What Do Cows Like to Eat: 8 Different Types of Cow Food

If you raise cows for a living or enjoy learning about this animal, you’ll be interested in what cows like to eat. Cows love to graze during the day and enjoy a wide variety of food choices. As a farmer, it’s essential for the cattle to remain healthy and eat well.

Hay is the favorite food for cows. It’s no secret that cows like to eat hay. This is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think of what may be on this animal’s daily menu.

There are varying types of hay that you can feed cattle. It’s unlikely that most types won’t be enjoyed by this specific breed regardless of what many of these may be.

2. Barley

Barley is one of the most popular foods that cows like to eat. You’ll want to have a healthy serving of barely around if you have one or hundreds of cows on your farm. This is a grain that was cultivated as early as 10,000 years ago. It’s one of the top items that any farmer will have in stock to feed this animal.

Fortunately, barely is loaded with nutrients and may be the ideal way to help keep your cow healthy. Adding several doses of barley a day to the life of your cow is highly recommended.

3. Grass

If you have a huge farm with a lot of grass on it, this could be the key to keeping your cows well-fed. Cows like eating grass and may be the ideal way to feed your cow.

Fortunately, the grass isn’t expensive and could be part of the daily diet for this animal. It may take a lot of green to keep several cows well-fed, and this should be considered.

4. Dry feed

You can purchase dry feed from many locations that cater to what your cow may enjoy eating. This is typically available at varying feed stores.

Dry feed is an ideal way to ensure this animal will always have some feed on hand. It’s easy to store and can make feeding your cattle an easier task. Of course, you’ll want to shop around for the best price possible before making this purchase.

5. Grains

Having a diet of grains for your cows is one thing that many people may do. This isn’t that hard to accomplish but will require work and effort to achieve.

There are varying qualities of grain that are available for your cows to enjoy eating. You’ll want to consider your budget and then decide the best grain to give your cows.

6. Oats

Cows like to eat oats as a treat. Old-fashioned oats may be the feed of choice that you give your cows. These do offer a lot of nutrients that can help the coat of any cow look more attractive when eaten daily.

If you want a healthy cow, then you’ll be sure to feed this animal oat regularly. Oats can be varied to include barley and grain for variety and may allow your cow to be well fed.

7. Salt licks

One of the favorite treats to give your cow is salt licks. Many farmers keep these on hand because of how much this animal enjoys licking these throughout the day.

Salt licks offer some essential nutrients that this animal will genuinely enjoy having. Some of the many minerals in this item help develop the muscles of the cow and provide digestive support, as well.

8. Wet feed

You may find wet feed is something you’ll want to give this animal type. Wet feed is made of fermented barley, oats, and Alfalfa. This can be an ideal food to keep on hand for your cows to eat on a routine basis. You can rest assured your animals will be well-nourished and ready to face the day with a healthy supply of wet feed. It’s a great idea to have your local feed store create this mixture for your cow.

Ensuring your cow remains healthy and continues to maintain or gain weight is essential. This will depend on the foods you give this animal routinely. It’s impossible to have a cow that’s healthy without providing the right nutrients daily. Ensuring the proper foods are fed at the right time of the day is important too. When you include foods that cows like to eat, this can make a huge difference in how this animal looks in the years ahead.