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 30-day trial.
Start free 30-day trialHow 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 30-day trial.
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.