🌾 Livestock Feed Calculator — Ration & Cost
Calculate daily feed requirements, total feed needed, and feed costs for your livestock. Plan feed budgets for cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry.
Quick answer: Daily feed = Animal weight × 0.03 (3% of body weight for cattle). Example: 100 cows × 15kg/day × 100 days = 150 tonnes of dry matter.
🌾 Calculate Feed Requirements
📐 How Feed Requirements Are Calculated
Daily intake (kg DM) = Animal weight (kg) × Intake % ÷ 100
Total feed (tonnes) = Daily intake × Animals × Days ÷ 1000
Total cost = Total tonnes × Feed cost per tonne
- Determine animal weight — average live weight
- Apply intake rate — typically 2.5-3.5% for cattle, 3-4% for sheep
- Multiply by numbers and days — gives total feed requirement
- Multiply by feed cost — to budget feed expenses
📊 Worked Example
100 beef cows (500kg each) for 100 days. Intake 3% of body weight = 15kg/day/cow.
Daily herd intake = 100 × 15 = 1,500 kg/day
Total feed = 1,500 × 100 = 150,000 kg = 150 tonnes
At $300/tonne hay = 150 × $300 = $45,000 feed cost
Add 10% waste factor: actual purchase 165 tonnes → $49,500.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Daily feed (kg) = Animal weight × 0.03 (3% of body weight for cattle). Total feed = Daily intake × Animals × Days.
Beef cow (500kg): 12-15 kg DM/day. Dairy cow (600kg): 18-22 kg DM/day. Feedlot steer (400kg): 10-12 kg DM/day.
As-fed weight = Dry matter ÷ (Dry matter % ÷ 100). Example: 10kg DM from hay at 88% DM = 10 ÷ 0.88 = 11.4kg as-fed.
Beef cow: $2-4/day (pasture), $3-6/day (supplements). Dairy cow: $5-10/day. Sheep: $0.30-0.60/day.