How is he improving?

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ckey0095

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The first picture is the day I got him, which was July 17th. He was born October 12th, 2012. And the second picture was him this morning. How do you think he is improving or what do you think still needs to be done?
 

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RyanChandler

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Looks like a good calf to me.  Notice how much better his rear 1/3 looks when you have his rear legs set up staggered  (thumbsup)
 

dimebag

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Yes , he's putting on some condition .. how much does he weigh ? how much is he eating per day ?
 

knabe

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if this calf tends to stand camped under behind (which it looks like from first pic and slightly in the 2nd), i find these animals to be slightly annoying setting up and staying that way.  once you set their feet, belly them up, loin them down, they want to move their feet.  what i would do is work with this calf to see what is the closest you can get him to standing how you like, do the moving, then teach him to slightly shift their weight back so the cannon is straight up and down.  if they want to move, or release because it's not natural for them, move them forward.  get good at this and doing it when you want and you might not be moving around at a critical time either in placement or showmanship.  this will take some practice and help because after you move them back standing still, their front feet need to be angled/straight nicely as well.
 

vc

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He looks to be growing fine, I would keep pushing the feed to him and really start working his hair.


The one thing I will suggest you try a rope halter on him, I have seen those halters break at the chain to many times, plus I really think you have more control with a good old rope halter. Most the calves I see at our fair that seam to be harder to handle have a halter like that on, granted I think they have that halter because most of the kids did not work with them and can not catch them to put a rope halter on. I think with the rope halter you always get the right fit, pressure where you need it and no extra parts that can fail.
 

ckey0095

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I think I like his feet staggered as well, he seems bigger to me that way. I do use a rope halter on him, but I use this one when I practice setting him up. For our show we have to have a chain halter so I want to get him use to the feel and the sound. He walks perfectly with me so I don't really even have to tug on him at all
 

twistedhshowstock

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I think you are doing a pretty good job with him.  You have to love the extension in this steer, he is really long and extended through his neck and front end and super long sided.  He has good circumfrence of bone, and appears to be sound. On the profile he is really level down the top line, which for a steer with his length will indicate he should have a pretty good top in him.  Love the way he carries down into his lower quarter.  My advice would be to keep doing what your doing, really work that hair, and start adding some fiber to his diet to drop that belly if you havent already.  Beet pulp, cotton seed hulls, long stemmed hays will all help you with that.
 

ckey0095

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twistedhshowstock said:
I think you are doing a pretty good job with him.  You have to love the extension in this steer, he is really long and extended through his neck and front end and super long sided.  He has good circumfrence of bone, and appears to be sound. On the profile he is really level down the top line, which for a steer with his length will indicate he should have a pretty good top in him.  Love the way he carries down into his lower quarter.  My advice would be to keep doing what your doing, really work that hair, and start adding some fiber to his diet to drop that belly if you havent already.  Beet pulp, cotton seed hulls, long stemmed hays will all help you with that.
Thank you, I really love the length on him as well. I've had a steer who was extremely long and tall and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the right amount of weight on him. But I feel this one I can because he isn't as tall. I'm going to start him on beet pulp this coming week. What kind of hay would you recommend me using with him?
 

ckey0095

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DBL J1 said:
Yes , he's putting on some condition .. how much does he weigh ? how much is he eating per day ?
I weighed him a week ago and he was 1024, and I feed him in total 24 pounds of feed a day. The people I  got him from told me every two weeks to add another pound to his feed since I only have 4 months left
 

RyanChandler

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ckey0095 said:
DBL J1 said:
Yes , he's putting on some condition .. how much does he weigh ? how much is he eating per day ?
I weighed him a week ago and he was 1024, and I feed him in total 24 pounds of feed a day. The people I  got him from told me every two weeks to add another pound to his feed since I only have 4 months left

You need to ramp the quantity up much faster.  That steer can handle 3%. 
 

ckey0095

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-XBAR- said:
ckey0095 said:
DBL J1 said:
Yes , he's putting on some condition .. how much does he weigh ? how much is he eating per day ?
I weighed him a week ago and he was 1024, and I feed him in total 24 pounds of feed a day. The people I  got him from told me every two weeks to add another pound to his feed since I only have 4 months left

