Can they grow too fast?

[farmin female]

Ok, you don't usually see this problem here, but I have a calf that's growing like a bad weed in a wet summer.  He's a march 2010 calf we purchased last fall weighing somewhere around 600lbs.  We weighed him Sunday and he tops the scales at 999 lbs and he's probably 52-53 inches tall (hip).  He's looking good and he's proportional size wise but I'm not sure we want him growing this fast.  He's gaining something around 4.5 lbs per day!      We have been feeding him with 2 others and they are all doing well be he just shot up and out.  He's a Unforgiven out of a Homebrew cow and I'm wondering if he's going to end up 6 feet tall and 2000 lbs.  How do you slow one down or do you think he'll taper off soon.  Our show is in August, by the way.

 

[WJ Farms]

Well it just depends if you are feeding him grower feed then he is gonna go grow..............but you might want to switch him to a finisher feed that will slow him down quite a bit

 

[OH Breeder]

Ok, you don't usually see this problem here, but I have a calf that's growing like a bad weed in a wet summer.  He's a march 2010 calf we purchased last fall weighing somewhere around 600lbs.  We weighed him Sunday and he tops the scales at 999 lbs and he's probably 52-53 inches tall (hip).  He's looking good and he's proportional size wise but I'm not sure we want him growing this fast.  He's gaining something around 4.5 lbs per day!      We have been feeding him with 2 others and they are all doing well be he just shot up and out.  He's a Unforgiven out of a Homebrew cow and I'm wondering if he's going to end up 6 feet tall and 2000 lbs.  How do you slow one down or do you think he'll taper off soon.  Our show is in August, by the way.

I am assuming you are shooting for 1350 or there abouts for finish weight? Do you show by hip height?
What percent protein are you feeding? You may have to slow him down and increase fat reduce protein. Who manages your feed? Mill feed or prebagged or any supplements?

 

[farmin female]

We are currently feeding a Hi-Pro bagged feed that is not their "show" feed.  It's a beef finisher with 4% fat and 12% protien.  I have added some max e glo pellets (rice bran product) at the rate of only about 1/2 to 3/4 lb per day for the rice bran and the added vitamins.  I also add Priority 1 probiotics - just cause a little extra probiotics doesn't hurt and I have it on hand.  And they get grass hay.  The other 2 calves are growing at a more typical pace, this guys just a monster I think.

 

[kfacres]

give up on him... sale barn him now that prices are AWESOME.. and start over..

 

[mark tenenbaum]

With that kind of performance out of a clubby bull-somebody needs to track down his dam-shes gotta be a good one O0

 

[willow]

Ok, you don't usually see this problem here, but I have a calf that's growing like a bad weed in a wet summer.  He's a march 2010 calf we purchased last fall weighing somewhere around 600lbs.  We weighed him Sunday and he tops the scales at 999 lbs and he's probably 52-53 inches tall (hip).  He's looking good and he's proportional size wise but I'm not sure we want him growing this fast.  He's gaining something around 4.5 lbs per day!      We have been feeding him with 2 others and they are all doing well be he just shot up and out.  He's a Unforgiven out of a Homebrew cow and I'm wondering if he's going to end up 6 feet tall and 2000 lbs.  How do you slow one down or do you think he'll taper off soon.  Our show is in August, by the way.

I will assume you mean 2011?  If so we had the same problem last year.  At our county weigh in our big steer weighed in at 1095lbs and was like 54 or 55" at the hip and he didn't do real well at our county show because we didn't/couldn't get him finished to where he needed to be to compete.  However he did do really well in the carcass contest.  Ugh good luck that just wasn't a fun position to be in.  We didn't know whether to push or hold or send him to the sale barn
Now this year our big steer is weighing in at almost 900lbs and our weigh in is this weekend for a end of July show.  It isn't a huge difference, but he is built totally different and doesn't have near the frame the other steer did.  We wean big calves and if we are going to show our own animals we are just going to have to learn to breed and feed accordingly.  Best of luck to you and my only bit of advice for what it is worth is .....If you are going to keep him to show just get him finished where he needs to be.  He may not fit in "the box", but it is what it is.

