Calf weight and ADG

[Cheyenne]

Ok, first remember that we are talking about a bottle calf and not a calf weaned off his mama.

My son is showing his Angus/Herford bottle calf from last year as a market steer this year. We weighed him in the 6th of January he was Just a bit over 8 months old and his weight was 775 lbs.

Now according to my math we are getting a 2.76 ADG and he should finish well for fair as long as he doesn't go off feed etc.

My questions is: is 775 a good weight for a bottle calf his age now? I know he got colostrum, was on a nurse cow when we got him at five days old, bottle fed for 4 months and started on calf starter, hay and progressed to feed.

We got about the same ADG the year before on the freemartin holsteins he had, but we sold them after fair at around 350 pounds. They started light at 56 and 58 lbs.

Just wondering if this is a good weight or is there is something that I should be changing in the future. Still being relatively new to all this I don't really have anything to compare to. I know bottle calves don't grow off as well as weaned calves, so I am checking to see how we are doing I guess.

Thanks for your opinions.

Cheyenne

 

[randiliana]

That is a really good weight for a bottle calf. A lot of calves raised by their mama don't grow that well!! How did you weigh him, and what were you feeding him??

 

[Cheyenne]

Thanks glad to know he's doing well.

He got Vigortone 22nt milk replacer for 4 months. Calf starter for about a month or so, hay and worked him up on a ration of bean meal, ddg, vigortone minerals and ground corn.

Oh also forgot to mention that we did not to have him implanted due to the fact I have a buyer for him after fair who did not want "added hormones". I gave up trying to explain that one, some people just don't understand.

He was weighed at the official 4-H weigh-in.

Also, most calves raised on their mamas don't get as much grain as he got/gets. Some people creep feed others don't, so that makes a difference. Kind of hard to compare calves on their mammas to bottle calves when they are fed differently.

 

[bigbull338]

Ok, first remember that we are talking about a bottle calf and not a calf weaned off his mama.

My son is showing his Angus/Herford bottle calf from last year as a market steer this year. We weighed him in the 6th of January he was Just a bit over 8 months old and his weight was 775 lbs.

Now according to my math we are getting a 2.76 ADG and he should finish well for fair as long as he doesn't go off feed etc.

My questions is: is 775 a good weight for a bottle calf his age now? I know he got colostrum, was on a nurse cow when we got him at five days old, bottle fed for 4 months and started on calf starter, hay and progressed to feed.

We got about the same ADG the year before on the freemartin holsteins he had, but we sold them after fair at around 350 pounds. They started light at 56 and 58 lbs.

Just wondering if this is a good weight or is there is something that I should be changing in the future. Still being relatively new to all this I don't really have anything to compare to. I know bottle calves don't grow off as well as weaned calves, so I am checking to see how we are doing I guess.

Thanks for your opinions.

Cheyenne

775 is a great weight for an 8 month old bottle fed calf.you have been feedimg that calf good.

 

[Cheyenne]

He is doing bottle calves again this year so I guess we will stay with the current program.

Thanks for your replies, they are very helpful.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I look for 100# per month of age on COW raised calves - so - way to go - you're doing great!!

 

[Cheyenne]

Thanks Jeanne. That gives me an idea of what I should be shooting for. I won't expect 100# on a bottle calf, but if I can get close I know we are doing ok.

The only thing I really had to compare to was friends of ours weigh their maine x calves roughly the same age just before us and theirs weighed in at 550 and 570#. I was also wondering if I had pushed ours too hard. Guess not. He just has light calves and the difference in our feeding programs. Don't envy him trying to get a 3.5 ADG just to get them to just over 1200#'s by fair, although I know it is possible.

Thanks again for the replies and support. As always everyone has been very helpful.