I just purchased a new angus bull and he is young, 14 mths. The person I bought him from fed him 20 lbs of grain a day. Should I continue this amt of feed since I also have good grass? Is it better to feed him twice a day or just leave feed out all day and let him take it as he wants it? I plan on keeping him on 2 acres of fertized bermuda at the house. I don't want to harm his development and growth.
Keep him on the exact ration the breeder had him on and slowly reduce it. Switching him to straight grass will shock him, and possibly make him sick. 20 pounds is a steer finishing ration, not a breeding bull growing ration.
I hope you have a garantee on the bull's fertility as well as a breeding soundness evaluation. After that much grain the bull may not be able to produce any semen. It really depends on the rest of the ration. If you back him off the grain a couple pounds a day at a time, and keep him quiet he may turn out well, but I wouldn't count on him breeding anything for a couple weeks minimum.
Jason Trowbridge Southern Angus Farms Alberta Canada
You don't need to feed him 20 pounds of grain a day. But he won't like it when you start cutting him back. Cut him back gradually. The stomach microbes that digest grain are different than those that digest grass. So it will take a couple of weeks for him to develop an appetite for grass, but he will. He also needs to get some exercise to harden him up before he's turned out with the cattle. Here's the address for an Oklahoma State University site that addresses the feed requirements for developing a breeding bull: <A HREF="http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/exten/cc-corner/archbullsale.html" TARGET="_blank">http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/exten/cc-corner/archbullsale.html</A> Good luck...
