12 steers starting out on rented pasture!!

[CanadianCowboy]

Hi all

i finally got my 12 steers on rented pasture, the pasture is not big enough to rely on so i am supplmenting with 12 pounds hay 4 pounds alfalfa and offcourse minerals and there water. do you guys think this is sufficent or should i add in some grain percentage? to there diet?

ALso i just set them out from the stockers last week when should i think about vaccinations?Fly control thank you guys and gals .

 

[canadianfarmboy]

Glad to here you got some cattle finally . Hope that link to the sale barns helped i have you . When our cattle are turned out on grass , we vac and ivomec before turning them out , give them a shot for black leg also . Not sure how big your pasture is , but with mineral and water the cattle should be telling you if they will need anything else to eat if you keep an eye on them . Our 600 lbs calves on grass have free choice mineral with barely/soybean meal feed to keep they content . I try to get get the grass cattle fat , as i have market where they will go onto a feedlot around the 900 - 1000 lbs mark .

 

[CanadianCowboy]

Thanks for the reply as for my pasture there on about 5 acres of land. when you say feedlot you got a buyer already or you send back to the stocker.Sorry for the newbie talk but what is turning them out? and what type of vac you giving them? ivomec is pour on?so that should take care of the flys right. i don't knwo if your in ontario aswell but the pasture i got rented is up on hwy 9 off the 400.


thanks for your help. :cboy:

 

[chippie]

I almost hate to say this, but you may be overstocked with 2.4 steers per acre.

Are you feeding 16 pounds of hay/alfalfa per steer?

I have a 7 month old Holstein steer that I am feeding out for our freezer. He eats about 20 lbs of a beef feed plus corn daily (it is split into two feedings) because he is in a lot with minimum grass. He has hay in front of him 24/7. The reason he is in a lot is because he won't quit nursing our Jersey cows.

 

[CanadianCowboy]

yes im feeding them 16 pound each in total of 192 pounds for all.

I am feeding 12 pounds hay and 4 pounds alfalfa per steer.Plus i have a barrel with mineral in it.(what ratio of mineral should i have in there? i just keep it full)

i was asking what you guys think should i add some grain to there feed? and take out some hay?
or just add grain on top of that i went off of this table from the Ontario cattlemens assocation the weight is in kilos times by 2.2 for pounds.( i already converted it for the ease of readers. thanks for your help.

Development Stages of a Beef Cow Kilograms of food onsumed per day**

At Birth
40 - 45 kg =88-99 pounds
1.7 kg= 3.74 Pounds
at six months
200 - 250 kg =440-550 Pounds
7 kg= 15.4 pounds of feed

at mid growth point
(yearling heifer)
350 kg - 400 kg = 770-880 ounds
8 kg = 17.6 pounds of feeds[/color]

at maturity
550 - 650 kg= 1210-1430pounds

10.5 kg = 23.1 Pounds of feed[/color]

** Approximate feed weights based on dry matter intake formula from the University of Guelph

 

[dieselbeef]

i dont know much bout canada but round here...yer never gonna make any money with a dozen cows on 5 acres

by the time they stomp the grass to death youll be spending so much money feeding and draggin the manure down you wont have much profit left for your troubles. if you gotta buy feed the how much do you expect to make. grass is bad enuff to raise but yer renting that too

dud you need a book to keep track of what ya spend and then take a guess to how much you think theyre goona bring ya.
if yer doin it fer long term herd itll be even dbl what ya figure cuz itll be 3 yrs til ya see any income..actually closer to 4 or early 5 yrs

hope ya got a plan cuz all ya got right now is a money pit

good luck
gary

 

[CanadianCowboy]

how is the feed is it enough for them to gain? How many acres you recomending for 12 steers ill have to prob get another pasture bigger or divide em up what you think?

 

[dieselbeef]

youre gonna hafta carry them solely on feed. there will be no grass there and alotta manure.

what ya feed em is imp but i hope yer doin this fer fun cuz i cannot see how you could work it in the black.

yer gain is probly gonna come cuz they got no place to walk cept to the feed trough :lol2:

 

[CanadianCowboy]

So how many acres are recomended per steer? i will try and find another pasture to keep em so that they are not only walking on manure. what does "what ya feed em is imp " mean. can you help me please instead of cracking jokes. :???:

 

[chippie]

How old are the steers? What do they weigh?

