Steer not Eating.

Help Support Steer Planet:

grandchamp58

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 16, 2011
Messages
171
My steer is only eating about 10 lbs a day at most. He should be eating about 20. Our fair is the end of july and i dont know what to do. He stays in the stall under the fans all day and he is let out in a gravel pen at night. Does he need to be let out on grass and get more excersise? If anyone has any tips please let me know. Thanks in advance.

If anyone knows anything about showing lambs, i put a thread with a few questions on the lamb chat if you are interested in looking. Thanks so much!
 

RyanChandler

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 6, 2011
Messages
3,457
Location
Pottsboro, TX
Grass and exercise are the last things he needs to put on weight.  Are you feeding him hay?  If you are, take it away from him until he is eating the 20+lbs a day.. Only after hes eaten his daily grain requirements should he be given any hay. 
 

vc

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 24, 2007
Messages
1,811
Location
So-Cal
How many times a day do you feed and when? Was he eating more feed and then slowed down or just never really eating much from the beginning? Have you changed feed or something? We kick our calves out in a 60 x 140 foot pen that has a slope to it at night, I think calves need to have room to get out and move, especially after being confined all day.
If he has only been eating 10 pounds a day for awhile I would try changing feed on him, he may just not like something that is in the feed. Should not be to much of a shock to his system since he is not consuming allot of feed at this time.
What type hay are you feeding?
 

creativecattle

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 9, 2009
Messages
553
Try top-dressing with Sure Champ or giving Vita Charge paste. It will stimulate the good bacteria in his stomach and get his appetite going.
 

rackranch

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 14, 2010
Messages
1,245
Location
under the X in Texas
Just ordered me 21 bags to drop at the mill for my feed ration.  I mix three bags per ton of feed.

crystalcattle said:
Try top-dressing with Sure Champ or giving Vita Charge paste. It will stimulate the good bacteria in his stomach and get his appetite going.
 

grandchamp58

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 16, 2011
Messages
171
thanks everyone. We figured out the feed was way to finely ground for him, it almost looked like a hog feed. He had been on it his entire life but i guess it started to get caught in his gut. Now he's eating a loose feed with mainly flaked corn and rolled barley. We also gave him some probias and now hes back to eating 20+ lbs a day! :)
 

CAB

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 5, 2007
Messages
5,607
Location
Corning,Iowa
2 things about finely ground feed for cattle, they do not like the texture of it in their mouth so they struggle with eating it & what they do eat wants to become compacted in their stomach. Some wheat or oat straw will get their rumen walls cleaned up and working well again. Glad that you figured out what was bothering him. Good luck.
 
Top