Feed days-remaining calculator (hay, grain, silage)
How long will the hay in your barn actually last? Plug in what you have, the species, and the head count — we compute the days of feed remaining and the date you'll run out, so you can re-order before the truck shows up empty.
Log feed-on-hand once and the app deducts daily burn automatically, surfaces a low-feed alert on /today, and auto-bumps inventory when a hay/silage harvest is logged. Free while in early access.
Create your free accountHow much feed does each species need per day?
The "how much hay does an animal eat" question gets a wider range of answers than most expect — body weight, lactation status, gestation, body condition, and forage quality all swing the number. The defaults below are typical adult-maintenance figures from Extension nutrition tables; if you know your actual ration, use the override field above.
| Species | Typical intake (lb/day) |
|---|---|
| 🐑 Sheep (mature ewe, ~150 lb) | 4 |
| 🐑 Lamb (growing, ~80 lb) | 2.5 |
| 🐐 Goat (mature doe, ~120 lb) | 3.5 |
| 🐄 Beef cow (mature, ~1,200 lb) | 25 |
| 🐄 Beef calf (growing, ~500 lb) | 12 |
| 🐴 Horse (mature, ~1,100 lb) | 22 |
| 🦙 Alpaca / llama (mature) | 4 |
Why feed runways matter
Running out of stored feed mid-winter, before pasture comes back, is the single most common emergency-purchase trap for small-scale livestock farms. Spot-market hay prices in March are 30-60% above winter contract prices. A 7-day runway warning gives you time to contract delivery from your usual supplier instead of paying the emergency-buyer premium.
Get an automatic warning, not a calculator
Farm Planner monitors feed inventory daily, deducts burn based on your actual herd size, and surfaces a "reorder by" date on /today before stocks run low. Plus per-feed-line cost-per-head/day so you know which rations are cheap and which are bleeding you. Free while in early access.
Sources: NRC Nutrient Requirements series (Beef, Sheep, Dairy), Penn State Extension hay-needs calculator, Oklahoma State Beef Cattle Manual. Per-head intakes are typical adult-maintenance values; lactating, growing, or pregnant animals eat 20-50% more.