Grinding feed

I'm going to grind my own feed for the first time. Up until now, I bought it premixed from a local mill. I bought a 400 John Deere grinder mixer, and I want to mix shell corn and oats for my feeder calves. My question is, does it matter which grain I put in 1st, and how long does the machine have to be mixing to get a good mixture of feed?

Makes no difference on the mixing/grinding order exept I would put your concentrates if you add any first thru the concentrate hopper. By the time you get the corn and oats thru the grinder it will be mixed. One tip, make sure your mill is parked on level ground when grinding. If the mill leans to one side material can bridge up in the tank and not be mixed thoroughly.

Should not matter which you put in first, probably get the corn going and add the oats while it is grinding. I had a 400 mill before it grenaded itself, might still have the op. manual for it if you need one. If you are grinding shell corn for cattle I would run without a screen otherwise it will be like hog feed. May have to experiement. Put in any premix or mineral right away so it has plenty of time to mix. 5-10 min. after you are done adding feed should be long enough. Can also idle the tractor down a litttle if it is grinding to fine

Thanks guys, and I have a manual on order, just hasn't arrived yet and I need feed on Friday.

Be sure to grease the main bearings on the hammers, I have seen them go out. My 400 had the main shaft break in half, must have been from metal fatique is all I can figure, the bearings were still good. I junked it because that shaft cost more from Deere than I paid for the mill itself, and a lot of work to replace.

Mnut, good luck. Was just cleaning the feeder pen out myself yesterday, pretty ripe manure. I got your email, just havent taken the time to reply, been darned busy. You dont know any one looking for a red bull do you?

Will not matter which goes in first. It will be mixing all time you are grinding. Mix for maybe 5-10 minutes after you finish grinding. You need to consider adding a mineral pack to your grain, also do you need some fiber . Call me if you like I made feed for few years myself, also what size screen are you going to uese? Ph #1-870-285-1401 Doc

I used a '400' for a long time; NH (355, I think) before that. Typically fed/backgrounded 200-300 calves each Winter. Always ground the corn first; whatever else next and concentrate last. I NEVER let it sit and mix; it's very possible for it to 'un-mix'/separate; by the time I got up on the tractor and stopped the pto, it was good-to-go. Couldn't tell the first handful out of the unloading auger from the last; your experience may vary...........

Dave,

Good to hear from you. I figured you were just busy with things. I'll keep my ears open on the bull. Calves just aren't bringing much now. A neighbor was selling his 750-850lb registered red angus bulls this fall for $700 with papers. Thought that was a pretty good deal.

Thanks for the offer. I'll give you a call if things don't go so well this first time around. I have two different screens, but I was told by the guy I bought the machine from that he ran it without a screen for steer feed, and only used the screen for hog feed.

I'll do that. Thanks for the advice.

Do you still have that machine sitting around or did you send it off to the scrapper? I need a couple of gears out of it! I sent you an email too.

Order of ingredients

1) SBM or supplement
2) premix, mineral,medication etc
3) corn (or whatever grain you are using)

It won't matter one bit if corn or oats first.

Book will help on service but not HOW to grind the feed.

Main thing is don't put an ingredient that only takes a small amount in an empty grinder. For instance, if you are adding 5 lbs of medication, put it in part way through the batch. First and it might get hung up and not get mixed good. Last and then it is in the loading auger with nothing to follow it through and clean up the point of entry.

Book is worthless on helping you with which screen to use. Condition of the grain (moisture, whether a hard of soft grain, speed of hammers, etc) will all make a difference. Know what particle size you want and experiment.

Many studies have been done on mixing time. It takes a LONG time for particles to separate out from over-mixing. We feed THOUSANDS of hogs a year and mix for about 5 minutes--essentially as long as it takes to get from the corn bin to the feed bin. If you put a small (amount) ingredient in last, then you need to mix for quite a while--I wouldn't do it that way for reasons mentioned above.

You can't learn common sense from the book--only where the grease fitting are located. I doubt we even HAVE the books for our mills-maybe somewhere, I suppose.

Hey, I appreciate your advice. I was afraid that the book would only help with servicing, and not have much about operation. I am going to get a vitamin mix and include, so I'll add that part way through the mixing cycle.

Shoot,never mind. You said 400 didn't you? Mine's a 700. Flat bottom mixer. That 400 was a cone bottom wasn't it?

I bought a Gehl grinder mixer a few months ago to grind my own feed too, instead of buying it. I grind about 2000 lbs. at a time. I grind 1500 lb shelled corn, then 500 lb oats, then a few bales of alfalfa, then add 200 lbs of Select 40 concentrate, and let it mix for about 10 minutes after that. The mixture seemed to be pretty consistent. I think my screen is around 1" holes, so the corn if pretty fine, but the steers loved it. I figure the $500 mixer will be paid for in the first wagon load of corn I bought, compared to buying the feed. Fun to hear the old M bellering away on the hammermill again.

I hope it's a straight side and not a hopper type tank...
The NH 355 I have is basically useless as a mixer because a lot of things that don't flow freely tend to bridge on the hopper and you end up with half a ton of material sitting there NOT getting mixed.
Keep a close eye on that... You may find this experiment costs you more than it saves.

Rod

From my Dairy Farming days: My Artsway Mixer/Mill worked best by putting in the ear or shelled corn first,then the oats and lastly the salt,soy bean Meal and any additional supplements the ration called for.The bulk of the corn helped spread the mixing of other feed additives over a larger bulk mass. My Artsway always made a highly palative feed for my Dairy Herd.

We use a old 400 deere mill all the time. I grind ear corn with it. I throw the supplement in then I put the oats in the supplement hopper and then grind the mill full of corn. I have the biggest screen in and it does a nice job and when I am done with the ear corn it is nicely mixed.
bill

Yes, I only paid $375 for this one, and it is in excellent shape. Never sat outside. I can buy my oats for $1.50 a bushel and shell corn for $130 a ton. Way cheaper mixing my own than buying it.