I am starting some calves/ yearlings some weigh 550# some 350# (different traps). my feed ration is 15% cottonseed hull pellets, 43% soy hull pellets, 42% corn gluten. i am feeding the 550# cattle 8# a day in a trap with no grass(71 hd, 15 acres). is this enough feed for the cattle to add weight until grass comes. need to weigh 800# june 20. any suggestions. my first load to start in the winter(bought them early Jan.) don't want to feed hay is there enough fiber in my ration?
how much to feed
- Thread starter j4cattle
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TexasBred
Well-known member
They won't gain that much feeding at that rate. You'll get a pound a day gain probably but you need 3 lbs. per day to reach your goal on the larger steers. The ration has about 25% fiber. This will have to work since you're not going to feed hay. They should be fine.j4cattle":1052jc20 said:
dieselbeef
Well-known member
i feed 5lbs per head per day
TexasBred
Well-known member
Will they gain 250 lb. in 90 days on that amount of feed?dieselbeef":2hnvf1l1 said:
Central Fl Cracker
Well-known member
I thought it was 3 % per lb.
dieselbeef
Well-known member
girl did 280 lbs on a show steer in 3 mos...he was in a small pen ..missed the wiegh in by 20 lbs tho
TexasBred
Well-known member
dieselbeef":xluaw0ht said:
Not saying it can't be done but seriously doubt it being done on 5 lbs. feed per day.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
TexasBred":1htbc79n said:
More like 25 to 35 lb per day.
j4cattle, why don't you want to feed hay?
agmantoo
Well-known member
If they were catfish they would not gain that much in 90 days on that 5lbs per head.TexasBred":37qngdv6 said:
i have been told that a calf will not eat more than 3% of there body weight a day, and in the past i had some calves on a self feeder and they were eating about 14# a day weighed nearly 500#. hay cost 2 much money and they waste to much even in rings, i would rather put the fiber in a trough, and that is what every stocker operator in this part of the world is doing. thanks for the info.the cattle are weighing on the up side of 600# now. thanks for the info!!!
dieselbeef
Well-known member
kenny thomas":2syinqlq said:
dont combine my 2 posts to make it something i didnt say
i said i feed 5lbs /hd /day
the girl doin the steer was doin quite a bit more im sure..idk how much
you guys are worse than news reporters... :bs:
kenny thomas
Well-known member
j4cattle":3cxyariz said:
Sorry dieselbeef I see how it looks and that is not what I wanted to say. I wanted to say if they are going to really grow you need to feed them really well.
At 8# per day you are not giving the 550lb calves even 1/2 of the 3% you talk about. Do you not count the protein content of the hay? Hay is more than just fiber. If you want to put it in a trough mix the hay in your feed.
TexasBred
Well-known member
j4cattle":q3jxtzh5 said:
That may be true in your area but you can get better and cheaper fiber from a bale of hay and/or grazing than from a feed bag. Most fiber in a typical "creep" type feed is pure junk...nothing but filler. They can lose weight with a belly full of the stuff. Cattle need long stem fiber...grazing and/or hay..But it's your $$$.
dieselbeef
Well-known member
no sweat kenny..im just kickin nuts is all
Texas PaPaw
Well-known member
j4
Here's a link to a ration formulation spreadsheet I use and it has proven to be quite accurate. If you put your ingredient cost into the feed list page it will give you the projected cost of gain.
http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/software/
For a 600# steer 8#/day of your ration would only gain .32/day whereas 10# would get .89 adg and 11# would get you 1.16 adg.
What this spreadsheet has taught me is the more feed the lower the cost of gain and higher adg. One of the downsides to heavy feeding is getting them too fleshy and hurting their grass gain. If i were in this situation I would target their adg to something less than their expected adg on grass. If they are fed too heavy now they could "back up" when turned out on grass, while too limited feeding will run up their feeding cost of gain. It's a balancing act that depends on feed costs and the desired end weight/date.
My best guess would be to feed 10-11#/day until turnout.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Here's a link to a ration formulation spreadsheet I use and it has proven to be quite accurate. If you put your ingredient cost into the feed list page it will give you the projected cost of gain.
http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/software/
For a 600# steer 8#/day of your ration would only gain .32/day whereas 10# would get .89 adg and 11# would get you 1.16 adg.
What this spreadsheet has taught me is the more feed the lower the cost of gain and higher adg. One of the downsides to heavy feeding is getting them too fleshy and hurting their grass gain. If i were in this situation I would target their adg to something less than their expected adg on grass. If they are fed too heavy now they could "back up" when turned out on grass, while too limited feeding will run up their feeding cost of gain. It's a balancing act that depends on feed costs and the desired end weight/date.
My best guess would be to feed 10-11#/day until turnout.
Just my 2 cents worth.
i am still going to feed even after grass comes will i be able to cut that back or should i keep them about that i understand that the bigger they get the more i need. i just don't know for sure. thanks that's the info i was looking for.Texas PaPaw":35qb1l0t said:
TexasBred
Well-known member
Your gain is going to depend on the quality of the steer, quality of the grain mix since you said you would be feeding grain, and quality of any grazing and/or hay. All these will determine quanitity needed. You can play with numbers until the second coming but if the quality isn't there you're still just playing and make the numbers say whatever you want them to say. Look out the window and the calves will show you the real story.
Texas PaPaw
Well-known member
j4cattle":24nqgq3j said:
For 5wt steers on summer grass I usually feed 5# (1%bw)of corn gluten/soy hulls and get 1.5-1.75# adg.
As soon as there is plenty of grass, I would take the cs hulls out of the mix as they will get enough fiber from the grass. The cgf/sh pellets will give them additional energy and protein.
A good visual indicator is the consistency of the manure. If it is stacking up they can use more protein, if it splatters protein/digestibility is high. Ideal consistency for gain is that of pancake batter. Not too runny but a small divot in the middle of the pie.
At today's feed prices, I wouldn't get too carried away with the supplement. Just give them enough to meet your weight target without getting them too fleshy. Better to come in a little light than to overfeed high-priced feed. Got the t-shirt for that one.
IMO on green grass, feeding 1% of bw should be a good place to start and adjust from there.
BTW-could you put your general location in your profile as this helps others with their responses.
TexasBred
Well-known member
Tex if you're getting that daily gain out of that little bit of feed you're beating 99% of the feedlots in the country. Better check those scales. 7:1 is typical...6:1 dam good...your ratio on hulls and gluten... I question.
