Show cattle health?

[aj]

I was reading about a product called "fresh and feminine" or something like this. It is suppossed to be a bypass protein or something that burns fat in the brisket. I got to wondering...... if you are manufacturing a show animal.....pushing him hard at 90 days on.......do these animals ever develop a condition similar to humans like high blood pressure or clogged arteries or what not? You always hear about the 2 year old Denver display bulls dying at 2 and a half years old and whatnot. Do these products and this regime cut the longevity of animals?

 

[mbigelow]

That is an interesting question. I am not sure if it has been studied at all.

 

[Bradenh]

As much as I love to hate your posts- this is interesting and very thought provoking

 

[librarian]

Well of course it does.
Remember that really old cartoon where the little pig gets strapped in a chair and a big machine keeps putting pies in his mouth. I imagine its like that.
But most cattle aren't destined to have long lives anyway.

 

[cflem]

I would say that heavy grain diets will definitely affect longevity.  My experience over the last 30-some years and trimming feet on a lot of cattle, the cattle that are fed hard will have more hoof problems than cattle that have not been pushed. Bad feet will make the useful life of cattle shorter, especially Bulls that have to cover lots of rough country to breed cows.

My personal opinion of show supplements is that most of it is made to sell and is not backed up by much scientific research. If you had a supplement that was designed to increase rate of gain or feed efficiency, you could measure those things. How can you measure a supplement that is made to increase show winnings?  Is it the supplement or the cattle or who fitted them or luck,etc?

 

[mbigelow]

Could the product you are questioning be like a beta blocker and actually help the animals deposit less plaque and lower cholesterol?  Grain fed diets are a necessary evil of the industry so, maybe this product helps increase the productive life of these animals?

 

[shortyjock89]

We've only fed this specific product for two years, but we've had no issues with those animals being good breeding stock. I've probably fed it to 20 animals, two of them being bulls.

Our show animals seem to live as long as our other cows, but they don't always do as well out on only grass or cornstalks.

 

[rrblack78]

I know your post said show cattle health but in our experience our market broilers often die of congestive heart failure before we reach their end point.

 

[SlickTxMaine]

I know your post said show cattle health but in our experience our market broilers often die of congestive heart failure before we reach their end point.

Good point - I've seen quite a few dead broilers being judged at our local show!!  Eating yourself to death.....maybe not a bad way to go!!  ;D