Livestock Feed Calculator
Feed Needs Scale With Body Weight, Not With Guesswork
Every class of livestock has a maintenance dry matter intake need that tracks closely with body weight — a heavier animal simply needs more feed to sustain itself, expressed as a fairly consistent percentage of that body weight. Getting this baseline right before adding production demands (growth, lactation, pregnancy) avoids both underfeeding, which costs condition and productivity, and overfeeding, which wastes feed budget.
The Formula
DMI% is standard reference dry matter intake as a percentage of body weight, which varies by species.
Where This Calculation Matters
- Feed budgeting — multiplying daily per-animal feed need by herd size and season length gives the total feed volume to purchase or grow.
- Pasture and forage planning — matching stocking rate to available forage requires knowing how much dry matter each animal actually consumes per day.
- Ration formulation — the dry matter figure is the starting point for building a balanced ration once moisture content of the actual feed is factored in.
- Cost comparison across species — comparing feed cost per animal across dairy cattle, sheep, and pigs requires a consistent DMI basis to compare fairly.
Reference Dry Matter Intake by Species
| Animal | DMI % of body weight | Example weight | Daily feed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dairy cattle | 3.0% | 650 kg | 19.5 kg/day |
| Beef cattle | 2.5% | 550 kg | 13.75 kg/day |
| Sheep | 3.0% | 60 kg | 1.8 kg/day |
| Goat | 3.5% | 45 kg | 1.58 kg/day |
| Horse | 2.0% | 500 kg | 10.0 kg/day |
| Pig | 4.0% | 90 kg | 3.6 kg/day |
These figures are standard animal science maintenance reference values for dry matter, not as-fed feed weight — the actual amount of feed offered depends on its moisture content.
How to Use This Calculator
- Select the animal type from the dropdown.
- Enter the body weight in kilograms.
- Enter the number of animals (defaults to 1).
- Select Calculate to get daily feed per animal and total for the group.
Related Calculations
For horses specifically, use the more detailed Horse Feed Calculator, which factors in workload, or the Chicken Feed Calculator for poultry.