How to get a steer to gain more?

[RLR]

We have a steer for our county show.  He is a shorthorn cross and small/medium framed.  We are 50 days out and he weighs between 950 - 1000 lbs.  I really want him to be 1200 or more come show day.  Is this possible?  He has all the feed he can eat in front of him and we a feeding Maximum gain.  He has also been implanted. 

What else can we do to help him gain faster? 

We aren't new to raising steers but we don't usually have one this light.

All suggestions are appreciated!

 

[AAOK]

At this stage, you can't expect more than 3lbs/day gain.  That would give you another 150lbs.  You say he has all the feed he can eat.  What is your feed program?
(how many lbs/day does he eat)  How many times a day do you feed him? (try morning, noon & evening)  Is there another calf to compete for the feed? (if not, get one in there)
How long do you let him eat? (try pulling his feed at 20 minutes).  I don't know what Maximum Gain is.  Is it at least 60% corn?  Don't change his ration this far into his gain.  You'll lose at least a week.  Good Luck!

 

[Bradenh]

feed him once a day. dont leave feed out for him all day. he will get the message that 'i just need to eat enough to make me full' if you feed him once a day he will say ' this may be all i get to eat  so i need to make it worth my while' that way he will gorge him self and cause him to gain weight. also we need to know when is this county fair. i also agree with everyghing AAOK said. and start him on a vitaferm product

 

[AAOK]

i also agree with everyghing AAOK said. and start him on a vitaferm product

I didn't mention Mineral Supplement because I'm not familiar with the Maximum Gain product.  If MG contains a complete mineral pack, there is no need to add more (more than they need will just pass through)..  If MG does not include a mineral pack, DO start a Vitaferm Mineral.

 

[SFASUshowman]

I agree with not leaving feed in front of him all the time, but I am afraid that feeding just once a day may be pushing it a little to get maximum gain.  I generally stick to feeding twice a day, and limit time to eat to 20-30 minutes then I pull feed.  He will learn to clean up when he has feed.  I also tie or shut mine up during the day and dont give them any hay, that way they are hungry again when I feed in the evening.  Also if the feed is a complete feed and you have steer that naturally has volume to him, I limit their hay intake, if the feed is complete then he shouldnt need the nutrient value of the hay, so he just needs enough roughage to keep his system working properly, so I turn them out at night with just a few pads of hay to keep em going.
I am a firm believer in its ok to let one get hungry, think about your eating habbits, when you eat on a regular basis and dont allow yourself to truly experience hunger then you typically eat less.  However if you go all day without eating and get really hungry then you tend to want to sit down and gorge yourself.  This is why a lot of succesful diets tell you to eat several SMALL meals throught the day, then you dont get hungry and gorge yourself.  It all works the same in animals, so its ok to let him get hungry between meals, he will eat more if he is truly hngry when he eats than he will if he is just eating out of routine because its feeding time!