The University of Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences
Cooperative Extension Service

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Livestock Newsletter

November/December 1997
AS1 - Newsletter

• Upcoming Livestock DatesGeorgia to Hold First Annual Prospect Pig Show
• 1997 Calhoun Bull Evaluation Center
• Making the Most of Your Junior Beef Heifer Project
• Is Alfalfa All It's "Stacked" up to Be for Horses? -- Part II - Diet Comparisons
• Georgia State 4-H Composite and UGA Horse Judging Teams Compete at the All American Quarter Horse Congress
• Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup Judging Contest
• The 1998 American Youth Horse Council Youth Horse Leaders' Symposium Scheduled for February 13-15, 1998

Please give credit to the author if you use an article in a non-Extension publication and please send a copy of the article to the author. Thank you!

Upcoming Livestock Dates

Georgia to Hold First Annual Prospect Pig Show

History will be made in Georgia on Saturday, January 10, at the Perry Agri-center as the Ringmaster Extravaganza Prospect/Progress Pig Show is held. The objective of this show is to give the youth with winter pig projects another opportunity to exhibit their pigs. The Grand Prize is a set of Paul Hog Scales, compliments of the show funds and Mr. Adrian Paul. The Reserve Prize is a set of Stewart Clippers and guards from Show Stopper. Champion in prospect and progress will receive $300.00 and a belt buckle, and reserves in each will receive $150.00 and a belt buckle. Cash will be paid to the first 5 places in each class. The judge will be Mark Hoge of Iowa State University. Deadline for entries is December 15, with a late fee of $25.00 for any registering after. Weigh-in will begin at 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, January 9 and will resume from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 10. The show is planned to begin at 3:00 p.m. There will be no showmanship in this introductory year -- changes may be made in future years. The date is planned to allow anyone to bring pigs in and take them home on Saturday. If there are any questions, call (912) 248-2236.

1997 Calhoun Bull Evaluation Center

Dan T. Brown, Extension Animal Scientist

The 1997 bull test is winding down at Calhoun. This year's test through 84 days has been an all time record at Calhoun. One hundred and forty (140) bulls across eight breeds have produced an average daily gain of 4.55 pounds.

The top two-thirds (approximately 90-100) of these bulls will be offered for sale on Thursday, December 11, 1997. The sale will be held at the Livestock Pavilion at the Northwest Georgia Experiment Station in Calhoun. The sale will start at 12:30 p.m. This is an excellent set of bulls. The performance for 84 days is listed below. The bulls will be weighed off-test on November 18.

For additional information or to request sale catalogs, please call Dan Brown at 706/745-6197.

Number of Bulls and Averages by Breed Are:

Making the Most of Your Junior Beef Heifer Project

Ronnie Silcox, Extension Animal Scientist

Junior exhibitors who show purebred heifers need to be aware of breed association events as well as 4-H and FFA events. Some Junior breeds associations offer special premiums if the exhibitor is a member or meets other specific requirements. Some of these breeds also have special shows and junior programs at their state field days. Following is a list of contact people for breed associations in Georgia. Offices and Junior leaders change at various times of the year. These may not be the current people in charge, but they are all good folks who can either answer your questions or at least point you in the right direction.

Is Alfalfa All It's "Stacked" up to Be for Horses?
Part II - Diet Comparisons

Gary Heusner, Extension Animal Scientist - Equine

Last month, I discussed the use of Alfalfa hay in horse diets pertaining to the need for forage in a horse's diet. I also discussed some of the differences between Alfalfa hay and Bermudagrass hay nutrient content wise. In the discussion of Alfalfa and Bermudagrass hays, cost comparisons were also made taking into account the energy supplied by each hay on a per pound basis. Finally, I listed some points to consider when feeding alfalfa hay to horses which were (1) hays are fed primarily to provide energy and roughage, so that cost comparison should be made on the energy provided per unit cost. Two, Alfalfa because of its high protein content is better suited for young growing horses and lactating mares. Three, Alfalfa is palatable, highly digestible and may have some possible intrinsic nutritive factors of which we are unaware. Four, horses should be adapted to Alfalfa gradually as it may have a laxative effect. This month I am going to look at some different diets using Alfalfa and comparing it to Bermudagrass hay.

The most common type of horse fed is one that is being ridden lightly to moderately. A typical 1100 pound horse ridden as such requires the following amounts of nutrients in the diet per day:

If we fed this horse 15 pounds of Alfalfa hay per day we could meet the rest of its nutrient requirements by feeding 4 pounds of a typical 10% grain based sweet feed. The nutrient needs of this horse also can be met by feeding 19 pounds of Bermudagrass hay and 5 pounds of the same grain based sweet feed. These two diets will provide the following nutrients and cost per day.

For cost comparison, I used $250.00/ton for Alfalfa and $120.00/ton for Bermudagrass hay. These are the values used last month for cost comparison. I used $0.193 per pound for a 10% crude protein low fiber sweet feed.

Alfalfa is more suitable for young growing horses. A 600 pound eight month old weanling requires the following amounts of nutrients in the diet per day for a moderate growth rate:

If we fed this 600 pound, eight month old weanling six pounds of Alfalfa hay per day, we could meet its nutrient requirements by feeding seven pounds of a typical 10% crude protein, low fiber grain based sweet feed. The yearling would gain about 1.0 pounds per day. The nutrient needs of this yearling could also be met by feeding 7.25 pounds of a good quality Bermudagrass hay and 7.5 pounds of 14% crude protein grain based feed.

