Won't eat cooked corn

Help Support Steer Planet:

rrblack78

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
168
After three weeks of throwing the cooked corn out of the feeder to the chickens we have decided our steer doesn't like it. He was wormed on Feb 15 and gets weekly probiotics. We were hoping to get to 1250lbs by 3-18 but at this point we will settle for 1200. We know the cooked corn works because our heifers are eating it like crazy and gaining great. We cut one off of it because she gained 60lbs in 3 weeks and is butterball fat. Houston is in two weeks. Is there anything else we can do to get a little more weight on him in such a short time? Will adding the corn and maybe some barley to his ration help at this point?
 

GoWyo

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 29, 2008
Messages
1,691
Location
Wyoming
My experience is the ones that need cooked corn won't eat it and the ones that don't need it will clean it all up and look for more.  Chickens ought to do great on it.
 

rrblack78

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
168
Yes that is our experience too. The one heifer is a eating machine and she was starting to get fat roll on her back so we cut her off. Now she pouts when we give the corn to the others and not her.  Our poor little steer needs help. We have realistly low expectations about Houston and are counting on not placing. Just a great learning experience and lots of memories for us but our county show is the next week and we are hoping to do well there but if he doesn't gain a lot of weight really quick it's not going to happen.
 

Texas Dude

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
62
Our calf wouldn't eat it cooked this year, but eats it dry.
Don't ask me, but it works for him.
 

rrblack78

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
168
My gut instinct is to stop cooking it and just add it dry to the ration but I don't want to put him off feed completely. He is a picky eater to start with. If we weren't so short on time I would try mixing a little at a time over a week to see how he does but it's too late for that.  If he goes off feed  even for a couple of days  at this point we are in trouble.
 

rrblack78

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
168
Code:
[font=impact][SIZE=19px][/SIZE][/font]
Thats a big no way on the barley. We tried that first. He is a picky toot. The only thing he eats with any real enthusiasm is heifer feed. Thats how we get him to eat his beet pulp and rice bran. At noon I go out and give him a scoop of heifer feed mixed with the rice bran and beet pulp. He eats it without taking a breath. I tried mixing the cooked corn with that and he wouldn't touch it. Started mixing it with his regular ration and picks around it and leaves the wet corn.
 

CAB

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 5, 2007
Messages
5,607
Location
Corning,Iowa
rrblack78 said:
Code:
[font=impact][SIZE=19px][/SIZE][/font]
Thats a big no way on the barley. We tried that first. He is a picky toot. The only thing he eats with any real enthusiasm is heifer feed. Thats how we get him to eat his beet pulp and rice bran. At noon I go out and give him a scoop of heifer feed mixed with the rice bran and beet pulp. He eats it without taking a breath. I tried mixing the cooked corn with that and he wouldn't touch it. Started mixing it with his regular ration and picks around it and leaves the wet corn.

Can you get Sure Champ in your area reasonably? I don't know why but cattle love it. As has been said B4 many times, when you are trying to get one to gain rapidly, beet pulp, rice brand, or any low energy / high bulk feed is not what you want or need to feed. The calf will get full of those types of feed B4 it can get enough energy, ie. calories. You are need a balanced high energy dense feed to get maximum gain. Yes you do need a belly scratcher, but not very much. Just enough to keep the rumen clean and working. 2 lbs per head per day of a long stemmed grass hay will work fine. Weigh what 2 lbs is and looks like. A flake is too much.
 

vc

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 24, 2007
Messages
1,811
Location
So-Cal
Stabilized Rice Brand is anything but low energy, high bulk, in fact I would put the steer on it if I wanted to get him to gain.

Nutritional Product Comparison
                                                      Kcals/lb      Starch    Average Crude Fat (%)
                                             
Manna Pro® Natural Glo® Stabilized Rice Bran 2,000     25   20
Heavy Race Horse Oats (48Bu St)               1,500     50     6
Whole Shelled Corn (#2 Yellow)               1,700     75     4
Standard 12% Protein/3 % Fat Feed               1,200     50     3
Standard 10% Protein/10% Fat Feed               1,500     60     10








 

rrblack78

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
168
He always been just a so so eater so we broke it down into 3 feedings a day instead of 2 and it worked for us. His "lunch" is 1 scoop heifer feed, 1 pound beet pulp, 1 pound rice bran. I have been careful to not give too much of this during the day so he will still eat his regular feed in the morning and at night. This was working out great for him until I started adding cooked corn. At first he acted like he didn't notice it but when I increased it he picked around it. I tried to slip it into his lunch with the heifer feed but he turned his nose up at it. So we went back to mixing it into the regular feed. He is still picking around it leaving the wet feed in the feeder.  Can I just add the uncooked corn to the feed and it still put some more weight and finish on him. If it won't make that big of a difference I don't want to do it and run the risk of putting him off feed completely.
 

rrblack78

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
168
We did use sure champ when we first brought them out of the pasture and it did help to get them on feed but when we went to finisher we stopped. Show bloom is added to our feed ration so we decided we didn't need it. We also did try cooked barley first for about a week and noticed right away he was eating around the wet feed so we switched to corn and he didn't seem to notice at first to we assumed he didn't like the barley but when we increased the corn he stopped eating that too. My husband says I worry to much and maybe he is just done. He thinks he has gained all he is going to gain and is all he is ever going to be.
 

CAB

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 5, 2007
Messages
5,607
Location
Corning,Iowa
vc said:
Stabilized Rice Brand is anything but low energy, high bulk, in fact I would put the steer on it if I wanted to get him to gain.

Nutritional Product Comparison
                                                      Kcals/lb      Starch    Average Crude Fat (%)
                                             
Manna Pro® Natural Glo® Stabilized Rice Bran 2,000     25   20
Heavy Race Horse Oats (48Bu St)               1,500     50     6
Whole Shelled Corn (#2 Yellow)               1,700     75     4
Standard 12% Protein/3 % Fat Feed               1,200     50     3
Standard 10% Protein/10% Fat Feed               1,500     60     10
She said just rice bran not Manna Pro Natural Glo Stabbilized rice bran, so that's is what I was referring to. 2 totally different ingredients.
 

rrblack78

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
168
I'm not sure if the rice bran is stabilized rice bran or not but we get it at Producers and it's called OptiSheen...I believe it's a horse product...
 

CAB

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 5, 2007
Messages
5,607
Location
Corning,Iowa
rrblack78 said:
I'm not sure if the rice bran is stabilized rice bran or not but we get it at Producers and it's called OptiSheen...I believe it's a horse product...
That would be stabilized Rice bran.
 

Davidsonranch

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 2, 2011
Messages
443
Location
SE Oregon
High fat Rice Bran, Power Phat, Sure Champ, corn oil, equine fat supplement liquid, keep trying.  I'm also a big fan of diamond V yeast products that seem to help keeping everything working.  With only two weeks or so to go may not help.
 

rrblack78

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
168
UPDATE!!!! My son said he ate like a champ tonight including the cooked feed. It has also been in the 30's all day today.. Crazy Texas weather.
 
Top