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Why didn't they gain much?......confused
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<blockquote data-quote="Howdyjabo" data-source="post: 644814" data-attributes="member: 391"><p>Its tough to make money right now- but getting the right calves is half the battle.</p><p>You or your buyer has to have a good eye.</p><p>I use an order buyer- if you find the right one you can;t beat it. Saves you spending the whole day trying to cut in on the regulars to get a few calves bought right. Mine even delivers after the sale- well worth the money I spend. If it was a crook or bad buyer theres no better way to loose money.</p><p></p><p>When buying fresh bull calves--- if I weight them at 30 days they will have barely gained(fat calves will have lost weight- they need to go right into a finishing operation)). At 60 days I expect 1- 1.5lbs(and that with being fed right). At 90 days I expect 2-2.5 lbs. I rarely keep them on my feed that long- I am getting them too fat on my feed and they need less or need to go. I either send them to the feedlot,sell them or turn them out to mostly pasture with some supplements. The goal is to have them always gaining but not so much that they get fat. It costs too much to haul fat calves and they shrink too much- buyers will dock you. And with the cost of feed its throwing big money away to give them more than they need. But if you don't feed enough to tip over the edge of maintenance you are loosing money.</p><p>Or you can grow frame(gain frame but not much weight) cheap on grass over the winter(might need to supplement protein)- then let them flesh up during the spring grass spurt(only way I can get good gains on grass) . But thats keeping them for a longggg time. But if you have nothing better to do with your land/grass, the calves sure don't <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>For good weight gain, You have to exceed their maintenance needs . and its tough to do on just grass/hay (unless you have them on wheat or drilled in an annual)- I have to supplement 40-50% byproducts(on 4-6 wts). Plus supplementing that much on fescue gets rid of the "fescue" look so they resell better. Weight gain is a funny thing once you feed enough to go over maintenance it only takes just a little more to put you into good gains. For a <strong>real basic</strong> example 6lbs of feed meets maintenance, 8 lbs gets you some gain--- But just 8.5lb will make them bloom. Well worth the extra .5 lbs.</p><p>I'll give you a big boost-- when buying calves off of fescue, spending money on a shot of Multi-Min is well worth it(15% jump in weight gain).</p><p>And my first concern is to meet their protein needs- all the forage and energy in the world is a waste if you don't have the protein for them to make use of it.</p><p></p><p>I'm looking for a calf with good frame that was just a bit short on groceries.</p><p>Its tough to grow a profit on shorts or cheap calves- theres a reason they go for less.</p><p>Color and some ear doesn't bother me if I retain ownership- but if they are getting resold they had to be cheap.</p><p></p><p>I won't let my calves on stockpiled fescue unless I am feeding the snot out of them and I just need some roughage. That stuff just barely meets cows needs.</p><p></p><p>Buying preconditioned calves is worth it if you are lacking in skills,facilities and time. They will backset the first 30 days but not as hard and the odd are you will have less health problems(make sure they are not FAT ). Make sure they were really preconditioned(lots of liars out there) and preconditioned right.</p><p>There are some buyers out there that will set you up with a group of good calves and then resell them for you. They have a vested interest in getting you the best calves they can find,especially if they get to do it year after year.</p><p></p><p>PS- I'll put a load together for you <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Howdyjabo, post: 644814, member: 391"] Its tough to make money right now- but getting the right calves is half the battle. You or your buyer has to have a good eye. I use an order buyer- if you find the right one you can;t beat it. Saves you spending the whole day trying to cut in on the regulars to get a few calves bought right. Mine even delivers after the sale- well worth the money I spend. If it was a crook or bad buyer theres no better way to loose money. When buying fresh bull calves--- if I weight them at 30 days they will have barely gained(fat calves will have lost weight- they need to go right into a finishing operation)). At 60 days I expect 1- 1.5lbs(and that with being fed right). At 90 days I expect 2-2.5 lbs. I rarely keep them on my feed that long- I am getting them too fat on my feed and they need less or need to go. I either send them to the feedlot,sell them or turn them out to mostly pasture with some supplements. The goal is to have them always gaining but not so much that they get fat. It costs too much to haul fat calves and they shrink too much- buyers will dock you. And with the cost of feed its throwing big money away to give them more than they need. But if you don't feed enough to tip over the edge of maintenance you are loosing money. Or you can grow frame(gain frame but not much weight) cheap on grass over the winter(might need to supplement protein)- then let them flesh up during the spring grass spurt(only way I can get good gains on grass) . But thats keeping them for a longggg time. But if you have nothing better to do with your land/grass, the calves sure don't :) For good weight gain, You have to exceed their maintenance needs . and its tough to do on just grass/hay (unless you have them on wheat or drilled in an annual)- I have to supplement 40-50% byproducts(on 4-6 wts). Plus supplementing that much on fescue gets rid of the "fescue" look so they resell better. Weight gain is a funny thing once you feed enough to go over maintenance it only takes just a little more to put you into good gains. For a [b]real basic[/b] example 6lbs of feed meets maintenance, 8 lbs gets you some gain--- But just 8.5lb will make them bloom. Well worth the extra .5 lbs. I'll give you a big boost-- when buying calves off of fescue, spending money on a shot of Multi-Min is well worth it(15% jump in weight gain). And my first concern is to meet their protein needs- all the forage and energy in the world is a waste if you don't have the protein for them to make use of it. I'm looking for a calf with good frame that was just a bit short on groceries. Its tough to grow a profit on shorts or cheap calves- theres a reason they go for less. Color and some ear doesn't bother me if I retain ownership- but if they are getting resold they had to be cheap. I won't let my calves on stockpiled fescue unless I am feeding the snot out of them and I just need some roughage. That stuff just barely meets cows needs. Buying preconditioned calves is worth it if you are lacking in skills,facilities and time. They will backset the first 30 days but not as hard and the odd are you will have less health problems(make sure they are not FAT ). Make sure they were really preconditioned(lots of liars out there) and preconditioned right. There are some buyers out there that will set you up with a group of good calves and then resell them for you. They have a vested interest in getting you the best calves they can find,especially if they get to do it year after year. PS- I'll put a load together for you :) [/QUOTE]
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