Quality feed and finishing?

[Chainsaw Driver]

Great thread and excellent information. I've recently been asked to raise a couple of our Beefmaster steers for slaughter for a few friends that want halves. Our herd is completely grass fed except when I want to catch them, we use cubes for that. Since we only grass feed our herd and our steers are now 9 months old, should I put them on a ration now or wait a bit and just finish. I'd appreciate comments on just finishing versus feeding a daily ration for a longer time frame. I was thinking of finishing for 60 days or so. Is that long enough to yield decent marbling?

 

[mwj]

I would not expect much result from 60 days on feed.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Lot of info missing. How much do your 9 month old steers weigh? How much do their dams weigh? Finish weight on a steer is highly correlated to dam's weight. Cattle with Brahman % in them finish differently, so I probably am not the right one to answer.
If you want them as big and finished as possible at the youngest age possible, you need to put them on a pre-finishing ration now. If you are not wanting to push them, they will need AT LEAST 90 days on a finishing ration.

 

[Chainsaw Driver]

They're 700+ pounds now, Beefmasters get big quick. I appreciate the advice on pre-ration, and 90 days. First time I've done this as we have always sold breed stock or to the barn. Looks like I need to plan further ahead.

 

[hillbilly beef man]

For October born Angus calves I start feeding them grain the following November 1st. I have them worked up to full feed with free choice hay by about the first of December. They will be on full feed till till the kill date the end of March. Most of the steers will be around 1,200 lbs, heifers 1,050. I figure on about 2 tons of feed and 3 4x5 rolls of hay per animal. This was photo was taken on Christmas day. This particular steer weighed 944 on 12/10/2021

 

[C-Ranch]

For October born Angus calves I start feeding them grain the following November 1st. I have them worked up to full feed with free choice hay by about the first of December. They will be on full feed till till the kill date the end of March. Most of the steers will be around 1,200 lbs, heifers 1,050. I figure on about 2 tons of feed and 3 4x5 rolls of hay per animal. This was photo was taken on Christmas day. This particular steer weighed 944 on 12/10/2021

Just curious on how many calves you feed out on your program?

 

[Silver]

I realize this thread is getting a little old and the OP might be long gone, but thought I'd put this here for a little perspective.
This is the beef I'm eating now, nicely marbled in my opinion. They could have trimmed a little more of the outer layer. Juicy, tender, and flavourful so checks all the boxes for me.


This steer never had a mouthful of grain in his 18 months of life. He came in off the range in the fall in nice shape, parked in front of a hay bale for a month then processed. Point being that high inputs aren't necessarily the key to a good eating experience.