 

[cypressfarms]

CanadianCowboy,

What is your goal here? Glad that you got some steers; but what are going to do with them?

I'll give you an example of what some do down south where I am when they have the grass:

Buy small steers/weanlings around 400 pounds or so in the fall. Fall is important because historically fall prices are always lower. Keep steers through the winter (while gaining weight )and sell in the spring when prices are historically higher. Most people doing this plant ryegrass so that the cattle will have grass to eat through most of the winter, and they feed hay as well - though not as much as a cattlemen in your area would.

There is a member on the CT boards who has a saying that goes something like "everytime you open a feed bag you lose money" (Caustic Burno). This is right to an extent, because cattle are grazers; they are made to convert grass into beef. If your going to make money, the less feed the better.

Unless you are trying a stocker operation where you take steers, feed the out and sell the fed calf. If that's the case, then you can crowd them in and pour the feed to them and how many acres per calf is meaningless.

From your comment about Ivomec pour on taking care of flys, I'm guessing your real new at this. at least you have looked up resources (Ontario Cattlemen's Association). I'd recommend that you contact a local cattlemen to your area and start asking questions. Your area in Canada is totally different than mine for raising cattle, but without a plan and the "know how" it will fail.

Not trying to sound negative, but real.

 

[CanadianCowboy]

My Goal here is to fatten them up they weigh almost 500 now so around fall at 1000 pounds i plan to sell to the feedlot or stockyards

now me aquring more pasture is not a problem there is about 8 acres right next to my 5 still available to rent now would that be more reasonable? how many acres should i look at per steer?So that i can keep the hay cost down?

as for the ivomec pour on would it not work great ony fly and liver fllukes?

i was also planing to vacinate for black leg this coming weekend.

my goal is to eventually get my own farm im just starting out im trying to get rollin with my beef bussines and i thak all you for your input so far. :cboy:

 

[Angus Cowman]

if they weigh around 500 now and you are going to sell them in 5 months(150days) then unless they are on FULL feed they will never come close to the 1000lb mark that would be over 3lbs per day gain
700 -750lbs would be a more realistic goal

 

[traderaaron]

500# steers are usually on the overvalued side of things while 1000# cattle are almost always carrying a discount so unless your cost of gain is incredibly low you'll be expecting to lose a lot of money, assuming generalities here.

If I was running a few animals on small pasture I would probably focus on buying flyweight calves or something needing some TLC, getting them straightened out, get a nice sort of them and them sell them, turning your inventory as often as you can.

 

[chippie]

You really need to talk to someone where you live about the stocking rate per acre. The more land / grass that you have the better. The less feed and hay that you buy, the more money you will make when you sell the cattle.

Diesel Beef is saying, that if you have to buy feed and hay to finish the steers, you will have a lot of money invested and you may sell at a loss.

When all of your grass disappears and you have to buy feed (grain) and hay, your steers may be costing you several dollars per day per head to feed. Don't forget to include your pasture rent into the cost per animal equation too.

How much does a beef feed cost you per 100 lbs? How much is your hay costing you? Figure that the amount that you are feeding will increase as the animals get older.

Can you rent about 40 acres or so?

 

[dieselbeef]

man to make any money doin what yer tryin you need 25$ bulls from the closest dairy..feed em 6 mos and haul em .
you will spend more than youre goin to make. even not countin your time and havin the other 8 acres youre not gonna be able to make it

1000$ to the market...no money in that...if you git em reallly really little and sell em by 300 lbs youll make the most $$. read yer local barn sale sheet. if they are smaller more per lb and less investment. if yer startin with 500 lbers yer probly slending way too much upfront on yer animals too.

hope yer gittin all thsi feed and these animals dirt sirt sirt cheap cuz dude yer heading for the btm of the hill and thre aint much down there...

btw my cows got grass and free choice hay but they only git about 5-6 lbs per head per day..even feedin em that cost too much...

gary

 

[canadianfarmboy]

Canadaincowboy im from eastern canada ( new brunswick) not sure what the stocking rate is for ontario but i try to have atleast 1.5 acres per 600 lbs animal here . Cattle will give you from 1.5 - 2.25 lbs/day gain on that .

