Beef Feeder to Steer Question??

Belties R Us · Aug 11, 2014

Hello everyone! So my family is for the first time keeping one of our own calves to feed out as a steer. That being said we don't usually feed them out this way. I am looking for advise on how to properly get him to steer weight without over finishing him. He is going to be shown as a beef feeder for our county fair so he is on a pretty heavy feeding diet already (is penned with a heifer calf). Would a supplement like Maxum (https://www.sullivansupply.com/cart/ia/p-775-maxum.aspx) be helpful? After the fair in two weeks should we lighten his feed for a while? My personal guess for weight is 600 lbs. Fair is mid August. Being fed a starter-grower feed from Rural King which we have been adding cracked corn and beet pulp to. He is a PB Angus calf. Any other suggestions? Turn out? Hair care? Etc? Anything appreciated and thanks in advance.

Picture of him here: http://www.steerplanet.com/bb/the-big-show/pb-angus-bullsteer-calf-opinions-wanted/

Barry Farms · Aug 11, 2014

If he really is 600 now he needs to be on grass and hay until your weigh in for Rate of Gain (if you do that). If he keeps going at this rate (3.4 lbs a day if you subtract 80 lbs for BW and do 520 lbs for weight gained since march) he would be 1700+ by next august (3.4 lbs/day x 17 months (age at next fair) x 30 days in a month)= 1734

OH Breeder · Aug 11, 2014

From the picture he is a fancy angus calf. Nice calf. If he seems to be easy feeding weigh him frequently. Keep track of his rate of gain. Our county fair is later. So June, July and August we see gains drop off with heat and calves reaching maturity. You can coast and allow him to grow and feed more of a grower ration unless you think he will be too tall. Best is balance his protein intake is what we have always tried to do. Do you have a feed mill close to you? I am just not a fan of bagged feeds. Feeding one or two it may not hurt your bottom dollar but for us feeding 5-6 we have found milled feed just as good. You can control the levels you need easier. The ration that's been discussed on here alot is AAOK's. I have one similar with some modifications due to regionally available feed stuffs. Make sure the guy has a place to turn out and can get outside in evening hours. Excercise is essential to appetite and weight gain. Don't forget hoof care. Keep those feet trimmed and in shape.

We start rinsing feeders when they come off the cow and we don't stop an til they go to the final show. We rinse in the winter months not as much but keep the coat up and conditioned. A rice root brush should be your best friend. The more you brush the better the coat. Balanced feed ration will help that. I have never had much luck with lots of "supplements". Calf manna and or Show Bloom always seem to do the trick for us. This board is a great resource for your needs. I use the search feature all the time and have found post that had very extensive information I missed or never saw.
Goodluck. Keep us posted on how he develops. He has some good things going for him. Wood County?

Belties R Us · Aug 11, 2014

OH Breeder said:
From the picture he is a fancy angus calf. Nice calf. If he seems to be easy feeding weigh him frequently. Keep track of his rate of gain. Our county fair is later. So June, July and August we see gains drop off with heat and calves reaching maturity. You can coast and allow him to grow and feed more of a grower ration unless you think he will be too tall. Best is balance his protein intake is what we have always tried to do. Do you have a feed mill close to you? I am just not a fan of bagged feeds. Feeding one or two it may not hurt your bottom dollar but for us feeding 5-6 we have found milled feed just as good. You can control the levels you need easier. The ration that's been discussed on here alot is AAOK's. I have one similar with some modifications due to regionally available feed stuffs. Make sure the guy has a place to turn out and can get outside in evening hours. Excercise is essential to appetite and weight gain. Don't forget hoof care. Keep those feet trimmed and in shape.

We start rinsing feeders when they come off the cow and we don't stop an til they go to the final show. We rinse in the winter months not as much but keep the coat up and conditioned. A rice root brush should be your best friend. The more you brush the better the coat. Balanced feed ration will help that. I have never had much luck with lots of "supplements". Calf manna and or Show Bloom always seem to do the trick for us. This board is a great resource for your needs. I use the search feature all the time and have found post that had very extensive information I missed or never saw.
Goodluck. Keep us posted on how he develops. He has some good things going for him. Wood County?

Thank you for the compliment. We are new to this and have had some hard learned lessons to get to this point lol. We do have a feed mill close by just haven't been to the point where we felt comfortable balancing our own rations. We will only be feeding out 2 at most maybe just this guy. I would like to find a cross to show as well but calves are expensive. I will have his official weight in two weeks. Our biggest battles for show steers has been not getting them to 1300 lbs. My last show steer weighed in at 750 ish in December and was 1330 in August. But we have pushed this calf a lot harder than we usually do. And Sandusky County you were close! I will definitely be doing some searching on this board the experience of people here is very valuable!

Beef Feeder to Steer Question??

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