Adding whole oats to your cow’s diet is an easy way to provide them with an extra source of energy. It’s also an excellent feed for youngstock and breeding animals. It’s easy to feed and has very few digestive upsets.
Contents
It’s easy to feed with very few cases of digestive upset
Choosing the best and most efficient method of delivering the best feed to your cows is a tricky business. In most cases, feeding a combination of hay and straw is the most efficient and effective way to feed your herd. This is especially true if you are using a bale processor to minimize sorting on your part.
When it comes to feeding cows, the trick is to ensure that the feed is not only nutritionally sound, but also appealing to the palate. To do this, it is a good idea to use a hay bale processor, which is designed to chop the best hay and straw bales into smaller pieces that will be more easily digested by your cows.
In addition to feeding hay and straw, you may want to consider a grain-based ration. This is a good option if your roughage supply is limited and you have a short-term supply. For example, if your crop is not going to be harvested for a few weeks, you can feed your cows a mixture of corn and oats.
It’s high in fiber and low in energy
Having whole oats as part of your diet can have many benefits, from promoting weight loss to helping you stay healthy. The grains are rich in minerals and vitamins, as well as being low in fat. In fact, they are a great source of fiber, which can help promote regular digestion.
Whole oats also contain a variety of antioxidants, which can help fight disease. They can also be used as an ingredient in facial masks. As well, they have been shown to relieve inflammatory skin conditions. They can also be added to recipes to increase their fiber content.
Oats are a good choice for people with gluten intolerance. They are also a good source of tryptophan, which is a precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin. Oats also contain beta-glucan, which has been shown to help lower bad cholesterol. It is also believed to help control blood sugar and prevent sharp spikes after meals.
It’s an excellent feed for youngstock and breeding animals
Traditionally, horsemen would buy whole oats and feed them to their horses. Oats are an excellent source of digestible fibre and a good choice for young stock and breeding animals. However, the nutritional value of oats can vary greatly, depending on the variety. Some may be more digestible than others.
The hulls of oats are a significant portion of the grain and contain a good amount of crude fibre. These hulls range from 23-35% of the grain, depending on the variety. This is a good thing because it provides a large surface area for digestive juices to work on.
A high fibre feed is also a good way to boost the immune system, as well as beneficial gut microflora. This helps discourage the overgrowth of pathogenic microflora, which can be detrimental to your horse’s health.
It’s a source of energy in high-grain diets
Increasingly, whole oats are being used in food products as a source of energy. This is due to the fact that oats contain a variety of valuable nutrients.
Oats have a high content of dietary fibres. These fibres include lignin, arabinoxylans, cellulose and b-glucan. These dietary fibres are found in the cell walls of grains and are necessary for human health. They are also associated with lower rates of systemic cellular inflammation.
Whole oats are also high in phytochemicals, such as antioxidants. These antioxidants are found in the outer layer of the oat kernel. They are particularly concentrated in the bran of the oat grain.
The bran is also rich in B vitamins and fiber. The outer shell of the grain contains pericarp, which contributes significantly to the insoluble dietary fibre content of the grain.
It’s a traditional feed for sheep
Besides forages, sheep can benefit from supplementing their diet with the appropriate nutrients. Some feed companies offer a plethora of “complete” sheep feeds, which are balanced for specific animal needs. A complete feed can also be composed of other items such as grain and other grains, as well as corn-based pellets. However, the economics of supplementing a sheep’s diet will vary depending on the specifics of your operation.
The best way to determine which feedstuff will be most effective for your herd is to keep track of the number of pounds your sheep consume each day. A good rule of thumb is to use one to two pounds per head of sheep per day, depending on your specific herd size. Some feedstuffs are more expensive than others, so you may wish to consider purchasing some that cost less.