Feeding a commercial calf to show quality questions ????

Ok...a lot has changed since I used to show steers - My daughter is taking her first market steer to county fair which starts Aug 6 2012.  We did not buy a club calf, we just weaned off a good looking calf from the commercial cow/calf operation we work for.  He is just now a yearling (April calvers here).  I thought this senerio would work fine as this is the same thing I did so many years ago and did very well (SMALL county fair in Winnemucca, NV)....I am now thinking we might be in some trouble.  
The steer weighs 800 pounds and is 46 3/4 inch at hip - as they make weight by hip height here.  Soooo....we have him on payback steer feed with origin grower and alfalfa.  Problems I foresee: 1. not making weight or finishing as he is young and 2. he doesn't have the hair potential as the club calves are born with.  He is an angus x.  I can't predict how much more height he will gain as he is still "green".  I was thinking of putting him on Glu-coat?  Anyone want to chime in with some helpful suggestions?  They would be much appreciated.
OH - as far as hair - I am rinsing him and putting him in the cool, stone barn we have during the day and out at night.  It has been REALLy warm here in South Central Wyoming.  What else besides brushing with rice root brush can we do? Products?

What month was he born? I need to understand your situation a little better.  he is 800lbs with four months till show correct?? Thanks

I do the same thing.  My kids show some plain old commercial most the time.  (Although I am breeding some cows clubby and for clubby mamas) This year they are hereford sired and red so that gives them a double black eye.  (pun intended)  I also calve in April and May.  I would get on a good feed.  In WY I think you can get the ranch way show feed.  It seems to work well.  If you can get some feed out of Utah called Cache Commodities they have a ration that can really push a calf.  The calves my kids are showing look to finish about 1300 and one is a May calf for a first of August fair. 

A good friend that has played this game a long time told my boys on their first calf.  Feeding fat cattle is like voting in Chicago.  Feed early and often.  In other words start in October for an August fair.  Not pushing but growing them up and getting the gut turned to digest a starch based diet. 

Good luck. 

Thanks LostFarmer.  Yeah, I think we started too late.  I thought the rules that applied when I was showing applied now...project doesn't start until Jan 1.  Sooo we didn't start until then.  I don't think he will get to 1300 let alone 1100 at this point - he came from 450.  Just hoping his doesn't grow much past 48 inches.  Wish I would have found this forum last fall.

He needs to be on some kind of a feed with roughly 60% corn in it.  If you can't find a feed like that, feed him cracked corn added to what you are already feeding (roughly half and half probably). 

You've got a little over 3 months and you ought to be able to get 2.5 lbs/day out of him even if its hot, 3 if you are lucky.  You shouldn't have trouble getting an Angus based calf fat, so I'd implant him right now with Revalor G or S.  Don't feed him but a just a little hay at night (free choice hay can reduce feed intake).

We tried Glu-coat and had ok luck with it.  The problem we had was getting it mixed in well enough to our feed (we feed Purina Show Chow) and not having clumps of it.  They tended to not like it as much as I expected. 

If you are pushing him hard, you might want to look into a feed additive that has lactobacillus in it to keep his rumen bugs straight.  Oxy Explosion has it as well as some fats/oils and vitamins and stuff (not sure what all is actually in it) that are supposed to help with hair coat.  We've been using it for a while and like it quite a bit.  We did seem to notice we lost some "bloom" when we took them off it one summer.

Sounds like you are doing well with the hair work!  Have you tried using a scrubber brush to brush with too? 

Good luck!! Let us know how it turns out!

KSUwildcat2009 said:

We tried Glu-coat and had ok luck with it.  The problem we had was getting it mixed in well enough to our feed (we feed Purina Show Chow) and not having clumps of it.  They tended to not like it as much as I expected. 

If you are pushing him hard, you might want to look into a feed additive that has lactobacillus in it to keep his rumen bugs straight.  Oxy Explosion has it as well as some fats/oils and vitamins and stuff (not sure what all is actually in it) that are supposed to help with hair coat.  We've been using it for a while and like it quite a bit.  We did seem to notice we lost some "bloom" when we took them off it one summer.

Sounds like you are doing well with the hair work!  Have you tried using a scrubber brush to brush with too? 

Good luck!! Let us know how it turns out!

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We use a scrubber brush when washing.  He is not that hairy on his legs below the hock/knee  
I didn't want to spend the $$ on the glu-coat if it wasn't all is said it is.  I was told to give him some yeast and have read that a few times here and other places as well.  So, you feed the Oxy-explosion and it adds bloom?
So many good pieces of advice.  I will go to the barn and get the label info off of the feed we have him on so you all can make more suggestions. 
Thanks everyone.

