fattening steers what am I doing wrong

[Starting late]

This is my second year raising cattle for beef. I have 5 in the feedlot right now. They are about 17 months old right now and weigh nearly 1,000lbs each. All 5 are crossbreeds from a Charlaise bull. One of them looks perfect, one little hereford is about 200lbs. behind the other 4, but he was smaller when I bought them. I have 2 Limousin/Charlaise cross bred steers in there also. My main concern is that the 2 Limousins just don't seem to be putting on much fat. They are in a good pasture with plenty of clover and are getting about 110 lbs. a day of ground corn with Purina 32N protein supplement. Should I increase the feed? They seem to be getting all they want as some is left in the bunk until next feeding. My theory is that the Limousins just mature at a larger size due to their breeding. They look very healthy to me, just not much fat. I will try to post pictures when I figure out how to do it. They have plenty of water and free choice to minerals. From my personal experience I don't think you can raise steers naturally and have them hit 1300lbs. at 18 months of age like some people claim to do. I use no anti-biotics and only all natural feed. No hormones or appetite booster either. Let me know what you all think please.

 

[milkmaid]

Have they been wormed? (and if so, what wormer?) vaccinated? what did they weigh when you put them on feed... and how much have they been gaining?

I disagree that you cannot raise a calf to slaughter weight at an early age without the use of hormones, etc. I finished two last fall that finished at 1250lbs/16 months of age and 1400lbs/18 months of age. Never were sick once (no need for antibiotics), no hormones, nothing, nada. Just hay and 10lbs/hd/day of corn the last 5 months.

 

[dun]

Maybe the wrong genetics. 1000 lbs at 17 months is way behind what they should weigh even on just grass. We have a runt that only weaned at 470 lbs and on nothing but pasture he weighed 971 at 14 1/2/ months.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

If you are looking for alot of fat on a limi you are going to be disappointed.

 

[kscowboy]

at 17 months they oughta be huge with that feed ration. A few thoughts , have you gotten an actual scale weight on these , are ya sure on the ages , you don't say where your located , are you in serious heat areas.
The reason I ask is that I have holsteins who according to most on this board are useless and on many notes I'll agree with em , but I can hit 1250 live with grass and corn chop @ 15-16 months old. The guy I buy them from can rarely give me an accurate birthing day so age is always a question plus I am pretty much the worlds worst weight guesser. The other issue seems to be with mine if I can't get em finished before June its difficult once the heat sets in here in kansas to get a good daily weight gain.

 

[jkwilson]

I can easily have January (Hereford) calves weighing 1300 by the following June without any kind of non-medical antibiotic or hormones. I can't imagine that it would be possible to keep them at 1000lbs. Mine are usually at 1000lbs in Feb or March. They get about 2% of their body weight in 12% finisher daily split into two feedings.

 

[chippie]

Can you post pictures of your cattle?

I am a bit confused. You say that they are in a feedlot, then you say they are out on pasture? If you are giving them a lot of corn, check their poop. I bet that they are pooping a lot out and not utilizing it.
If you are going to feed them, a commercial beef finisher or ration would probably work better than straight corn + the dry supplement. I agree with the others, about ages and weight. 1 year old and close to 1000 lbs for a grain fed steer is not uncommon. At 17 months, they should be pushing 1300 +, unless they do not have the genetics or frame size to get there.

Genetics play a major part in frame size and muscling.

 

[somn]

22 lbs per day of ground corn per head and they are still that small at 17 months. I'm guessing dead gut. Get yourself some new calves and start over.

 

[Starting late]

Guys, let me correct myself. These steers were born in March '07, so they are 17 months old. They were on pasture only until the last week of July. They are still in a pasture now of about 3 Acres, I am just calling that the feedlot because that is where I feed steers out. They have been recieving corn with supplement for about 5 weeks now and are about 1,000lbs each. I am not saying that fat cattle will not be ready for market at 18 months of age, I am just saying that I am not yet able to have them ready in 18 months and am wondering what I might be doing wrong. Do they need more nutrition early on or should I be expecting to fatten them for a longer period of time? I do not yet know exactly how long to keep them on corn and supplement to have them conditioned properly for market. My Angus/Hereford mix calves gain weight much better on pasture than do these other crossbreds. All steers have been wormed. The 2 Limis are scheduled to be slaughtered in late October at which time they will be 19 months old and will have been on feed for about 13 weeks. I have not been thorough with my worming and will be sure and keep up with that from now on. These were wormed in December and again in July.

 

[angus9259]

If you are looking for alot of fat on a limi you are going to be disappointed.

Make note of this comment. If you want fat cattle limi is probably not the way to go. However, with limi and char breeding, it seems like you should have well over 1000 lbs of muscle and butt out there by this age.

 

[milkmaid]

In order to determine what, or if, you're doing wrong, we need a vital piece of information.... their current rate of gain. Ideally you'd also know their weight at the time of purchase (and when did you purchase them?), their age at the time of purchase to determine previous ADG, their rate of gain between purchase and going on feed, and their ADG now that they're on grain. Otherwise it's extremely hard to tell where or if you're doing something wrong, or if the previous owner was doing something wrong. Might just be a case of bad genetics too.

Post a pic and let's see their condition too.

 

[dun]

British crosses are going to finish faster and usually lighter then continental crosses.

 

[dcrossley]

I raise Cross and Simmental and I can consistatly get 3-3.5# per day gain, no implants or additives. The kids show calves, a whole different story. I feed a mix on cracked corn, oats, 32% pellets and molasses along with some grass hay. Growing them I increase the oats, finishing them I increase the corn. They marble great and score great. I have had them finish at 1200# and 1400#. Breed and heat does have alot to do with the gain also. I would be glad to give you the ration, email me, donc@best buyrvs.com

 

[mark]

I'm no expert on fattening steers, but my kids heifer won champion rate of gain(1250#) and his steer got 2nd for rate of gain after I put him on a diet because he was getting too heavy (1425#)at the county fair,both at 16 months.

I'd note that if you are turning the steers out in a paddock that has grass/weeds etc. and they are leaving corn in the bunk, that they are filling up on the green grass and not eating their feed as well as they should.

I'd lock them in a dry lot, and feed only the finishing grain mix/minerals and enough grass hay/scratch to scratch their rumen and keep them from getting loose stools. They should clean up their grain and gain better than filling up on low calorie greens.

 

[4CTophand]

I agree with one of the posts above---those limi cross steers will normally QG select and YG 1-- charolais cross steers tend to YG 2 and QG low choice feed ya some angus cross calves or my personal favorite is a 3/4 angus 1/4 jersey for YG 3 and QG Prime but they are a bit slower growing--but well worth the wait..

Also any calves that are 17+ months of age are a bit behind the growth curve @ 1000 lbs for Limi's and Charolais cross 6+ FS calves.
Good luck

T