You need to ramp the quantity up much faster.  That steer can handle 3%.
Okay, I'll definitely start moving it up faster. Thank you
 

knabe

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the problem with the chain versus the rope halter is sensitivity.

when you switch, you have to pretend the chain halter has nails on it and use it much more judiciously.  to me, that's why animals sour in the ring or when that halter comes on, they know they are going to get the nails on their chin, rushed commands and harder pokes with the show stick.  one literally should not even need to actually touch them too much to set them up, merely touching them should remind them where to put their feet.  why else would chain halter vendors put wraps on them if they didn't think people were abusing them?  perhaps we should just outlaw the chain and use a rope link only.  something similar was done with show horses.  the chain is useless and a crutch.
 

SandyB

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knabe said:
the problem with the chain versus the rope halter is sensitivity.

when you switch, you have to pretend the chain halter has nails on it and use it much more judiciously.  to me, that's why animals sour in the ring or when that halter comes on, they know they are going to get the nails on their chin, rushed commands and harder pokes with the show stick.  one literally should not even need to actually touch them too much to set them up, merely touching them should remind them where to put their feet.  why else would chain halter vendors put wraps on them if they didn't think people were abusing them?  perhaps we should just outlaw the chain and use a rope link only.  something similar was done with show horses.  the chain is useless and a crutch.

Coming from the horse show world, chains are still used on halter and showmanship horses of every breed. In fact it is common to use the chain through the mouth in halter horses as well (in your stock breeds).
 

ckey0095

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SandyB said:
knabe said:
the problem with the chain versus the rope halter is sensitivity.

when you switch, you have to pretend the chain halter has nails on it and use it much more judiciously.  to me, that's why animals sour in the ring or when that halter comes on, they know they are going to get the nails on their chin, rushed commands and harder pokes with the show stick.  one literally should not even need to actually touch them too much to set them up, merely touching them should remind them where to put their feet.  why else would chain halter vendors put wraps on them if they didn't think people were abusing them?  perhaps we should just outlaw the chain and use a rope link only.  something similar was done with show horses.  the chain is useless and a crutch.

Coming from the horse show world, chains are still used on halter and showmanship horses of every breed. In fact it is common to use the chain through the mouth in halter horses as well (in your stock breeds).
My show requires the chain halters. I don't tug on my animal with it at all, it doesn't hurt him. I break him with a rope halter and when he walks perfectly with me, I start to use the chain halter. I don't snap it on him or anything like a lot of the other exhibitors at my show do. I work hard with my steer so in the ring all I have to do is show him where to go and just smile at the judge. I don't find anything wrong with using the chain as long as I don't hurt him in the process.
 

knabe

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In horse show world I guess I should have been specific. You can't use the chains with some bits. Obviously they use them for studs and halter and others. I know they require them in the ring as people probably view it as a safety issue.
 

twistedhshowstock

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When I am trying to blow some middle into one I like a good Sorgum X Sudan Grass mix or hybrid.  Some people call it HayGrazer, dont know if you can get it down there or not but I like it and calves eat it well.  Its hard to tell everything from the picture, but where do you want the calf to weigh at show day.  Framewise where do you think he needs to finish? 
 

vc

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First thing we do is vet wrap the chain, had the easiest going calf act up at his first show, after the class we wrapped the halter, calf was perfectly fine in the next class.
I would at least adjust your halter from the picture it looks like it was to far down his face.
We have a kick-out pen, prior to the calves getting kicked-out they have to set up, at first it takes awhile, they want loose, their hungry and tired, but after a short period of time they set up as soon as you stop. By the end the kids can set them up and keep them set up with the lead dragging the ground, as long as the showstick is scratching they will not move. I think making them set up when they do not want to at home, helps them and the kids when they get to the show.
I think one of neatest things is to watch a good showman and an bred show heifer in the ring, the heifers are spot on everytime they stop and the kids make it look so easy. They have done it so many times i think they would set up with out a someone leading them.
 

knabe

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vc said:
I think one of neatest things is to watch a good showman and an bred show heifer in the ring, the heifers are spot on everytime they stop and the kids make it look so easy. They have done it so many times i think they would set up with out a someone leading them.

i think the heifers that do that naturally due to their structure sell for more.
 
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