How many alfalfa cubes do you feed a horse?

How many alfalfa cubes do you feed a horse?

So if you’re feeding nothing but alfalfa cubes, you should feed 1.5 to 2 percent of the horse’s body weight per day. If you’re giving it in addition to hay and/or grain, the total of everything should add up to 1.5 to 2 percent of the horse’s body weight.

How many pounds is a flake of alfalfa?

An average flake of alfalfa hay will usually be thinner than the grass flake but may weigh 5–6 lbs. However, the weight of a flake can vary tremendously between types of hay, quality of hay within type and the settings of the machinery used to bale the hay.

Will alfalfa cubes put weight on a horse?

You want to choose the highest quality hay you can find for your thin horse. Alfalfa is higher in calories and protein than grass hays, which makes it an excellent choice to help to add weight to a thin horse. If your horse tends to be wasteful with his hay, he may eat more when offered alfalfa hay cubes or pellets.

Can alfalfa cubes replace hay?

Alfalfa cubes are chopped and compressed but not pulverized like pellets. Therefore they do provide some of the benefits of long-stem forage and can safely replace hay in an equine’s diet.

Are alfalfa pellets as good as alfalfa hay?

A: Nutrient-wise, alfalfa hay and alfalfa pellets are similar in content. The main difference between the two is the horse’s chew time when eating them. A horse will consume alfalfa pellets much faster than baled alfalfa.

How long does alfalfa last?

three years

What’s the best fertilizer for alfalfa?

nitrogen fertilizer

How much does it cost per acre to plant alfalfa?

Alfalfa has to be planted at around 25 pounds per acre if I remember correctly. A 50 pound bag of seed is around $200 last I heard a few years back, so $100 an acre just for seed. Probably $120-150 per acre including tillage costs.

How many bales of alfalfa can you get per acre?

100 50 lbs bales about @ acre would be a good average on 1st cut, but depending on seeding, soil and fertilization could be up to 150 bales.

What is the yield of alfalfa per acre?

The average total yield is 20-35 tons per hectare (or 8-14 tons per acre) per year (distributed in 5-6 cuts). Top yields (intensive farming) can exceed 40 tons per hectare or 16 tons per acre per year. You can enrich this article by leaving a comment or photo of your alfalfa harvesting methods and yields.

Is Alfalfa a good cash crop?

It’s a profitable crop these days, with prices for high quality hay frequently reaching $250/ton. But in addition to its over $1 billion value to the state of California, alfalfa provides a host of environmental benefits that are frequently overlooked.

Can you make money growing alfalfa?

Increased profits from alfalfa—Top dairymen know alfalfa is their most profitable crop. The high yield of high quality forage results in the greatest milk or meat production per acre of any forage. In two of those years, individual farmers pro- duced more than 10 tons of alfalfa per acre.

How much does a bale of alfalfa weigh?

Small square bales weigh from 50 – 70 pounds and can be easily hand separated into “flakes.” Cattle ranches use large round bales, typically 4 to 6 feet in diameter and weighing from 1000 to 2000 lb.

How much does alfalfa seed cost?

Alfalfa seed of modern varieties can cost over $4.00 per pound, while older varieties can be purchased for $2.00 per pound or less.

What is the best time to plant alfalfa?

If you have land available for alfalfa in late summer, optimal seeding dates are July 15 through August in the Upper Midwest; closer to July 15 for northernmost regions. For growers in warmer climates, seeding into early September is acceptable. Here are my five tips for successfully seeding your alfalfa fields. 1.

Do whitetail deer eat alfalfa?

Corn is often used as a food supplement, but is low in protein and nutritional value. Second cut or later alfalfa is commonly used, but deer also need time to adapt to this food source. Deer can starve with a stomach full of alfalfa they cannot digest.

Does alfalfa need a cover crop?

Alfalfa often may be seeded with a companion crop like oats to control weeds and erosion and provide a crop of grain or hay. Clear seeding alfalfa alone, without a companion crop, also works well. They act like weeds, robbing alfalfa seedlings of moisture, sunlight, and nutrients during the seeding year.

Which cover crop is the best?

Rye is easily the largest volume cover crop species in all of North America. With rye’s ability to alleviate compaction, reduce water and wind erosion, sequester nutrients, suppress weeds and nematodes, and provide forage, it could arguably be called the G.O.A.T.

How deep do alfalfa roots grow?

20 feet

How fast does alfalfa grow?

With seeding-year alfalfa, stems are spindly, roots are small and shorter, and growth is a little slower. You can harvest seeding-year alfalfa as early as 40 days after seedlings emerge. It takes plants about 40 days to become able to regrow from the crown after cutting.

Does alfalfa need a lot of water?

Alfalfa is a high water use crop because it has a long growing season, a deep root system, and a dense mass of vegetation. Commonly cited ranges in water requirements for alfalfa are 18 to 36 inches of water per season. Alfalfa is quite tolerant of drought or extended periods without highly available water.

Can you overseed alfalfa?

Most producers would probably prefer to overseed additional alfalfa into a thin stand. However, overseeding alfalfa stands over one year old with additional alfalfa seed is not recommended due to the likelihood of autotoxicity issues.

What state grows the most alfalfa?

Arizona