Ad lib feed

[Maccbob]

Hi all
How do you feed your Dexters during the winter months, they have plenty of grass and the ground is not to wet. I have been giving them a hand full of 70/30 beef nuts each day since i got them in September, this is mainly to get then in the shed when required. As the days and nights are colder and the grass looses its goodness is it best to feed ad lib hay or an amount each day, do Dexters over feed on ad lib hay.

[Rob R]

Our herd is grass fed year round so they get hay and/or big bale silage adlib, although we ensure they clean up before giving more to keep the forage fresh. In addition to the forage they get salt, seaweed and/or molasses licks as required (we have a history of a molybdenum excess here that locks up copper and an iodine deficiency. I haven't fed any concentrates to Dexters for about 15 years and if I need to bribe one I use either sugar beet pellets or grass pellets.

Some of the short legs can run fat on good hay, but if they're producing I tend to find it's only the passengers that get fat.

[Broomcroft]

Adlib silage / haylage all winter. Plus good quality, general purpose licks. Will occasionally put feed blocks in with groups that need a bit extra or we want to get mag into them quickly'ish. We've got lots of grass as well but there's not much goodness in it. Certainly around here, leaving cattle out just on grass now would be risky. Lost one cow a few weeks ago and nearly lost another one as well to staggers, even though they looked very well.