We have had some steers that averaged 2.7 and also had them average 3.8 that was over a 140 day period.
Do you have a weigh in date for the start, if you have not done that I would try and weigh my calf in empty, and when you weigh in for the final weigh in, make sure he is full. You can get close to a .3 to.5 pound swing in you ADG.
Now to track the average daily gain, we weigh them once a week at the same time each time we weigh. If you weigh them in the morning, weigh each time in the morning, if you start in the evening, do it at the evening each time you weigh. The calf should be eating on a schedule so by weighing him at the same time he should have the same amount of groceries in him, so your weight should be more consistent on his average daily gain.
We were tracking last year’s calf weight trying to get him to weigh in around 1320 at our final weigh in. we weighed him in the morning he weighed 1380, we weighed him that evening after he had been in the stall all day he weighed 1325.
55 pounds different but easy to find:
12.5 pounds grain
3 pounds of hay
5 gallons of water (40 pounds)
Feb 13 935# June 28 1320# ADG= 2.85
Feb 13 935# June 28 1380# ADG= 3.3
Same calf, 2 very different ADG’s
