Critique please!!! My son's steer so far

[SlickTxMaine]

I posted pics of him a couple of months ago, and wanted to see how you all think he is coming along.  He is a September born Hardcore calf.  He currently weighs 750 lbs and our local show is at the end of February.  Our show is slick, so hair is not an issue.  He has not been clipped, so is completely natural on the pics.  Let me know what you think.  Thanks!

 

[SlickTxMaine]

A couple more......

 

[savaged]

How are you feeding him - ration and amount?  How much hay/roughage?

 

[HT]

Depending on how competitive your fair is I think he will do real well. I think this calf could compete when he is finished. I know a calf like him will do real good at my county fair!! Good luck with him!!

 

[knabe]

i think he looks pretty good.  like to see him deeper with more quarter.  if this is out of your cow, try tyson next time.  every one i've seen had more down below and tracked wider than this one.  they just had more volume, though i have to admit, they don't have as much muscle definition, just thick.

looks like he's not relaxed in the pic.  just get out of the pic and hold his head up without him resisting and he will look a whole lot better.

 

[SlickTxMaine]

He is getting 15 lbs finisher and 6 lbs beet pulp daily and all the grass hay he wants. 

 

[Dusty]

He is getting 15 lbs finisher and 6 lbs beet pulp daily and all the grass hay he wants. 

Pull the beet pulp and get him on full feed.  You can always slow him down in the end if you need to.

 

[SlickTxMaine]

Well, he had gained approximately 110 lbs in the last 30 days, and we were concerned about him gaining too much.....is that something we don't need to worry about just yet? This is only the 2nd steer he has raised and his steer last year was a struggle to get him to eat and finish adequately.  He was extremely large framed, and although he finished at 1440 lbs, he didn't look it!

 

[TMJ Show Cattle]

What doe's your steer weigh right now? From the looks of his pictures he needs to be pushed a little harder.Get him to where you want him or to where he is nearly finished then hold him. Hardcore steer calves are as a rule, hard feeders. After about 12 months they seem to go up instead of out. Did you raise the calf or buy him? If you raised him,what kind of cow is she? I've never seen a TYSON slick sheared calf so I can't say,but I know LIFELINE,HABENERO and YELLOW JACKET calves have done exceptionately well for the slick shear program...Good Luck.

 

[SlickTxMaine]

TMJ,
  He weighs 750 now and our show is at the end of February.  My son bought him from a local Maine breeder.  His steer from last year was a Lifeline and he ended up so tall and long, at 1440 lbs, he looked under finished.  How long can you successfully hold a steer w/o losing muscle or finish?

 

[TK Show2win]

I think I remember your sons calf....didn't you post some fair pictures of him recently??
Anyways I do agree with the above post...Lifeline's are hard feeders... meaning it takes more feed to get em fat. They also like to grow alot
and after they grow to much you will never get them finished enough.Looking at your steer, he seems he could grow a little bit more than you would want. I would take the beet pulp out and put full feed in front of him. He needs to get fatter faster than hes growing. If you need to hold him, do it at the end AFTER HES FAT!!

 

[Deaves Show Cattle]

Not an overall bad calf. Id like to see more rib and him to drop in his flank. try your best to manage his feed so that he'll be the right weight come show time. DO NOT HOLD A STEER or any livestock for that matter. A stale animal is just asking to be placed lower than deserved. Good luck with him and you should post pics and results at show time.

 

[doublestuff]

All he can eat from now till show day!! probably will need to use oil or some other fattening suppliment 90 days out. I'm assuming he is already on finisher?? If not he needs to be. don't worry bout weight right now. get the calf as fat as you can get him. Lots of ways to burn fat and add muscle at the end, but the trick is getting one fat first so you have it to burn at the end.

 

[Beach Limousin]

From my experience feeding calves, I would put the calf on 3% of its body weight, so 22.5 lbs of feed at 750 lbs (Show feed, I would also hold the beet pulp). I don't like holding calves, but rather pushing them hard til the last 90 days then evaluating where your at and how far you need to go. I have not fed many of his genetics, but if they like to grow up, I would agree that you need to some fat on the calf quickly. If you can get him fat, you'll have better luck keeping him moderate. I would also split the daily feeding into twice a day, and only give him 30 min to an hour to eat then pull the feed. You will have better luck getting him to eat more that way, or that's been our luck anyway.

Calf looks good, keep some guts in him and he ought to compete.
Cody
Beach Limousin

 

[TMJ Show Cattle]

Evidently some of you guys don't know how to "hold' one and keep them fresh. I've had to do it several times in my sixty years,with no problems.Also you shouldn't judge Lifeline from your one bad experience. He has sired more slick shear champions than any bull the last ten years.

 

[SlickTxMaine]

Thanks for all the advice.  He is being fed twice a day and has been on finisher since we brought him home.  So, you all think pull the beet pulp and have him on straight finisher?  The breeder he came from is real big on beet pulp, I think he says it helps give them more gut.  Again, this is only my son's second steer, so we are open to all suggestions.  Thanks again!

 

[vc]

I have to agree with everyoneelse, Beet pulp is a filler, full grain now, slow him down once he reaches his potential. I tend to think that when you hold cattle early you play catch up the rest of the time, he is in the growing stage so let him grow. If you under feed them at an early stage they will also tend to stay a little narrower and grow taller.
The thing about taking weights is you need to get them on a schedule so you weigh at the same time each time you weigh. If you weigh in the afternoon once and then in the morning the next time your weight might not be accurate, the calf may only drink at night so the first time you weighed him he may have been empty and the next time you weighed him he may have been full. We weigh every Sunday just before we kick out, this way we get a more accurate idea of his gain, maybe not his full weight, but it lets us know what he is gaining a week.

Good luck and he should do fine at your fair.

 

[kobo_ranch]

Evidently some of you guys don't know how to "hold' one and keep them fresh. I've had to do it several times in my sixty years,with no problems.Also you shouldn't judge Lifeline from your one bad experience. He has sired more slick shear champions than any bull the last ten years.

Can you PM me?  I need some honest advise from someone who knows there stuff!!  We have two stees one was weighing 966 and the other 866.  We were feeding them 3% but figured they'd be huge before show time.  Thought better to cut back during this ole bad hot TX heat and then put it too em again come fall??  But what I'm reading hear so far is opposite??  We too don't have shows till JAN< FEB< MAR.  They have lost weight pulled back quiet a bit and they act starved now?? HELP  They are Paddy sired calves.