 

[oakview]

I would second the motion to cash him in now.  Odd to hear someone complain that a steer is performing too well.  If you'd have lived through the 60's when it was all we could do to get a calf to gain 2.5 lbs./day, you wouldn't complain.  Fun to sell those 1.30 fat cattle, even if they don't win a ribbon at the fair. 

 

[Limiman12]

With that kind of performance out of a clubby bull-somebody needs to track down his dam-shes gotta be a good one O0

X at least two...... (clapping) (clapping)

May not fit what you were after but that is a heck of a  problem to have.  I would gladly take a feedlot full of em.   <party> <party>

 

[mainegirl]

I wish there were more exhibitors with this problem. People around me are afraid they will get to big so they don't feed them and they're stuck fighting a hot summer to pack on the pounds. IMO if you like the steer and your only problem is the #. A piece of advice I was given is that it is easier to take it off than it is to put on. The way this winter has been around here, I'm terrified to see how hot this summer will be. I hope this doesn't happen to you but there may be a chance he'll go off feed this summer. At this age point he's probably going through a "growth spirt" and it'll more than likely slow down. I had an Angus the exact same way. He could gain by just looking at feed. I never saw anything like it!  He ended up slowing dow n to an average gain of 2-2.5 pounds a day around March or April and kept that kind of gain until we ate him. Our show is the last week in August so I understand where you're coming from. Good Luck!

 

[mark tenenbaum]

I wish there were more exhibitors with this problem. People around me are afraid they will get to big so they don't feed them and they're stuck fighting a hot summer to pack on the pounds. IMO if you like the steer and your only problem is the #. A piece of advice I was given is that it is easier to take it off than it is to put on. The way this winter has been around here, I'm terrified to see how hot this summer will be. I hope this doesn't happen to you but there may be a chance he'll go off feed this summer. At this age point he's probably going through a "growth spirt" and it'll more than likely slow down. I had an Angus the exact same way. He could gain by just looking at feed. I never saw anything like it!  He ended up slowing dow n to an average gain of 2-2.5 pounds a day around March or April and kept that kind of gain until we ate him. Our show is the last week in August so I understand where you're coming from. Good Luck!//// ME TOO-I live up the road in Berryville-never seen a winter like this O0

 

[mainegirl]

I wish there were more exhibitors with this problem. People around me are afraid they will get to big so they don't feed them and they're stuck fighting a hot summer to pack on the pounds. IMO if you like the steer and your only problem is the #. A piece of advice I was given is that it is easier to take it off than it is to put on. The way this winter has been around here, I'm terrified to see how hot this summer will be. I hope this doesn't happen to you but there may be a chance he'll go off feed this summer. At this age point he's probably going through a "growth spirt" and it'll more than likely slow down. I had an Angus the exact same way. He could gain by just looking at feed. I never saw anything like it!  He ended up slowing dow n to an average gain of 2-2.5 pounds a day around March or April and kept that kind of gain until we ate him. Our show is the last week in August so I understand where you're coming from. Good Luck!//// ME TOO-I live up the road in Berryville-never seen a winter like this O0

haha what winter?! Of course I couldn't complain when I was washing my heifers at VCCP and didn't have to blow the ice off that was dangling from them like last the past years.

 

[farmin female]

Thanks for the comments. 

I think he is going through his teenage growth spurt and he'll slow down soon.  It will actually be nice to have one to coast to the show with rather than pushing.  And, who knows, maybe we'll get lucky at the show.  If they bring the same judge back as last year we might have a chance.  The judge is a feedlot buyer!  He like calves that make him money in the feedlot so he likes them bigger than usual.  (different judge for a market steer show)  Anyhooooo  jackpot is in a couple weeks here so we'll take him out and see what these judges say.

 

[MJCorlett]

Interested to know how the progress is going with your steer.

 

[smo]

i think its genetics not the feed unforgiven steers from what i hear end up about 1400 normally