Is There A Place For Creep Feeding?

ELDON COLE

MT. VERNON, MO.
   Many commercial cow-calf producers feel creep feeding does not have a place in their management system. In 2021, the cost of creep feed certainly may result in trouble “penciling it out” when you compare the cost of feed for the extra value you add to the calf.
   However, there are still scenarios where “smart creeping” will pay.
   Year in and year out, a lot of commercial cow-calf producers like to do a limited creep for calves a few weeks prior to weaning.  The limited creep helps precondition the calves for the most stressful few weeks in their lives as they adjust to getting along with out mom’s milk. The small amount of creep, along with fence line weaning is becoming the standard in weaning protocol. The limited creep seldom lasts longer than four or five weeks prior to weaning.
   Creep rations don’t have to be corn or grain by-product based. A favorite creep feed could be allowing calves to forward graze a high-quality grass-legume mix pasture or alfalfa hay or haylage. The latter stored forages work both in summer as well as winter. The University of Missouri’s Southwest Research Center used very average alfalfa haylage as a creep for fall-born calves. Compared to non-creeped calves, the haylage calves gained 0.90 lb. per day more in the study on 6.2 pounds of haylage dry matter.
   If you sort your cow herd by age, the extremes are the females you should get the most bang for your creep feeding buck. The extremes would be first-calf heifers and the senior citizens who are 10 years and over. There may also be some “special needs” cows that are in failing body condition for some reason.  Examples might be hoof problems, chronic fescue cases, eye problems and the “last calf” cow that should have been on the sale barn trailer last year but you thought, maybe she’ll do better next year.
   A point to stress is more for accurate performance evaluation within your cows, develop contemporary groups so creeped calves are not compared to those not receiving creep.
   Among purebred/registered herds some owners separate bull calves from heifers and creep only the males. Research has shown the creep fed heifer calves can deposit too much fat and this negatively affects their future milk production. This should not be a concern if the creep ration is high in fiber and/or limited intake practices are followed. Plus, if you intend to keep the best heifer calves for replacements, you probably don’t need to creep them unless they’ll be sold as feeders.
   The bottom line is, your past years of experience with dry, short pastures or toxic Kentucky 31 fescue should guide your decision on whether to creep, not creep or somewhere in between. ∆

ELDON COLE: Extension Livestock Specialist, University of Missouri

 Fall-born calves are often creep fed during the worst part of the winter.
 Another popular time to creep is a few weeks prior to weaning.

 

 Creep feeding calves has pros and cons.

 
 High feed prices will cause some to retire creep feeders this year.