feeding a show steer

[gibby]

I bought a lighter steer (450 lbs) on october 28th 2011 I need him to weigh in at 1100 lbs on august 15th. He is a high quality steer. I am free feeding 2nd cutting grass alfalfa hay mix, and I have started him on 4 lbs of country acres sweet mix plus. The sweet mix has 9% crude protein, 2.5% fat. He has fresh water and a mineral salt block available at all times.. I need suggestions on what to feed him to give optimum weight gain.. I would like him to be around 1200 for my show if that is possible...I have around 287 days to reach that goal...any suggestions will be most welcome, as well as a feeding program I should put him on. Do you suggest feeding rumensin or 38n?

[tsmaxx47]

i fatten'em up on 14% feed and whole corn, as much as they can eat in fifteen minutes, twice a day, and free choice hay. as far as the minerals go, i would buy minerals in the sack and add them to the feed.
ps this may not be relevant to show steers, this is just how i feed them out and they come out mighty fine. others with show experience may have better methods. good luck to ya!

[gibby]

i can add corn to the ration to increase protein correct?

[dun]

i can add corn to the ration to increase protein correct?

Corn will decrease protein and increase energy.

[gibby]

what would you recommend to add to this ration to increase protein? Or to increase feed efficiency and growth?

[dun]

what would you recommend to add to this ration to increase protein? Or to increase feed efficiency and growth?

I wouldn;t suggest anythign because I don;t know diddly about feeding show animals. Maybe posting your questions on the show forum would help. Or you may have already but I just skip it as I'm sure others skip some of the other forums.

[B&M Farms]

You only need to avg. 2.6 pounds per day. A 13 to 14 percent feed with a 5 to 7 percent fat content will work fine. A 14 percent grower with a little corn added will do this. Or you can use a show type feed. I would limit feed hay as I finished and increase the feed. I remember feeding 15lbs a day to a 500lb steer. Im not an expert on raising show calfs, just my experiences when I was in FFA.

[Till-Hill]

This is my show calf ration I use. Calves will just smoke on it.

2000 # mix.........
860 cracked corn
420 whole oats
200 beet pulp
400 Purina Grand 4-t fyer
120 molasses

I feed poor hay (crp and real mature grass) free choice till 2-3 months before show day

If your calf don't have any hair and you just want him fat feed him cracked corn till fat then hold him with straw.

[Till-Hill]

Sorry I have been trying to get my calves to eat 3% of their body weight all fall and I can't get them there and they are very good eaters. The mix costing me $400/ton but I'm only at maybe 2% of their body weight today and they are 6-700 lbs.....good luck!!

[tsmaxx47]

gibby

i would suggest having a sit down with your ag instructor or the county agent. either one will be able to answer your specific questions or direct you to the answers. a call to a feed company such as purina or a local feed store would also be a possibility.
was this animal wormed before you started?

[chippie]

The Country Acres sweet feed mix is a low quality cheap feed. Your steer will need a higher protein than 9% and generally show steers are not fed free choice hay. Ditto about talking to your ag advisor or county agent. There are many well balanced show feeds available.

The two following links are publications about managing beef cattle for show.

http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/library/files/publications_resources_managing_beef_cattle_as12.pdf

https://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/AG_4HLivestock_2005-05.pdf

This is the link to the Purina Show Chow website http://www.honorshowchow.com/honorshowchowfeeds_hsc.php

[leigh12354]

I'm new to this can you tell me more about beet pulp. I would like to know more about this product. I'll check back later. Thanks

[tsmaxx47]

where you from leigh?

[chippie]

Although this article is geared towards horses, it is a good explanation about beet pulp. http://shady-acres.com/susan/beetpulp.shtml

This is an article concerning feeding beet pulp to cattle: http://www.extension.org/pages/39515/can-i-feed-sugar-beet-pulp-to-beef-cattle

It comes in two forms -- pellets and shredded. I usually buy the shredded because of the cost. We feed it dry to the cattle (mixed with their grain) and wet it for our horses because I did have one horse choke on it.

[leigh12354]

Thanks chippie for the articles.I thought beet pulp was mainly used for horses, but I see a lot of people use it for cows.