Concerning feed yards hoping some of you would help me answer these questions. There are a lot of breeds and thats why i want an average estimate to any breed.
Feed yards: are you talking backgrounding or feedlots? (from the questions below it sounds like backgrounding... :? )
What features in the head will i be looking for? for the tall ones the long ones? ones with big heads?
Why would you want to look at features in the head??? It's the rest of the body you should be concerned about: healthy, shiny coats, alertness, pricked ears, no snotty nose...."features in the head" is something that I have NEVER heard before...unless I'm missing something...or are you talking about "head" as in "number of head" as in "number of cattle"?? If not then you REALLY lost me.....
What kind of weight will i be looking forward to buy and start the feed process? 400 pounders?
500 to 600 pounders are a good start, typically calves that are just taken fresh off their mommas.
What is the peak weight to start selling? 800 pounders or more?
Yep...We try and aim for 900 to 1000 lbs.
How long will it take to get that kind of weight?
From the time we bought the weaners (fall), it took us about 10 to 12 months to get them to that size. Also length of time they're there depends on the rate of gain and the type of feed you feed them; we fed them hay (grass and alfalfa mix) and silage (barley) during the winter (that's 5 months about), and threw them out on pasture for the rest of the time, with no supplemental feeding (except for the salt block).
What kind of food should i feed them? and in what percentage?
That depends on what's available in your area. You might want to feed them just hay and then later put them out on grass, or do what I just talked about, or just have a high energy diet of silage, corn gluten, soy meal, etc. and make them grow faster so you can have them around for a lesser time. But usually keeping to a diet where they don't put on fat so quick and instead a feed ration like that is the best to have them growing and getting adequate muscle.
How many pounds a day should the average head eat?
I'd say 2 to 3 lbs/day, depending. 1.5 is the lowest I'd go, IMO.
How much should the head gain per day?
Again, we're not talkin head weight here. :shock: :???: :???: :???: But again, it feels like I'm missing something, like are you asking how much should the HERD gain per day??? Or what??
How many times per day to feed them? and at what time of the day to be exact?
If their fed ad libitum (or free choice), depends how much feed you put out for them. For instance, for hay fed ad libitum, if you put out 3 big round bales out for, oh, say 40 head, they'd eat on it for a few days. Silage, on the other hand, feed enough so that the feed bunks don't overflow. They gain, so once you start with the little 500 pounders they may only need three or four bucket (tractor-loader bucket that is)-fulls per day (of course depending on the size of the loader bucket...bigger bucket = more feed), then in a couple months you'd be feeding more. Time of day? We usually feed between mid afternoon and evening, before the sun goes down. Depends on your preferences though, some people feed in the afternoon, others in the morning, etc.
I'd really appreciate the help :)
