Finishing steers- Quick.

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mangelo

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 2, 2010
Messages
49
Our county fair is the beginging of August, and i was wondering what i can use to finish of my steer?
What is the fastest? And what works better?
Any suggestions would be great! Thankyou!!
 

obie105

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Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Messages
780
What are you currently feeding and what does he weigh?
 

LLBUX

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Joined
Nov 23, 2010
Messages
697
Location
Chapin, Illinois
I'd drop him to about 11% protein and add vegetable oil and molasses to the mix.
Feed 3X day if you can.  Hopefully he has some competition in the pen so he'll be inclined to eat more.

Since February, my son's steers have been gaining 4+ pounds/day on a ration of:
50 pounds whole oats
75 pounds corn gluten meal
150 pounds 38% protein
25 pounds veg oil
1700 pounds of corn 

These calves are fed twice a day and always have feed in front of em.  They are slowing down now as you'd expect . 

With good feed and appetite the calf could reach 1300.

Good luck to you!
 

SmithNorthside

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Joined
May 1, 2011
Messages
161
cook some corn in a crockpot ,add 1/2 water 1/2 corn  cook over night then  add to his feed in the morning do the same for evening feeding. <cowboy>
 

tcf

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Joined
Mar 12, 2012
Messages
110
Location
Saskatchewan, Canada
Most of the time it is not what or how much you feed to finish a steer but that in combination with time. Finishing steers quickly can always come back and get you and if someone had a magic deal they would be rich! Next year I would recommend looking at increasing his feed at earlier intervals, right around the 1000lbs mark I would also suggest looking to switch over to a lower protein finishing ration (12-11%) this will come sooner as you increase feeding levels on an earlier timeline.

Right now get him on some gas. Keep protein around 12% and increase fat and pour it to him. At the start you will have to gradually increase the feed but get him eating as much as you can. I would suggest trying to target your final feeding amounts around 30-35 lbs per day.

This is all depending on the calf and I have not seen him, just a thought. Playing with the ration is totally up to you but I would make sure he is eating good and gaining before I started playing. Rations are like opinions, everyone has the right one but to each person (animal) the right fit is always different.
If you need help ask someone, don't be afraid to call up a local sales rep or what you think are experts. Get their opinions, if they can come look that is even better. The final choice is yours but there is a lot of info out there and options.

I hope things work out for you!
 

Ohio1

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Joined
Jan 3, 2011
Messages
652
Pour the feed to him, the only problem is its hard for them to keep hair of you give so much feed
 

vc

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Joined
Jul 24, 2007
Messages
1,811
Location
So-Cal
How much are you feeding a day and do you know what his ADG is?

you have about 60 days if you could average 3 pounds or better a day you will hit 1240-1250

Like stated above we stick close to the 3% percent of their body weight for grain up to the time they are eating 25 pounds a day. I will add Stabilized Rice Bran the last 90 days to get a smooth layer of cover on them. (that is if they are on track)

Not to be a smart @## but you should look for a calf that is going to hit the mark at the time of your fair, I would think you need to look at a steer that is a March/ April at around 550-700 pounds in November to hit an early August fair.
Are fair is early July and we looked for a February/March in the 600/700 pound class in late October for are fair, the last year we had 2 withen 10 pounds of each other when we bought them, there was a 120 pound difference by fair but we weighed them in at 1305 and 1343, the 1305 was that full the other was 1410 full. It is just easier to hold one then to push one and have them right when they need to be.

If you are on the light side to start out any small setback can really hurt you in the long run. Been there done that.

 

tcf

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 12, 2012
Messages
110
Location
Saskatchewan, Canada
Feed bill does go up regrettably and hair can suffer when pushing a steer but always keep in mind that fat cattle beat skinny cattle ALL DAY LONG. This is why I recommend to work at finishing steers earlier than later, that way one can save hair and the pocketbook.
 

twistedhshowstock

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Joined
May 2, 2011
Messages
758
Location
Nacogdoches, TX
I agree with everyone else about feeding him as much as possible, lower the protein % of the feed and up his fat content to as close to 5% as possible.  For supplements to lay down cover.  I like feeding steam rolled corn, cooked in the crock pot as mentioned above.  If I am really pushing one to finish, I like Golden Flow, I think they lay down a lot of cover fast with Golden Flow, I also like feeding Stabilized Rice Bran.  I find that I get a much smoother more uniform finish with the stabilized Rice Bran in there.
 
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