Our show is in May and we use Feb and March calves. They grade choice, weigh 12-1400 and gain 4+ lbs/day for the 150day test. We usually have the opposite problem of them getting too big and having to hold them back. We showed commercial Angus type steers for years, but the last couple of years we have raised clubby bred simangus steers and feed performance has not suffered. Getting your calf to to gain 300# in 100 days should be no problem. It has been our experience that folks don't feed enough feed to allow their animals to gain. So make sure he is getting all the feed he wants. If he converts at a minimum conversion of 7:1 he needs to be eating at least 20-25# of feed to gain 3#/day. Nothing really special just a good balanced finishing ration already described here. You can top dress it with any of a number of supplements. We use calf manna and it seems to help with the hair.

Well, your right, he's probably gonna finish out around 1100 with that frame score.  Like Chambero said he needs to be on a high corn ration but be very careful when you increase his energy.  He will scour and set you back more than help you. I would keep him on his same ration and just add more corn.  He needs to be on around 10lbs twice a day so if he's not slowly increase him to this weight before you add any corn.  After he is adjusted to new feed intake then add your corn.  If you have tried to push his feed and he won't eat this much then I would implant.  If you can get him to eat this much without an implant then I would not implant him.  Implants can decrease the amount of fat your steer will deposit. If you need to implant, give him a calf implant, or just knock out half the pellets of a steer implant.

I guess its pretty cool up there so you should be safe feeding 2.5 percent of his body weight but just watch him when it heats up this summer.  One thing to remember when pushing a steer is you have to do what I call ''keep him honest''.  What that means is that once a week or so only feed him half his ration or just feed him hay only.  They will burn out on you so keep an eye on him and if he starts to leave feed then keep him honest.  Even if its twice a week you have to keep on on feed.  

The most important thing is to keep your kid in the barn and having fun.  Make certain that they know what its all about and that if the steer doesn't sell then we have some good steaks on the plate.  In the end we wanna make sure they wanna show again next year taking what we've learned to make a better project. And remember someones gotta win the light weight class.  Keep us posted

rackranch said:

The most important thing is to keep your kid in the barn and having fun.  Make certain that they know what its all about and that if the steer doesn't sell then we have some good steaks on the plate.  In the end we wanna make sure they wanna show again next year taking what we've learned to make a better project. And remember someones gotta win the light weight class.  Keep us posted

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GOOD POINT!!!  As long as everyone enjoys the project, its a win!

Brushing with the scrub brush after washing and when they are dry can help stimulate the hide, grow hair and will help get the hair to "pop" or work the way you want it to.  Are you using any kind of show sheen?  Keeping the hide and hair conditioned will help too.

On the Oxy Explosion,  we just noticed that it seemed like hair coats got a little dull, and they just didn't look as good as they did when they were on it.  It's a little pricey, but it's the only supplement we feed to everything in the show barn.

rackranch said:

Well, your right, he's probably gonna finish out around 1100 with that frame score.  Like Chambero said he needs to be on a high corn ration but be very careful when you increase his energy.  He will scour and set you back more than help you. I would keep him on his same ration and just add more corn.  He needs to be on around 10lbs twice a day so if he's not slowly increase him to this weight before you add any corn.  After he is adjusted to new feed intake then add your corn.  If you have tried to push his feed and he won't eat this much then I would implant.  If you can get him to eat this much without an implant then I would not implant him.  Implants can decrease the amount of fat your steer will deposit. If you need to implant, give him a calf implant, or just knock out half the pellets of a steer implant.

I guess its pretty cool up there so you should be safe feeding 2.5 percent of his body weight but just watch him when it heats up this summer.  One thing to remember when pushing a steer is you have to do what I call ''keep him honest''.  What that means is that once a week or so only feed him half his ration or just feed him hay only.  They will burn out on you so keep an eye on him and if he starts to leave feed then keep him honest.  Even if its twice a week you have to keep on on feed. 

The most important thing is to keep your kid in the barn and having fun.  Make certain that they know what its all about and that if the steer doesn't sell then we have some good steaks on the plate.  In the end we wanna make sure they wanna show again next year taking what we've learned to make a better project. And remember someones gotta win the light weight class.  Keep us posted

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Thanks a bunch!  We just want her steer to make weight - with all the hype we have put into how great and wonderful raising show calves is! she is so excited, she's only 8 so I don't want to ruin her drive!  So, yes, top priority is that she have fun and learns (it really is about her, but MOM made this mistake)!  I have to say - I showed her some pics on here of what her steer will hopefully look like - she retorts "They look like Teddy Bears!!"
Will keep you all posted and thanks again for the much needed advice.

OH and for the hair - I just ordered some Kleen Sheen. ??

The county fair here is the first week of August too.  Most kids show a March or April born steer and they finish just fine (some have even finished May steers for the show).  When you get the amount and type of feed right yours should finish just fine.  Oh, and Kleen Sheen is one of my favorite hair products.  Good Luck!!