 

[cypressfarms]

Canadaincowboy im from eastern canada ( new brunswick) not sure what the stocking rate is for ontario but i try to have atleast 1.5 acres per 600 lbs animal here . Cattle will give you from 1.5 - 2.25 lbs/day gain on that .

O.k. I'm playing Devil's advocate: C farmboy just told you that he stocks 1.5 acres per 600 pounds, and that from grass alone (I assume) you can expect to gain and average of 1.875 pounds per day. Bologna. Ask him what he gains on that 1.5 acres in January.

You need to do some research yourself my friend! Find out what steers bring at your auction - if that's where you're going to sell. Find out what the difference in price is as the weight goes up. Find out what the difference in price for different animals. No, Ivomec pour on won't get rid of liver flukes. Do you have liver flukes? What do you have in your area? You need to do some specific studying to determine what your needs are. This is the type of information you gather before you get a herd. You buy a group of steers, then come on a cattle board to ask how to raise them? Your going about this backwards.

I'm not trying to sound harsh; heck I love to have new cattlemen some into the business, but you have a responsibility to know how to care for animals before you get them.

 

[canadianfarmboy]

Canadaincowboy im from eastern canada ( new brunswick) not sure what the stocking rate is for ontario but i try to have atleast 1.5 acres per 600 lbs animal here . Cattle will give you from 1.5 - 2.25 lbs/day gain on that .

O.k. I'm playing Devil's advocate: C farmboy just told you that he stocks 1.5 acres per 600 pounds, and that from grass alone (I assume) you can expect to gain and average of 1.875 pounds per day. Bologna. Ask him what he gains on that 1.5 acres in January.

You need to do some research yourself my friend! Find out what steers bring at your auction - if that's where you're going to sell. Find out what the difference in price is as the weight goes up. Find out what the difference in price for different animals. No, Ivomec pour on won't get rid of liver flukes. Do you have liver flukes? What do you have in your area? You need to do some specific studying to determine what your needs are. This is the type of information you gather before you get a herd. You buy a group of steers, then come on a cattle board to ask how to raise them? Your going about this backwards.

I'm not trying to sound harsh; heck I love to have new cattlemen some into the business, but you have a responsibility to know how to care for animals before you get them.

Your right that is bologna if you include winter months . I assumed that he was talking from May til Sepetember maybe Oct as in my part of canada Dec,jan,feb,mar and most of april the snow is by far to deep for a cow to even find the grass!!

 

[cypressfarms]

Canadaincowboy im from eastern canada ( new brunswick) not sure what the stocking rate is for ontario but i try to have atleast 1.5 acres per 600 lbs animal here . Cattle will give you from 1.5 - 2.25 lbs/day gain on that .

O.k. I'm playing Devil's advocate: C farmboy just told you that he stocks 1.5 acres per 600 pounds, and that from grass alone (I assume) you can expect to gain and average of 1.875 pounds per day. Bologna. Ask him what he gains on that 1.5 acres in January.

You need to do some research yourself my friend! Find out what steers bring at your auction - if that's where you're going to sell. Find out what the difference in price is as the weight goes up. Find out what the difference in price for different animals. No, Ivomec pour on won't get rid of liver flukes. Do you have liver flukes? What do you have in your area? You need to do some specific studying to determine what your needs are. This is the type of information you gather before you get a herd. You buy a group of steers, then come on a cattle board to ask how to raise them? Your going about this backwards.

I'm not trying to sound harsh; heck I love to have new cattlemen some into the business, but you have a responsibility to know how to care for animals before you get them.

Your right that is bologna if you include winter months . I assumed that he was talking from May til Sepetember maybe Oct as in my part of canada Dec,jan,feb,mar and most of april the snow is by far to deep for a cow to even find the grass!!

My point was not to be a smart alec - sorry if it came across that way. Life is hard, though, and sometimes people's eyes are bigger than their mind. This guy really needs to learn some cow 101 before buying cattle. No offense to anyone, he can do what he wants - but I feel a sense of responsibility for my animals. If any of mine die and there was something that I should have known that could have saved their life, I feel like a failure!