Going at it too hard?

My steers a really good eater hes eating almost 30 pounds a day and be weighs around 800 lbs.  Am I feeding him too hard my target date is aug 1 and I want him at 1350.  Hes eating almost all the grain most of the time.  Should I increase how much hay I feed him because I feel I'm a little light on that but with how much grain he eats not sure what to do.  Hes on fitters edge and hes a carnac if that makes a difference.

Weigh him every two weeks and figure up his avg. daily gain, then ur can project his approximate weight by multiplying it by the number of days u have left. Then tweak his feed as needed.

should I implant him? does anyone have advice on that?

Never was a big fan of implants in our show cattle, but IMO you should really pour the coals to that guy. Give him all the hay he wants and steadily increase the feed. I agree you must know his weight and adjust accordingly. You should have him at finished weight at least 30n days prior to your show. I dont know if you'll get him there now especially for a midsummer show. Our fair is Labor Day weekend. So we've been there and done that. As it is he won't see 1350.  Some pro biotics may help him digest better ie gain more.

You have 550 lbs. to put on in 175 days.  Need 3.25 lbs. per day gain.  Depending on your genetics and ability to keep them cool in June and July, it might be doable.  Watch out you don't overdo it and have them go off feed -- walking the tightrope on keeping them on feed and feeding enough to get there.

You are supposed to feed 3% of the body weight.  800lbs x .03 = 24lbs a day, =12 lbs a feeding. If you want to get the most utilization from the feed, feed three times a day at a rate of 8lbs a feeding. Feed every 6 hours ex.  6am, 12pm, 6pm. That should help with the weight gain, careful with the hay, if you don't feed enough he can bloat, but if you feed too much he won't eat his grain, so just watch his feedpan and belly and adjust accordingly.


You don't want to use fitters edge, you want to use the other one, I think it's just called finisher or something like that, same company, same bag just a different name

Our fair is the first week of august also, the calves weigh the same as yours does right now and they finish the same. Something to bear in mind. Stop panicing. You are going to make him sick and you will lose all the gain that you already have. You need to back him off and put him on a different feed, finishers edge, not fitters. Maybe give him a little baking soda to reduce the risk of bloat from all the feed he is getting. When was he last wormed?

WBar Farms said:

should I implant him? does anyone have advice on that?

Click to expand...

no