This is copied from a post of mine last December:
First, I am not a Nutritionist. Our younger daughter developed this ration in her Ag class. They had a sorry teacher who only taught the boys to weld. The girls were left to play on the computers during Ag classes. She had tormented Kirk Stierwalt at every show about a better ration for her heifers. He told her to use a Finishing Ration and gave her the basic ingredients, but no amounts. This was about 1996 or 97, and we were all feeding larger framed calves with the goal to get more Fat & Fill. The World Wide Web was also much younger, but amazingly did have some information about beef cattle feed ration configuration. I was working for Moormans at the time, and had access to some of the finest beef and dairy nutritionists. The formulation our daughter put together from her Internet search tested as balanced as anyone could ask.
(Kirk verified her results)
According to the test, we were at 10.2% Protien, 14% Fiber, 3.7% Fat.
We never had a Cool Room , but also never had a problem with our ration being "too hot" (for hair or gut) The Summer of 1998 was terrible in Okla and the surrounding states. Our Maine-Anjou Jr National show was is Sioux Falls, SD. When we left in early June, the Temp was112. Wichita, KS was 108. Our 2 raised heifers could have used more hair against all those northern calves, but both of ours were good enough to make the Champion Drive. Our big heifer was Res. Grand & Grand Champ Bred & Owned.
In past years onSP, I have visited via PM, Email, and Phone with well over 100 people about tweaking our ration to best meet their needs. Several are successfully using Cottonseed Hull Pellets, and others Have successfully substituted Beet Pulp. Some are using Barley, and have reported success. My point is, there is no perfect ration to serve the needs of every show calf, I have shared our ration because it worked for us, and saved a lot of money which could be invested elsewhere.
Loose cottonseed hulls really cause even very young calves to dig into a trough. I've weaned calves through the fence with our ration as early as 2 months. The only real flaw I find is the person who refuses to add a GOOD mineral. If my year with Moormans taught me only one thing, it is the importance of a Quality Mineral, just ask a Dairy guy.
Remember the KISS theory - Keep It Simple, Stupid!
In His grip,
Dan