i was just wondering what is the best way to put weight on 3yr old mules not alot but some they were poor when got them on jack strods video they said they fed hay and corn and all they could eat is it better to keep in stall all time or let loose in pasture i keep plenty of good hay out and feed about 5lbs 10% per mule a day is this enough dont work all time just when i get chance i dont meen to sound dumb but would like to know the right way to do this thanks

I would make sure they are wormed good, then feed D.E. as it has approx 28 minerals. Calf Manna is what ours get every day. Provide shelter but they keep better if they can get out side at least in the day time. Free choice Hay is a must.

Free choice hay, a little bit of calf manna, a good food supplement with at least 5% fat content and then add 1/2 cu to a cup of cheap vegetable or corn oil ( Costco has it for about $20/5 gal)to the feed every day ( might have to gradually add the oil from a litle bit to full ration). Keeping them stalled up is not going to be good,you build up fat,but not muscle. You want to build weight gradully, maybe over a year. Stay away from starchy. sugary feeds/grans. You want weigh gain,not energy.The corn you mentioned was for energy.
Sweet feed, etc. is usuaualy going to make them high ,like a kid on sugar. Some mules don't react to it,but most do

Jerry when I want to add weight on mine I worm them and feed them ground shelled corn with veg. oil on top of feed .

Read one time where the old timers fed whole milk and raw eggs to their show stock. The one person I ever told about it said the raw eggs and grain made her thin horse bloom out. She didn't feed the milk though.

You have to be careful when you decide to put weight on an animal, it’s really easy to cause colic if you just start dumping grain into them. Free choice hay is always a good idea, but introduce any supplemental feeds slowly into their diet. High energy feeds like corn are a good source of calories but they deliver it in the form of highly soluble carbohydrates which can spike glucose levels in the blood and may cause nutritionally related problems like colic or laminitis.

Beat pulp is a good supplement for increasing the calories in the horse’s diet because it provides them in the form of soluble and fiber (like pectin) which in easily digested but is broken down more slowly. Since it does not contain large amounts of highly soluble carbohydrates it can be feed in larger amounts without the risk of colic or laminitis.

My wife has a 30 year old that has been virtually living off beat pulp shreds for the last three years and is doing fine. His teeth are worn to the point where chewing hay is an exercise in futility that he does more out of habit or for entertainment than anything else. He gets fed eight cups of soaked beat pulp three times a day (we also mix in four cups of complete feed just before feeding him). We’ve found that soaking it allows him to “gum down” the mixture easier and helps keep him hydrated.

If at all possible let them loose on pasture. Horses evolved consuming large quantities of low grade feed gradually over the course of the day and traveling 10 to 30 miles to do so. We feed them small quantities of high grade feed once or twice a day and keep them confined; and then wonder why they get sick all the time. They were made to move, let them move; they’ll be happier and healthier if you do.

I’m not sure if I’ll get this right (I’m cyber disadvantaged), but you may find this article interesting.

http://www.shady-acres.com/susan/beetpulp.shtml

Dave

Definitely soak the beet pulp. Do not feed dry. I have not had much luck with it.It has a very low fat content. Might be just my stcok though.
I have had good luck this winter with a 27 yr old mule. He gets 2lbs of senior feed, 1/3 cup calf manna twice a day and all the grass hay he wants.
I had to quit the oil until it warms up. It got too thick stored in the barn.It got to be a hassle carrying it dwown to the barn from the hous.The mule is putting on weight though.

Two of my mules were pretty poor when we bought them, I guess you could say we saw their potential. The first thing I did was worm them, then followed it again in 30 days with another wormer. All of my mules are in good weight and here is what we feed: One pound of crimped oats with one ounce of corn oil, twice a day. They get good quality coastal three times a day. We used to feed the coastal free choice, but it is high in protein and they got goofy. My mules do not tolerate high protein well at all. They do great on this feed program, which we have found by trial and error.

Jerry...I assume you have wormed them good but maybe not good enough. Most of the time you should follow up again in 21 days, your wormer won't get any eggs laid just before the worm died. Several years ago I bought a 4 yr old mule from a fellow that had raised him and he was pretty poor so I wormed him real good and followed up in 21 days and he started improving a little and then just leveled out. Didn't go up and didn't go backwards,just never looked or acted very thrifty. I took him to a good equine vet and he pulled blood and run some tests in his small lab but could not find the problem,fecal sample showed no worms. He sent the blood to the university lab and they said his liver was full of worms of some type, don't remember what they were but he said they would kill him. We treated him for 5 days. He turned around within 30 days. If you are absoulity sure they are free of worms don't worry about them. A lot of young mules hit a gangly stage between 1 and 2 and stay kind of gangly until about 4 and start filling out. Some don't, some stay fat on a snowball but most young mules are a lot like a lot of teenagers, eat everything in sight and still stay thin. If you have them clean of worms don't wory about them, just leave them run out with plenty of hay when ever they want to go graze on it, feed them what ever you are comfortable with but keep the protien content down and the fat content up and most of all, if you are not working them often try to catch them every day and tie them up or put them in a stall. You can never tie up a young mule to much, it pays big dividends later. Keeps them in the right frame of mind also.

Ditto what T Nichols says,but I'll add most mules don't really fill out to thier full potential until past five,soemtimes 7.I have see mmules take short growth spurts in thier 6 th and 7th year.

lotsa cheap grain over time

If the animals have been wormed, I wouldn't worry too much about their weight unless they look like holsteins. Most of us tend to keep our animals too fat. They were designed to eat grass, hay and brush. Their metabilism in the late summer and early fall is too beef up and then get thin as the winter progresses, and all they have is the grass they can dig up and the brush that is available. Your animals will be healthier on the thin side. If you are using everyday for a few hours a day they might need a little corn or oats. I only ride a couple times a week for a couple of hours at a time and my horses and mule only get grass hay 24/7, and a little hay stretcher pellets and pelleted beet pulp to bring tnem too the fence twice a day for inspection,. When it gets bitter they will get a couple cob ear corn in the evening, and thats it.

thanks for all the help i guess i need to be patient keep wormed and keep feeding hay and little grain and let them grow i just dont wont people thinking i dont take care of my animals i have 1 mule that is 7 raised her from birth and she looks great so thanks again i have learned so much from the porch jerry

Jerry, at your mules age, they will be more difficult to put weight on because they are shedding caps on their molars and their mouth will be a little sore.This wont last too long, but if they are too thin you may want to get their teeth checked.

Forgot about the molar capa.Good idea.I have a molly that I had to pull every milk tooth on her front 8 bottom and 4 molar caps as they would not shed once the new teeth were coming in. She never went off her feed though,just her temperment for a few months