The cost per day and nutrients supplied by the two diets will be:

For cost comparisons the same prices for hay were used as above and the 14% crude protein grain based sweet feed was priced at $.203 per pound and the 10% crude protein fed the same as above.

Alfalfa or a combination of Alfalfa and grass hay also is a good diet for lactating mares. A 1200 pound lactating mare requires the following amounts of nutrients in the diet per day:

The 1200 pound lactating mare's nutrient needs can be met by feeding 16 pounds of Alfalfa hay and 12 pounds of a 10% crude protein grain based sweet feed or by feeding 20 pounds of Bermudagrass hay and 13 pounds of a 14% crude protein grain based sweet feed. The nutrients supplied and cost per day for the two diets will be:

The three horse diet comparisons were formulated to provide equal energy whether Alfalfa or Bermudagrass hay based. Energy is the primary nutrient provided by hay. Some adjustments can be made for supplemental protein as we did for the 600 pound, eight month old weanling and the lactating broodmare. The other nutrient levels will vary and the comparisons can be made. In all cases the nutrient requirements are met. One concern is the calcium/phosphorous ratios using Alfalfa hay. The calcium/phosphorous ratio for the yearling is 2.6. It should be 1.6 to 2.0 and this may create problems particulary as it pertains to developmental bone diseases. The calcium/phosphorous ratio for the mare is 3.0 which is high. However, problems in the mature lactating mare are less likely to be encountered. Milk content may be affected and this may affect the nursing foal. The cost comparisons can be made easily. As can be seen there is little difference in cost when feeding the weanling. However, for the working horse the difference is $.54 per day or $197.10 per year. In the case of the lactating mare the cost difference is $.48 per day or about $72.00 for a five month lactation period.

Alfalfa is a good hay for certain classes of horses. To feed it safely and economically you must be aware of the nutrient content differences compared to the typical grass hays fed to horses. These nutrient differences must be recognized and changed or potential problems may occur. As always a nutrient analysis should be done on all forages fed to horses so that adjustments in feed types and amounts can be made.

Georgia State 4-H Composite and UGA Horse Judging Teams Compete at The All American Quarter Horse Congress

The State 4-H Composite and the University of Georgia Horse Judging Teams recently competed at the All American Quarter Horse Judging Contest in Columbus, Ohio. This is a national contest in which participants judge four halter classes and eight performance classes. In addition, oral reasons are given on two halter and two performance classes by the 4-H'ers and two halter and three performance classes by collegiate contestants.

The State 4-H Composite Team consisting of Joanne Delaney, Lizzie Newsome, and Kelli Thornton all from Wilkes County, Sherry Wilson of Coweta County and Sierra Coggins of Carroll County were sixth place overall out of 25 teams. The team was 8th in reasons and 3rd in performance. Individually, Lizzie Newsome was 8th in performance.

The University of Georgia Horse Judging Team placed 8th overall out of 29 teams. The team was 10th in performance, 4th in reasons and 2nd in halter judging. Individually, Miranda Cochran was 2nd in halter and 10th in reasons. Camille Tribble was 3rd in halter and Mandy Sposaro was 8th in Halter. Other team members included Cherie Osman, Jennifer Moore, Myron Graham, Stephanie Bach and Kristen Remlinger.

Eastern National 4-H
Horse Roundup Judging Contest

The Coweta County 4-H Horse Judging Team recently competed in the Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup Judging Contest in Louisville, Kentucky. Coweta County qualified because they were the top county team this past summer at the State 4-H Horse Judging Contest. The Coweta County 4-H Horse Judging team consisting of Sherry Wilson, Karen Flint, and Meara Richter were 5th overall out of twenty-two teams. Individually, Sherry was the high individual in performance, 6th in reasons, and 2nd high individual overall. Karen was 6th in conformation and 10th high individual overall. Coweta County should be congratulated and commended for representing Georgia so well.

The 1998 American Youth Horse Council Youth Horse Leaders' Symposium Scheduled for
February 13-15, 1998

Once again, the nation's top youth horse educators will meet to share expertise and advice at the annual American Youth Horse Council's National Youth Horse Leader Symposium February 13-15, 1998 at the Ambassador Hotel in Amarillo, Texas. Co-hosted by West Texas A&M and the American Quarter Horse Association, this year's symposium promises to be the best ever, offering a full schedule of over 30 seminars and demonstrations.

Back by popular demand, the symposium will again have two new and exciting features, live demonstrations and youth character development sessions. In addition, the symposium will offer new attractions for this symposium, including: Youth issue forums, round table discussions for associations, extension, 4-H and more.

• This year's symposium promises to be the best ever!
• Full Schedule of over 30 seminars and demonstrations
• Live demonstrations
• Youth character development sessions
• NEW! Youth issue forums
• NEW! Round table discussions for associations, extension, 4-H and more
• Tours of AQHA and West Texas A&M
• Saturday Evening Banquet & Entertainment
• AYHC Annual Meeting

and more!!!

COST:

Pre-Registration $40 adult $25 youth
AYHC Member Rate $30 adult $15 youth
(Cost after January 15 - add $10)
Hotel: $63.00 (806) 358-6161

Call 1-800-TRY AYHC for More Information

The University of Georgia and Ft. Valley State College, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and counties of the state cooperating. The Cooperative Extension Service offers educational programs, assistance and materials to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex or disability.

An Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Organization Committed to a Diverse Work Force

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 18 and June 30, 1914, The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating.

Gale A. Buchanan, Dean and Director

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