still not eating

[AngusSenorita]

My steer is still not eating

Here is what i have done
- given him probios
- given him B-12
- switched to sudan
- took him off feed for 3 days, then worked him back up

I can not give him a buddy steer, he is my only steer and we have separate pens, so don't suggest that, becasue it's not possible.

My parents had to feed for me on multiple occasions,they did not follow my instructions. They left the food out in the pen for him to eat, he would finish it all but not in 30 minutes

He is currently fed
5 scoops Hi-Pro finisher
1/2 scoop(a small scoop that came with the supplement) Platinum show supplement(its a vitamin, mineral, and probiotic) He has been on this since the day I got him

I am under the impression that he should be fed enough to last him for 30 min.

he is around 800lbs. we do not have a working scale so I can not weigh him

If you have any advice other than what I have already tried please tell me

Thanks. Unless I can get this figured out I will call my breeder.

 

[Cowboy 2.0]

Well, first off, you're in Texas in the middle of summer, get that calf off finisher. He should be on straight grower right now. That's what's causing him not to eat. That finisher is burning him up, switch to Acco Grower and I bet he eats it.

 

[jaydill]

Well, first off, you're in Texas in the middle of summer, get that calf off finisher. He should be on straight grower right now. That's what's causing him not to eat. That finisher is burning him up, switch to Acco Grower and I bet he eats it.

I've said this once and I'll say it again. It is your ag teacher's orders. You follow your ag teacher's orders. Do not change your steer's feed without approval from your teacher, first. Again, there are multiple teachers who have tried feeding their calves finisher first, successfully. There are also other steers in the same barn as AngusSenorita who are being fed finisher first and doing just fine.

While your suggestion is plausible, Cowboy, you can't say for sure that is why AngusSenorita's steer has gone off feed again. It could very well be because her parents haven't followed her schedule. If you haven't noticed, her steers goes off feed each time she has gone out of town, when she has someone else feeding him. It could be that they've thrown his schedule off and it needs to be slowly readjusted. If I were you, Senorita, I would speak with your ag teacher about it, first.

Jay

 

[Cowboy 2.0]

Well, first off, you're in Texas in the middle of summer, get that calf off finisher. He should be on straight grower right now. That's what's causing him not to eat. That finisher is burning him up, switch to Acco Grower and I bet he eats it.

I've said this once and I'll say it again. It is your ag teacher's orders. You follow your ag teacher's orders. Do not change your steer's feed without approval from your teacher, first. Again, there are multiple teachers who have tried feeding their calves finisher first, successfully. There are also other steers in the same barn as AngusSenorita who are being fed finisher first and doing just fine.

While your suggestion is plausible, Cowboy, you can't say for sure that is why AngusSenorita's steer has gone off feed again. It could very well be because her parents haven't followed her schedule. If you haven't noticed, her steers goes off feed each time she has gone out of town, when she has someone else feeding him. It could be that they've thrown his schedule off and it needs to be slowly readjusted. If I were you, Senorita, I would speak with your ag teacher about it, first.

Jay

I don't care what my ag teacher says, if my steer is not eating on what they are telling me to feed, him, then I'm going to change. If they didn't pay for the calf, then it's up to you to make decisions, not them. A calf should be able to clean up his pan in at least 20 to 25 minutes. Leaving his fed in there for a couple of days all day shouldn't matter as long as he is al ready on a schedule of finishing it up.

 

[Miss Daisy]

lets not break out into a fight. everyone has their own opinions on steer care and involving your ag teacher. i recommend consulting your teacher but still making your own decision... thats what ffa is all about! 8)

 

[AngusSenorita]

well, right now i still don't have an ag teacher. Like I said I am going to call my breeder in the A.M.. but yeah
I have been thinking about switching to ACCO, hi-pro has the same protien fat ratios, but we are feeding finisher because last year none of the steers got finished, plus my steer is growing like a weed so with the higher fat hopefully he won't get to tall.

thanks

 

[milkmaid]

What's he getting in the way of exercise?

How about your feeding times? I like to feed my calves as early in the morning and as late in the evening as I can to take advantage of the coolness. They don't like to eat when it's hot out - and I don't blame them.

Weigh your feed and post exactly how much he's eating. A scoop can be any size - I can't convert your scoops to pounds. 800lb calf at 2% of his body weight should be getting 16lbs/day, minimum.

There's a difference of opinion on how long it should take a calf to clean up his feed. I spoke with a feedlot manager once who felt the steers should have a "wet bunk" at the next feeding - basically just have cleaned up the last of their feed by the next feeding. It's occurred to me since then that the feedlot folks probably feed a TMR, though.

I like to see a calf clean up his grain pretty quickly, but I like them to have enough hay to last to the next feeding. Last thing I want is a calf that's overly hungry at the next feeding and gorges himself - that's a recipe for problems.

 

[AngusSenorita]

one scoop is 3 lbs, so he is getting 30 lbs a day, it seems like alot to me but my teacher wants him eating for 30 minutes straight. It depends on which feeding method you belive in, feeding by percent of body weight or feed for 30 min

With my sheep I always feed by percent body weight and they turn out great.

He is growing in his frame right now, he is doing well but eating problems worry me after I had 2 sheep develop ulcers, so i always watch how they eat very closly.

It could be that he can't finish 30 lbs, I'm not quite sure.

has anyonw here fed Hi-Pro? I am looking into switching, but I will talk to my breeder 1st


I will try to see if I can fix the scale, but i think that the cables need to be tightened or losend because the scale does not balance at 0 no matter how much adjusting you do.

 

[-bcc]

i have feed hi-pro, we fed it to my steers n heifers when i was showin'..we had to switch due to those bad fires last summer it burnt the feed store down, so we switched to prime design feed this year its an all right feed, its nothing like acco or hi-pro its kinda different

 

[Cowboy 2.0]

I've fed both and I like Acco a lot better, but they are both good feeds.

 

[Anonymous]

What's he getting in the way of exercise?

How about your feeding times? I like to feed my calves as early in the morning and as late in the evening as I can to take advantage of the coolness. They don't like to eat when it's hot out - and I don't blame them.

Weigh your feed and post exactly how much he's eating. A scoop can be any size - I can't convert your scoops to pounds. 800lb calf at 2% of his body weight should be getting 16lbs/day, minimum.

There's a difference of opinion on how long it should take a calf to clean up his feed. I spoke with a feedlot manager once who felt the steers should have a "wet bunk" at the next feeding - basically just have cleaned up the last of their feed by the next feeding. It's occurred to me since then that the feedlot folks probably feed a TMR, though.

I like to see a calf clean up his grain pretty quickly, but I like them to have enough hay to last to the next feeding. Last thing I want is a calf that's overly hungry at the next feeding and gorges himself - that's a recipe for problems.

AMEN it doesent take much to founder a calf.

 

[Tabor]

maybe feed him 3 or 4 times a day instead of 2.
Just a thought.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

If an 800# steer is eating 30# of grain/day, I don't care how long it takes him to eat it!! That's a bunch - almost 4% of his body weight. What are you worried about??? Of course, consuming that much will keep him on the "edge" of going off feed - given any excuse.