New to raising cattle - how are my calves doing?

[bluecavern]

I'm providing two recent pictures of my steer calves so you can see what I'm seeing. My concern is that they may be skinny...am I worring too much or should I be concerned?

I got them when they were about a month old, bottle fed them until they were about 4 mos old, they're about 8 mos now. They're getting free access to hay, minerals/salt and about a pint of grain per day. They're ignoring the hay now that the grass is growing. They've gotten their shots but no dewormer.

Thank you.

 

[Kscattle]

I'd worm them and feed more grain, are you eating them or selling them? A pint of grain is not enough if they weigh approx 450-500 lbs they should be getting 5 lbs of grain each.

 

[bluecavern]

Thanks. We planned to eat one and sell the other. I thought cattle would get by well on pasture only?

 

[andrews29]

I agree

 

[dun]

Thanks. We planned to eat one and sell the other. I thought cattle would get by well on pasture only?

Older animals will but youngsters need more nutriion then just pasture (unless it's really exceptional) doesn;t really have the protein they need. By boosting them to about 1-1 1/2% of their body weight they'll also finsih sooner when you r\actually start graining them heavily for butcher.

 

[3waycross]

Thanks. We planned to eat one and sell the other. I thought cattle would get by well on pasture only?

Gettin by and gettin fat are two different things. By starting them on heavier amounts of grain now you are preparing them for a finishing ration(which is MUCH heavier)
I'd worm them for sure.

 

[gonzo]

What part of the world are ya from ? Looks like up north any way by the looks of things, but I'm just a dum yank any way .

 

[E in PA]

what breed are they? dairy steers will be skinnier than beef steers and definitely need a lot more grain. they will not do well on grass alone.

 

[Limomike]

I agree with the other responses.. worm them both.. and put the feed to them. They could both use it.

 

[bigbull338]

those 2 calves should be eating 5 to 8lbs of grain ea a day plus grass.ive got a calf that i bottle fed an weaned.an he is on grass an i feed him 3 big coffee cans full of feed everyday,im guessing its 5 to 8lbs of feed a day more or less.

 

[TexasBred]

Get rid of the pint jar and get you a good set of scales and weigh the feed and give them enough to make a difference...good high quality feed...not a cheap commercial creep pellet.

 

[grubbie]

Are these dairy animals?

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I commend you for being concerned. Yes, they are thin. Here's some good info on Body Condition Score (BCS).
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/beef/400-795/photos1-9.html
Most owners - especially someone that raised the calves from babies, think they are BEAUTIFUL! no matter what BCS they are in. They should be at least a 5 gaining to about a 7 for harvest.

 

[milkmaid]

They're in okay body condition for dairy animals, I suspect that's what the one with white is? but what would concern me is that they aren't slicked off and they look "rough." Usually an indicator of the quality of the feed they're getting. I like to see that calves are slick - if they have enough nutrition to devote to a nice coat, they also have enough nutrition to grow frame, muscle, and fat.

1-2% of body weight in grain is what you're working towards - at 8 months they should weigh around 500-600lbs (for typical Holstein dairy calves) - so you're looking at 5-16lbs/head/day in grain. Dairy calves can run on just pasture, but you might be looking at another 2 years before they're close to ready to slaughter if on grass. When I've fed mine, I've needed either 2% of body weight in grain + good grass hay, or lower grain and good quality alfalfa hay.

 

[Suzie Q]

Just think about how much of the feed you are giving them is being eaten by worms and not being used by your calves.

 

[gonzo]

You never came back and told me where you lived but by the look of your pasture your up here some where. You need a whole lotta pasture to go total grass fed, if you don't you gotta get some kinda grain.

 

[bluecavern]

Thanks all for the advise, it's been well recieved. Sorry i didn't get back to you-all sooner, something came up. And, I'm in Eastern WA state.

 

[gonzo]

:welcome: I gotta repeat everyone else worm'm .I use safe guard you put it right in their food ,don't cost much you'll do both cows for less than 20 bucks. You should get him on some grain . I feed mine some each day even when the grass is plentiful , keeps'm comin to me , that can be helpfull when it comes time to work'm :cowboy:

 

[GA Farm Boy]

I agree with everyone. They need some wormer and more feed.