Have you thought about a drill brush?  It is a time saver and hair stimulator.  I use ours to break leg hair and to stimulate growth.  Also look at Digest More pellets from Amaferm.  Help in conversion and in keeping the heat from digestion a little lower thus lowering body heat.  We use it as a top dress on our show ration.  Good to hear about the Kleen Sheen.  There is a thread in the Hall of Fame section that goes over quite a few different mixes people use with kleen sheen.  We like Sheen, vinegar, and infusium 23 for a daily hair conditioner.  Spray it on, comb it in, and then drill brush dry. 

stop feeding alfalfa you are just growing him on it. Start giving him minimal hay (if he gets runny add more hay) you can add oil to his feed, lots of other advice, but my biggest is get rid of the alfalfa. Are you feeding him 24lbs/day of grain?

you can also use cotton seed hulls to harden up stool if they get loose. 

Thanks again for all of the advice.  He is getting fed 22 pounds a day right now of his feed ration: Champion steer, some cob, and Origin then hay.  I am starting to incorporate more corn -  however, being that he is not a hair steer will this burn his hair off reguardless of what we do to keep it?  At this point, we just need to make weight, so might not worry if the feed burns the hair off....
And then I read about rice bran...???  What a plethora of info this site has, but a bit overwhelming

If he doesn't have hair and you aren't striving for it, go with what works and add some rolled corn. My suggestion to you and all my 4h kids is to weigh as soon as possible, re-weigh in 30 days and find your adg. Once you find your adg figure out how many days until fair, multiply that number by the adg and you will know if you are anywhere near finishing. Most of our steers finish out at 1250-1350, depending on size. I wouldn't do anything too drastic like completely changing his feed, it will throw him off and you probably won't gain anything for a few days, instead slowly substitute the new with the old, make sure you give him some baking soda or something to prevent acidosis. Once you weigh you will have a really good idea what you are looking at. You may have to feed three times a day, without seeing him this is all I can do for help.

I agree with the suggestions offered by others, probably most importantly do not make any sudden or drastic changes in his ration. As others have said, a few days off feed can be pretty tough on ADG, especially going into warmer weather.
At this point, I think we all pretty much agree that ADG has to take priority over hair growth--in other words, don't worry about hurting hair growth if it's necessary to add some flaked corn,etc. to his ration. Another alternative is rolled barley.
We have used glu-coat with good results, but not all cattle like it, at least initially. It's a good product, but I'm not sure I would use it in this situatin.
The rice bran based fat products work well and generally don't screw up digestion as bad as other fat/oil additives. We have also used Honor/Show Chow Power Fuel and like it ,as well. It's a "fat additive" with other goodies.
As for other additives, a few possibilities would be Show Bloom, Vita Ferm Sure Champ, or Calf Manna. Any of these would be helpful with over-all bloom and keeping the calf healthy and eating well.
If you are considering a "hair product", Grow 'n Shine and Shag are both proven products. Some cattle simply do not have the genetics to grow hair, so do the best you can with what you have. In other words, Shag, etc. won't make one that's bred to be slick haired into a hair ball.
So, keep the steer cool and comfortable, and make any feed changes gradually. I would limit feed grass hay to keep his grain consumption up. Again, a bit of a balancing situation. This will be a great learning year for you guys, and you'll be excited and ready to go this fall for next year! I mean that in a very positive way--you want to learn and are asking questions!
After messing with feeding show cattle for nearly 40 years (since becoming a 4-H er at age 9), I've learned a couple of things: all cattle feed differently...and I still learn things every day.
Good luck!

As advised here and also by Kirk Stierwalt - feed only grass and add more corn and take him off Origin calf enhancer.  First, we got him up to the 22 pounds of feed then started to add corn and take away the Show feed, pretty slowly.  He ate the first several days feedings really well.  I tried to topdress with appetite ignite - Then he got a little picky.  So, I "kept him honest" as rackranch said.  It worked for that day.  He became picky again eating only 1/2 his ration for a few days, even though I did not topdress, just added a little more corn (only up to a pound per feeding right now).  So, I did not feed hay last night.  He would not touch his ration today.  He seemed a little lethargic today.  I fed hay and he ran to it.  Manure has smelled a little more "feed lot"ish the last couple days but is the consistency of thick pudding and sometimes thicker - it leaves no mess on his hind end.  Peeing fine, does not seem in pain.  Talked to the vet since I had to go anyway for a horse - he thought maybe a touch of acidosis and advised baking soda and probios.  I had tried to topdress with baking soda when advised previously, but he would not eat his feed so gave new feed and he was fine...did not try the baking soda again until today.  I had to make a paste and squirt it in his mouth like the probios.
Vet advised that I must do this until fair (90 days now).  Probios once a week.  I have searched acidosis on here but my question still remains - will he continue this course with the acidosis since it seems he may have it (might have the pH checked if he does not look like he feels well)?  Should I back up and take corn out for now? Should I give only hay a few days and then start back with the feed?
Also, what about an over-eaters shot?
Thank you in advance and hope this makes sense.