Every year my weanling bulls get a hay belly while the heifers seem to avoid it on the same feed rations (a weaned calf pellet created at my feed mill) and free choice grass hay. Is there a reason for that or is it just my weird farm? The pellet was designed anticipating the use of grass hay over alfalfa so it does have more protein in the pellet itself. Still, why the heifer / bull difference?
hay belly
- Thread starter angus9259
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novatech
Well-known member
Could it have something to do with the rate at which the rumen system is developing?
That could explain it if a9259 was seeing it across the board ~ but it doesn't explain bull calf/heifer calf differences. I don't believe one gender developes sooner than the other......novatech":149bxsge said:
right?
angie":1kg9o8u2 said:
Partially right. One gender may not develop sooner than the other, but testerone tends to promote muscle, and estrogen does not. Bull calves are more heavily muscled, and are generally bigger than heifer calves overall - thus they tend to require more feed. Perhaps that is the difference in the bull calves developing the hay belly.
SRBeef
Well-known member
msscamp":28xxefzl said:
This is an interesting question. We cut all of the spring bull calves in early July at about 4 months old. Just weaned on Nov 1 and was struck by how much heavier (all adjusted to 205 days) the steer calves were on average than the heifer calves. Now if it is testosterone building muscle the steers haven't had any since July. Or was it the early testosterone that gave them a head start?
novatech
Well-known member
This may not relate or it may. With bottle babbies there are very often calves that develope hay belly. I beleive this is a natural way for the body to compensate for the lack of the nutrients that the calf wouuld naturaly get. The bulls may be having the same type of reaction due to the fact they are trying to put on muscle faster than the heifers. I hope I am making sents here.
SRBeef
Well-known member
KNERSIE":3f5mnjpx said:
I appreciate the comments. Do you see a consistent significant difference in the weaning weights between heifers and steers at about 205 days?
From the Cattlemax program, my 205 day adjusted weaning weight for all steers is 635 lb and for heifers is 553 lb or an 82 lb difference. Is that typical?
At 205 days my good doing heifers are still pretty close to the bulls but there is starting to be a difference. It's between 205 and yearling that things explode for the bulls. Maybe the idea of growth preparation then does account for the apparent overconsumption of hay at this point - much like a child may get chubby before going through the teen years? Though this isn't "fat" or "cover" at all . . . it's stuffed rumen pure and simple.
