observation, and only mix them into the herd after the isolation period ends.

3. Do a good job of regular deworming of cattle to avoid parasitic infections.

4. Do a good job of regular disinfection of cattle farms and cattle sheds to kill pathogens.

5. If disease or epidemic conditions appear in the cattle herd, immediately notify the animal disease prevention and control department and take measures to eliminate the disease.

6. Do not dissect dead cattle in cattle farms or cattle sheds. Dead cattle must all be subjected to harmless treatment such as deep burial or incineration, and dead cattle carcasses must not be randomly discarded.

The above introduces the feed mixing methods and precautions for raising cattle with distiller's grains, hoping to be helpful to cattle farmers.

However, distiller's grains are not a nutritionally balanced ration. They have high protein content and relatively low energy, and long-term feeding will affect the weight gain of cattle. The phosphorus content of distiller's grains is relatively high, but the calcium content is low; water-soluble vitamin content is high while fat-soluble vitamin content is low; there is also a deficiency and imbalance of trace elements and minerals, which should be supplemented by adding concentrate when making mixed feed.

Therefore, we cannot only use distiller's grains to raise cattle all the time. In daily feeding, it is also necessary to supplement energy feed and other nutrients, such as concentrate feed, in coordinated feeding. Only in this way will the cattle raised be healthier and more balanced.