Nearly every farmer who buys Beer Poosa for the first time asks the same thing at the counter: how much do I give? The honest answer is that it depends on the animal and the rest of the ration — but that is not much use when you are standing there with a sack. So here is a practical starting point.
The short answer
For a healthy adult milch cow already in lactation, 5 to 10 kg of wet Beer Poosa per day, split across two feeds, works well for most farmers in our area. Buffaloes generally take the upper end of that range. Start at 2–3 kg and build up over about a week.
A feeding chart to start from
| Animal | Wet Beer Poosa per day | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Milch cow, low yield (under 6 L) | 4 – 6 kg | Watch body condition; do not overfeed protein. |
| Milch cow, medium yield (6 – 12 L) | 6 – 10 kg | The most common case in our area. |
| Milch cow, high yield (over 12 L) | 8 – 12 kg | Only with good green fodder and mineral mixture alongside. |
| Buffalo in milk | 8 – 12 kg | Buffaloes usually handle the higher end well. |
| Growing heifer | 2 – 4 kg | Supports frame growth without fattening. |
| Working bullock | 3 – 5 kg | Steady energy without acidosis risk. |
| Dry cow | 0 – 2 kg | Rarely needs this much protein. |
| Calf under 4 months | Not recommended | Rumen is not developed yet. |
Treat this as a starting point, not a prescription. The right quantity depends on what else the animal eats, its stage of lactation and its body condition. If you are pushing the upper end, talk to your veterinarian.
The first week matters most
Rumen microbes need time to adapt. Change the ration too fast and you get loose dung, reduced appetite and a dip in milk — which most farmers then wrongly blame on feed quality. Follow this schedule instead:
| Day | Quantity per cow | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1 – 2 | 2 kg | Is she eating it willingly? Mix it with her usual feed. |
| Days 3 – 4 | 4 kg | Dung should stay firm. |
| Days 5 – 6 | 6 kg | Appetite should be steady or improving. |
| Day 7 onward | 8 – 10 kg | Hold here and watch yield for two weeks. |
If dung goes loose at any step, hold at the previous quantity for two or three more days before increasing again. There is no prize for getting there quickly.
Split it across two feeds
Give roughly half in the morning and half in the evening, mixed into the usual concentrate rather than fed on its own. Three reasons this matters:
- Cattle accept it far faster when it is mixed than when it appears as a separate strange feed.
- Two smaller portions keep rumen fermentation steadier than one large one.
- Mixing means the shy animals in a group feeding setup still get their share.
What must stay in the ration
Beer Poosa is a protein and fibre supplement. It is not a complete feed, and replacing everything else with it will cost you. Keep all of these:
- Green fodder — as much as you can manage. Nothing replaces it.
- Dry roughage — straw or hay, for rumen function and chewing.
- Mineral mixture — 50–100 g per day. Cheap, and the most commonly skipped item.
- Maize or another energy feed — Beer Poosa is protein-forward, so energy still needs covering.
- Clean drinking water, always available. Wet feeds raise water intake noticeably.
Five mistakes we see
- Jumping straight to full quantity on day one. The most expensive mistake in the list.
- Dropping the mineral mixture because the ration "looks rich" now. It is not a substitute.
- Buying a fortnight's supply in May. It will spoil before you use half.
- Feeding it dry-season quantities to a dry cow. She does not need it.
- Judging the feed after four days. Give any ration change a clear two weeks before deciding.
Working out your order
Multiply your milch animals by your target daily quantity, then by how many days you can safely store it — three to five days in hot weather, a little longer in cool weather. Ten cows at 8 kg for four days is around 320 kg. Order to that, not to the best price per kilo.
Call us with your herd size and average yield and we will work the quantity out with you. We keep fresh stock daily at Karivedu, Kalavai and deliver across Ranipet and Vellore districts.