Do you have an analysis of the hay? If the cows are bored they may eat all day. Of course that's better then knocking down fences or finding some other mischeif I suppose. Fat is also a relative thing. It's kind of trickey at times but if you can do a Body Conditions Score (BCS) evaluation you can more or less determine how they are actaully gaining. If you do a google earch for "beef cattle body condition score" you should get a bunch of hits and one or more of them will have pictures that will make it all more or less clear. Smaller cows also require less feed to stay in condition or gain weight. Some are also just more efficient feed converters. We have a young cow that as heifer weaned a 596 lb heifer this year as a three year old her calf weaned at 620. By the time her calf is weaned she looks like a Holstein she is so boney and poor looking, she's a Red Angus. In just the 3 weeks since her calf was weaned she has gained a half a BCS. All the others have put on a little condition but not near as spectacularly as she has. When the vet preg checks her he's alwasy surprised that in her poor condition she settles on time and first service and maintaines the pregnancy.
dun
> Just plain out old grass hay, but
> they eat 24-7. I also give them
> 1/2 can each of a one pound coffee
> can of steer feed once a day.
