The majority of a cows diet will consist of grass or alternative forage. In the winter a cow will need additional forage even if she has access to grass, as its feed value will be low. As a rough guide a cow of average size (e.g. a Guernsey) will need at least 7kg a day of hay, while a Friesian or Holstein will need about 9kg a day of hay, and a Dexter about 5kg. Feeding Calves should be allowed to suckle from their mother for at least the first 4 days of their life. For the first 8-9 weeks the calfs diet will consist mainly of milk, with the gradual introduction of Cattle & Calf Mix. Initially only small quantities of mix should be fed (about 100g or 4oz a day), increasing to 1.3Kg by eight weeks. From about 5 weeks, the calf can be changed over onto Calf to Cattle pencils if desired. At 6-8 weeks the milk can gradually be phased out of the diet, as the calf will by then be able to manage on concentrate feed, hay and water. Quantities of mix or pencils can steadily be increased to 2.3Kg (5lbs) at 6 months. Be careful to introduce feed slowly for young calves to allow the digestive system time to adjust. Feeding young cattle Ñ weaned calves and older animals that haven't been mated and arent being fattened only need a small feed of Cattle & Calf Mix or Calf to Cattle Pencils with forage, depending on their condition. Feeding Dairy Cattle a maintenance ration consists of forage and 1.5Kg (3-4lbs) of Calf to Cattle Pencils or Cattle & Calf Mix for every 4.5litres(1gallon) of milk they are producing. Feed requirements vary for individual cows and according to the time of year and quality and quantity of grass available.
The Smallholder Range was launched in 1999 with the aim to supply healthy food to smallholders, and anyone who wanted to keep animals on a smaller scale. Allen and page is approved by the Vegetarian Society. Their range supplies products for poultry, sheep, goats, cattle and pigs.
A part of the Allen and page small holder range is to ensure their feed is produced using non gm ingredients. They only use soya and maize grown from non-GM seed. Whilst the crops the use cannot be guaranteed gm-free, Allen and page feel they have taken every precaution to ensure that their products have minimal exposure to any possible GM presence. All the ingredients are shown on their product labels.
Smallholder Range Feeds are produced by a family owned, animal feed manufacturer located in the middle of Norfolk . They have four generations of experience in producing animal feed. Their products are made in a non-GM and Drug Free Mill. They use no antibiotics, coccidiostats or artificial yolk pigmenters.
