Steer stopped eating....fair in 2 weeks

Well I went to church camp last week with my steer looking the best he has all year... when I returned I could tell that my calf had not eaten anything bc I could tell that he lost a lot of weight.... the weather has cooled down from the 100 degrees every day to the high 80's... is there anything I can do.... he looks horrible and I don't know what to do. I worked hard for this all year and I can loose it in a week??? I don't really think I want to show cattle again after this.....

give him pro biotics, will he eat anything?

What is the probiotics called.. what does it look like and can I get it at Rural King or the feed store? This morning I gave him some salt to make him drink and I put baking soda over his grain. He had eaten some of the grain before the baking soda and is now eating more after putting the baking soda on. I gave him a lot more stretch in the grain too. If I give him hay he will more than likely eat the hay instead of the grain. So for tomorrow should I feed him hay all day and then feed him grain the next to increase appetite?

Just be patient and get back on your routine.  If he went down hill in less than a week you will get him back in two.  The last thing you want to do is panic and start throwing him a bunch of feed additives that he's never seen before.

Thanks RackRanch. Would you advise to maybe give him the probiotics next week if he isn't getting better at the end of this week? Maybe I can talk my dad into getting some winning fill next week as well? I just went out to the barn and he has eaten half of his pan of food from this morning already so at noon I might give him some more baking soda... he likes that. Maybe he didn't eat much bc of the different routine of my dad feeding him and not me?

Probiotics brand name is Probios (probably others). Its a blue paste that comes in a tube. We give it to our steers when we leave a show or at the first sign of backing off feed. It's not a drug. It replenishes "good rumen" bacteria. Don't wait till next week. It certainly can't hurt. No withdrawal.

Thanks! Can it be foundat Rural King or the feed store?

Should be readily available at RK or any other feed store.

X2, wont hurt to give him 20cc for three days.

PM me if you need a pre show routine for your fair..

rf21970 said:

Probiotics brand name is Probios (probably others). Its a blue paste that comes in a tube. We give it to our steers when we leave a show or at the first sign of backing off feed. It's not a drug. It replenishes "good rumen" bacteria. Don't wait till next week. It certainly can't hurt. No withdrawal.

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More people need to be feeding preventive ,don't wait till 2-mo.-a week -or a day before show .......;.Have a product that you mix in feed by the ton ,8.00 a ton + freight ....

If for the week you were gone to camp his diet was suddenly switched from his normal grain diet to a roughage (hay) or if he consumed alot at night to make up for the day due to the heat it could cause him to get acidosis. Kinda like heartburn for a cow. It's common in feedlot animals. Just a suggestion you might try mixing a baking soda into his feed. Not a whole lot though maybe a couple tablespoons. Make sure he gets plenty of hay.  I hope he gets better, and good luck!

Ya I'm not sure why he lost weight. I could tell by the sunkeness and shallowness. But I've fed some baking soda today and he ate half of the pan. When he wasn't finishing it I took it away and gave 4 to 5 flakes of alfalfa/grass hay and he consumed it immediately. I then bought some probiotic plus paste and gave it to him at about 4. I then gave him another flake or two and he ate that as well. I did not give him any grain or any more hay tonight. My plan is to give him another 20cc of probiotic paste tomorrow and then slowly build up his intake of grain until he is eating it up.  What should I do about the hay? He looks much better already and almost back up to normal!!!

Let him have as much hay as he wants as long as he is cleaning up his grain.  If he is full on hay he will not want to eat his grain.  Sounds like your doing everything right.  Keep up the good work!!

Thanks I've also been walking him more throughout the day. I gave him about 4 to 5 pounds of feed and he's almost got that cleaned up. Hoping to go out there soon and if he hasn't eaten it all put more baking soda on it. Then at noon if it's finished I'll give him more hay, about evening give him the paste and another flake. Then for the evening feeding give him about 7 pounds of feed. Also what website is the best to resize pics? I have one of him I want to put on here.. also is this heat affecting a lot of the cattle? I think it would, especially for 4h calves.

Probios tube

lil BIG pkg said:

Probios tube

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Yep I gave him his second dose of 20 cc a few minutes ago. His first was yesterday. He ate about 5-6 pounds of feed this morning and 4-5 flakes of hay. Probably going to feed him 7-8 pounds tonight, walk him some and see if he cleans it tomorrow. I'm planning on giving him the probios for 2 more days.