I bought a lighter steer (450 lbs) on october 28th 2011 I need him to weigh in at 1100 lbs on august 15th. He is a high quality steer. I am free feeding 2nd cutting grass alfalfa hay mix, and I have started him on 4 lbs of country acres sweet mix plus. The sweet mix has 9% crude protein, 2.5% fat. He has fresh water and a mineral salt block available at all times.. I need suggestions on what to feed him to give optimum weight gain.. I would like him to be around 1200 for my show if that is possible...I have around 287 days to reach that goal...any suggestions will be most welcome, as well as a feeding program I should put him on. Do you suggest feeding rumensin or 38n?
feeding a show steer
- Thread starter gibby
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i fatten'em up on 14% feed and whole corn, as much as they can eat in fifteen minutes, twice a day, and free choice hay. as far as the minerals go, i would buy minerals in the sack and add them to the feed.
ps this may not be relevant to show steers, this is just how i feed them out and they come out mighty fine. others with show experience may have better methods. good luck to ya!
ps this may not be relevant to show steers, this is just how i feed them out and they come out mighty fine. others with show experience may have better methods. good luck to ya!
I wouldn;t suggest anythign because I don;t know diddly about feeding show animals. Maybe posting your questions on the show forum would help. Or you may have already but I just skip it as I'm sure others skip some of the other forums.gibby":3314ompo said:
B&M Farms
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You only need to avg. 2.6 pounds per day. A 13 to 14 percent feed with a 5 to 7 percent fat content will work fine. A 14 percent grower with a little corn added will do this. Or you can use a show type feed. I would limit feed hay as I finished and increase the feed. I remember feeding 15lbs a day to a 500lb steer. Im not an expert on raising show calfs, just my experiences when I was in FFA.
Till-Hill
Well-known member
This is my show calf ration I use. Calves will just smoke on it.
2000 # mix.........
860 cracked corn
420 whole oats
200 beet pulp
400 Purina Grand 4-t fyer
120 molasses
I feed poor hay (crp and real mature grass) free choice till 2-3 months before show day
If your calf don't have any hair and you just want him fat feed him cracked corn till fat then hold him with straw.
2000 # mix.........
860 cracked corn
420 whole oats
200 beet pulp
400 Purina Grand 4-t fyer
120 molasses
I feed poor hay (crp and real mature grass) free choice till 2-3 months before show day
If your calf don't have any hair and you just want him fat feed him cracked corn till fat then hold him with straw.
Till-Hill
Well-known member
Sorry I have been trying to get my calves to eat 3% of their body weight all fall and I can't get them there and they are very good eaters. The mix costing me $400/ton but I'm only at maybe 2% of their body weight today and they are 6-700 lbs.....good luck!!
gibby
i would suggest having a sit down with your ag instructor or the county agent. either one will be able to answer your specific questions or direct you to the answers. a call to a feed company such as purina or a local feed store would also be a possibility.
was this animal wormed before you started?
i would suggest having a sit down with your ag instructor or the county agent. either one will be able to answer your specific questions or direct you to the answers. a call to a feed company such as purina or a local feed store would also be a possibility.
was this animal wormed before you started?
chippie
Well-known member
The Country Acres sweet feed mix is a low quality cheap feed. Your steer will need a higher protein than 9% and generally show steers are not fed free choice hay. Ditto about talking to your ag advisor or county agent. There are many well balanced show feeds available.
The two following links are publications about managing beef cattle for show.
http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/library/files/publications_resources_managing_beef_cattle_as12.pdf
https://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/AG_4HLivestock_2005-05.pdf
This is the link to the Purina Show Chow website http://www.honorshowchow.com/honorshowchowfeeds_hsc.php
The two following links are publications about managing beef cattle for show.
http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/library/files/publications_resources_managing_beef_cattle_as12.pdf
https://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/AG_4HLivestock_2005-05.pdf
This is the link to the Purina Show Chow website http://www.honorshowchow.com/honorshowchowfeeds_hsc.php
leigh12354
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I'm new to this can you tell me more about beet pulp. I would like to know more about this product. I'll check back later. Thanks
chippie
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Although this article is geared towards horses, it is a good explanation about beet pulp. http://shady-acres.com/susan/beetpulp.shtml
This is an article concerning feeding beet pulp to cattle: http://www.extension.org/pages/39515/can-i-feed-sugar-beet-pulp-to-beef-cattle
It comes in two forms -- pellets and shredded. I usually buy the shredded because of the cost. We feed it dry to the cattle (mixed with their grain) and wet it for our horses because I did have one horse choke on it.
This is an article concerning feeding beet pulp to cattle: http://www.extension.org/pages/39515/can-i-feed-sugar-beet-pulp-to-beef-cattle
It comes in two forms -- pellets and shredded. I usually buy the shredded because of the cost. We feed it dry to the cattle (mixed with their grain) and wet it for our horses because I did have one horse choke on it.
leigh12354
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Thanks chippie for the articles.I thought beet pulp was mainly used for horses, but I see a lot of people use it for cows.
TexasBred
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To keep it simple just go to a feed store that sells Acco or Nutrena feed and see if they have Paymaster Show Calf feed. They've made it for ages and it's still a good feed. Begin with a grower ration and the closer you get to show switch to a finisher ration.gibby":26kjduy7 said:
leigh12354
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I'm from RI. My friend has two calves I help out with, one has a broken leg that is mending real good. A cast was put on it as she grew. Both were bottle fed. I was curious about the beet pulp because I thought it was used sometimes to put weight on an animal.
TexasBred
Well-known member
Beet Pulp is a low protein, highly digestible source of fiber. A very good ingredient but usually pretty expensive. Cottonseed hulls are more commonly used in a finished feed and beet pulp feed supplementally as additional "fill" for the calf.leigh12354":2fdhjgqf said:
leigh12354
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Thank you for the reply on beet pulp. If I'm not mistaken isn't it used more so in the winter months to help keep the weight on a nursing heifer too?
Nite Hawk
Well-known member
Like others said earlier you want about a 14% protein to start off with. Protein helps them grow muscle etc.
When they have most of their growth we usually switch them GRADUALLY from a high protein to a high carbohydrate. The high carb tends to fatten them better than the protein once they have attained their basic size. Beet pulp helps slow down the digestion so they assimulate more of the feed and are less likely to get the "runs".
On a high volume concentrate diet they also need good a flake or two of hay to go along with it, for roughage. Without roughage they can burn their stomach and go off their grain completely and then you are not going to gain much of anything.
Like it was said earlier a good animal feed specialist knows what kinds of feed is available in your area.
Nite Hawk
When they have most of their growth we usually switch them GRADUALLY from a high protein to a high carbohydrate. The high carb tends to fatten them better than the protein once they have attained their basic size. Beet pulp helps slow down the digestion so they assimulate more of the feed and are less likely to get the "runs".
On a high volume concentrate diet they also need good a flake or two of hay to go along with it, for roughage. Without roughage they can burn their stomach and go off their grain completely and then you are not going to gain much of anything.
Like it was said earlier a good animal feed specialist knows what kinds of feed is available in your area.
Nite Hawk
