Steer not eating any grain..ANY TRICKS?

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Cowgirl94

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I have an amen calf that has always been a picky eater he doesnt like anyone watching him eat and is off and on with feed. He got a stomach bug this week and wasnt eating any hay, grain, or water now he is a

lot better and is eating hay and drinking but he will not touch the grain and its been like that for 3 days. We've gave him apetite booster paste and  tried taking out all the additives and just feeding little bits at at

time and he still wont touch it. Is there any tricks at all to get him to eat?? PLEASE HELP ME!
 

Cowgirl94

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he also  was on oxy explosion and surechamp vitaferm with 4 tablespoons of corn oil to keep the dust down.
 

Cowgirl94

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we dont know exactly what it was but we brought a new heifer in the pen and we think she gave something to him so the vet gave him sustain 3 and resflor gold just in case he had any respitory problems
 

frostback

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What type of grain that it is dusty? Is it older and getting fines in it. Some of my calves dont like the bottom of the bags when they get powdery. Anyway you can try a new type of grain?
 

Cowgirl94

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no we buy it in tons and theres just some parts that get a little dusty but its very fresh my other steer doesnt care but like i said this one is VERY picky!
 

rackranch

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With those meds its possible his flora is off.  Try probios, and bring him back on feed very slowly.

Just FYI, I don't like giving meds based on just in case.  Especially antibiotics.
 

OH Breeder

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Do you feed molasses at all? Sometimes it will stimulate them to eat if you just top it off with liquid molasses like you buy in store. ON the other hand, if his stomach has been off the sugar in the feed can aggravate the problem.
If it were me, I would limit the hay intake but keep giving it too him and as you are already doing introduce grain in small quantities. Just enough that he cleans it up and is wanting more. I would keep doing probiotics for his gut til he gets back on track.
 

Cowgirl94

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yeah weve been giving him probios and he still is just not wanting anything to do with the grain... would glucoat or cottonseed hulls work too? and were going to try the molasses tonight
 

obie105

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I believe in vita ferm and what it can do for a calf. There is also a paste form of it. Also hay is important with getting the ruman going to scratch the insides. Will he eat hay at all? A good grass hay will do some good. I would limit his intake to just a couple flakes a day tho. You dont want to start messing and changing with his feed now and knocking him clear out of whack even more.
 

Cowgirl94

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Yeah I gave him the paste vista charge that's just like vitaferm and he will eat lots of hay but will not touch grain
 

willow

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Cowgirl, do you think it may be worth your while to go down to the local feed store and buy the standard, no frills show ration that they sell?  Maybe a little bit of a change and a different smell will get him started back up.  If he takes to it use it to get him back on grain and then slowly transition to your bulk ration.  With everything else you are giving him a $17.00 bag of show feed is probably the cheapest option.  It has worked for us before.  Good luck it sure can be frustrating! 
 

Skibinski Farms

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Just curious, How old is the calf, what does he weigh and how much feed were you giving him a day before he went off feed? Does he bloat at all? Do you feed separate or with a couple of other steers in the pen? How's his feces (loose)? Are you consistent on your feeding (time, amount ect)?

The reason I ask is because he possibly could have burned his gut and it will take time to get him back to normal. Then again some cattle are just flat out picky and I like willow's comment about buying a bag of show feed and trying that, that usually does the trick for me.   

 

Skibinski Farms

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I've also used Essential's double dip, I believe sullivan's supply carries it now. I usually use it at shows when calves don't want to eat, it has a good smell to it and cattle seem to love it...
 

Cowgirl94

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he weighs 1000 lbs and was on 20lbs of grain a day he usually gets fed 3x a day and is seperated in his own pen by himself. Hes a year old and our fair is in third week of July
 

Skibinski Farms

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He is right on track on the feeding, my fair is the 3rd week in july also. Have you tried putting another steer in with him. He may just need some competition. Ive tried the separating my steers and they never like to eat on there own but if I put 2 together they will fight to eat. That might calm him down to where he will let you watch him eat especially if you other steer doesn't care. He should learn that it's safe to eat by following the other calf's lead...

I probably put to much work into it, but I tie up each calf and put the feed pans right by each one so they can see each other eat, most times they will want to eat the other calf's feed and not their own but it does help.

Also maybe your feed has a distinct smell or something the calf doesn't like which could be a factor.
 

Cowgirl94

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yeah ive tried all that and he just lets the other calf eat all of his food.. we put molasses on his grain today and he ate most of it:)
 

obie105

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Watch him the next few days tho if he ate all of his grain for more upsets since hes been off of feed. Maybe cut him back a little bit and then build him back up. Hopefully it works for you.
 

grandchamp58

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How is he doing currently? I have a end of July fair as well. How did your calf eat before? Honestly some calves are just real picky eaters. My calf last year ate like he was an anorexic supermodel. It just annoys the heck out of you!! We used some appetite express powder and that worked some. Good luck!!
 
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