Rate of gain question for market steers

[Diamond G]

My sons market steer project started last saturday. His angus/herford steer weighed in at 756lbs. the fair weigh in is on 3/7/13 and he must show a MINIMUM of a 2lb/day gain (159 days)

We have him in a fertilized pasture (were in florida, will have pasture until well into november, then will give free choice bahia hay) with a freezer beef steer who weighs around 800lbs. We are currently giving them 2,  5 gallon buckets of soy pellets daily and they are not quite cleaning it up. They also have free choice loose mineral that is blended for this area.

Are we doing enough for the desired weight gain? If not what else should we be giving him?

 

[flacowman]

What type of stter is he and do you know his age?  I ask because these are major factors for his ability to grow.  Also, do you have anywhere you could plant some oats for winter grazing?  If so, he would grow like a weed if he has the genetic potential to do so at all.  Will he be shown at all or is it just a rail contest?  If he will be shown I would advise confining him and increasing his feed along with free choice hay and he will self regulate himself pretty well

 

[rf21970]

If 2#/day is all you are looking for I guess that diet would achieve those results. However, I would want to gain at least somewhere in the 3#/day so the steer will weigh around 1250-1300 by weigh in and hope to get him to grade choice. Grass and soy hulls probably won't get that done unless he is older than the normal 750# steer. As mentioned by the previous poster, I would limit his access to grass. Volume wise, a bucket of feed is probably plenty. It is the content of that bucket that needs to change. If you don't want to feed a premixed show ration or finishing ration, I would at least replace 1/3 of the soy hulls with corn gluten. The nutrition info for hulls and gluten are in the image below (hopefully). I am no nutritionist, but we had fed 2/3 hulls and 1/3 gluten ration to stockers for years and they gain well on it. As a finishing ration, it is not as hot as we feed to our show steers but you have 6 mos and it doesn't sound like you trying to win a rate of gain competition.

The third column is protein dry and the 5th column is protein as fed.

 

[Diamond G]

He is approx 10-11 months old. He is out of a large commercial herd so we dont have his exact birthdate but the calves general drop in novembee and december with a few in october and january. He had ralgro in i think march when he was castrated and again last saturday. We do have winter rye but that field is a long way from the cow pens and we don't want him in with the big herd. The pasture is only about an acre - big enoufh tp graze but small enough to catch him (not broke yet just wearing a halter and dragging a lead)

 

[leanbeef]

Right...if this steer is supposed to be finished in March, you want him weighing 12-1300 pounds, so he needs to average about 3-3 1/2 pounds a day. I agree with rf...I don't think he'll do that on what you're feeding him. A steer gaining 2 lbs a day isn't doing a lot, especially if he's being fed to a finished market weight. That's more like an ADG for a backgrounding operation...

 

[Diamond G]

is there a supplement we can give him in a bucket outside the pen away from the freezer beef? we get the soy pellets in bulk. really cant afford to buy show feed when i have to feed the freezer beef but we know if he dpesnt have a buddy he wont eat well

The only other requirement for our fair is they must weigh 1000 or more but of course with ours starting at 756 we have to go above that for the 2lb/day gain. There were only 19 steers that weighed in and many were less than 600 lbs so i doubt there will be many above 1100. doing the math ours has to hit 1074 but i would like him to hit 1200 if possible

 

[WhoaFlicka]

CORN <rock>

 

[leanbeef]

is there a supplement we can give him in a bucket outside the pen away from the freezer beef? we get the soy pellets in bulk. really cant afford to buy show feed when i have to feed the freezer beef but we know if he dpesnt have a buddy he wont eat well

The only other requirement for our fair is they must weigh 1000 or more but of course with ours starting at 756 we have to go above that for the 2lb/day gain. There were only 19 steers that weighed in and many were less than 600 lbs so i doubt there will be many above 1100. doing the math ours has to hit 1074 but i would like him to hit 1200 if possible

Just to make sure there's no confusion here, is the March 7th weigh-in your FINISHED date?... Your show is in March? If yes, and if this is a terminal show, meaning the steers will be judged as market-ready, then people SHOULD be pushing those calves to have them at a market weight and finished. Honestly, I don't understand people who halfway do these things...not that everybody has to want to win in order to learn & enjoy it & make it worthwhile..I just don't understand the people who will show up with a calf that's half broke or nowhere near finished. I get that you're asking questions in an effort to be prepared, so don't be one of those people!

You don't necessarily have to feed an expensive show ration, but he does need a finishing ration. And if you want a decent freezer beef that's worth the time and effort you're putting in to him, he needs the same thing. Underfed and underfinished beef is not very tasty, and whether you plan to put one of those steers in your own freezer or somebody else's, nobody wants to eat that. The industry talks a lot about quality grade and finished market weights bc those are VERY important issues affecting acceptance of our product. Anybody who feeds cattle, whether it's one or two a year or 20,000, needs to understand that.

The ingredient you need more of is energy. Corn is an excellent source of energy, but it isn't the ONLY source. Look for options to add energy and balance that with protein & fiber & you'll be golden.

 

[rf21970]

Leanbeef hit the nail on the head. Though you don't have to feed a high priced, premixed show ration with all the supplements for hair and joints-you do have to meet the nutrition needs of the animal to achieve your desired level of performance. Michael Phelps didn't win gold medals eating rice cakes. If you want a fat steer that looks good in the showring or on your plate, you have to feed him the right feed. Get with your extension office and they can help you find the right ingredients in your area to meet your financial needs and your steer's nutritional needs.  If you have soyhulls in your area, there are other by products around to balance the ration.

 

[Boot Jack Bulls]

Corn oil is Cheap!!!! It is an inexpensive way to put on finish in the last couple of months. That's not to say you don't have to have a good ration to go with it, but it is a quick and cheap top dress. Does he show more Angus influence or Hereford? This may effect the way you have to plan out your finishing ration.

 

[DSC]

What is a good substitute for corn? Right now we are feeding 50% cracked corn 30% whole oats and 20% pellet made by show tec (cattle mintrate). It works really well but the price of corn is killing us. What else could we substitute to maybe take half the corn out?

 

[rf21970]

Pricing info is obviously out of date but this is good info.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/an128

 

[Diamond G]

found a stocker pellet that has

12.5% protein
3.1% fat
25% fiber

its $329/ton

hows that?