What should you feed your 1 year old cow?

Answer 1

Depends on what "cow" you are referring to. But really, be it a steer, heifer or bull (as a cow is typically a mature female bovine that has already had a calf, which is 2 years of age and older) is primarily fed grass and legume-grass-mix hay, with maybe a little grain on the side if you so choose. Heifers should be fed so that they are in good condition from the time they conceive (@ 15 mo.) to when they give birth to a calf (@ 24 mo.) which, on the BCS scale of 1 to 9 (1 being the most emaciated), should be a BCS of no more than 6. Heifers, as females, are more likely to lay on too much fat than steers or bulls. Steers and bulls, however, should be fed a good quality diet that doesn't lay on too much fat too quickly, but helps build muscle. Bulls will develop more muscle more quickly than steers will, and steers will lay on a little more fat than bulls will. A yearling (of 12 months of age) should receive a diet of crude protein of around 8 to 10%, which means including protein-rich (but animal by-product free) feed like 10 lbs of grain per day and alfalfa or clover/grass mix hay. Cattle tend to eat 2.5% of their body weight, as fed, per day.