Commercial vs Show conversion

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vc

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Jul 24, 2007
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I don't know how often I have read show steers just don't convert like commercial cattle. Kids have 2 steers at home, we weighed them on March 8th one was at 971 the other at 921, we weighed them this past weekend the steer that weighed 971 now weighs 1195 (224 pounds or 3.1+ a day) The calf that weighed 921 now weighs 1255 (334 lbs or 4.7 lbs a day)
Granted the had very little water that morning before weigh-in in March and I don't know when they drank this last time. I was a little shocked by the calf that gained 334 lbs, He is a nice calf we were just a little worried that he would be to lite for our fair at the end of June. He should be OK now.
 

REM

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Aug 14, 2007
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SW Minnesota
I think the idea of show animals converting or gaining worse than commercial cattle happens when you are holding the animal for a particular show after he has reached his ideal market weight. It would be interesting to figure the cost/lb of gain on some of these cattle. I bet it would be a real eye opener.
 

OH Breeder

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Feb 14, 2007
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Ada, Ohio
vc said:
I don't know how often I have read show steers just don't convert like commercial cattle. Kids have 2 steers at home, we weighed them on March 8th one was at 971 the other at 921, we weighed them this past weekend the steer that weighed 971 now weighs 1195 (224 pounds or 3.1+ a day) The calf that weighed 921 now weighs 1255 (334 lbs or 4.7 lbs a day)
Granted the had very little water that morning before weigh-in in March and I don't know when they drank this last time. I was a little shocked by the calf that gained 334 lbs, He is a nice calf we were just a little worried that he would be to lite for our fair at the end of June. He should be OK now.

I have to agree with you. How many feed loits want an 18 to 20 month old calf out there before they go to market. There are alot of steers that quiet frankly are old. i do not think it representative of the "real world". I have May calves that are finished by June for a September count fair, because our summers are some times miserable and they tend to melt. My genetics aren't always condusive to the show ring. But oh well. That is great if you got 4.7#'s. Good for you.
 

Show Dad

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1 AU from a G2 yellow dwarf star
VC - ADG (average daily gain) or ROG (rate of gain) is one thing. But not all gains are equal. Sometimes explosive periods of growth are genetic based and will carcass out well. While other spurts can be more fat than muscle. (And all points in between) I know most if not darn near all shows never have the judge put a hand on the animal so it comes down to how they look. So gain may be looked at how the animal is putting the weight on his frame.

But at our county's premium auction the carcass steers will get much higher bids than an animal with a lot of surface fat. It is not unusual to have potential buyers running their hand over an animal they are interested in.

We do weigh our steers every two weeks and we pen those who are of like weight and intake. So we may change a steer to a different pen to manage ADG so they will be more apt to hit their target weight for any particular show.

But to note I have "show steers" gain right along with the commercials.
 

Malinda

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Feb 16, 2007
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I agree with the above posts, but let me throw in a little twist here.

Some calves are given x number of minutes to clean up their feed before the owner goes off to school, work, a hot date, the wash rack, etc.

Stop and think how a normal bovine eats. A cow on grass or a feeder on a steer stuffer doesn't eat a specific amount of feed  in x number of minutes. They eat, lie down and chew the old cud, get back up and then start the process all over again.....multiple times a day. The animal eating as much as it wants, when it wants is not the animal we have going off feed or bloating. I've just saved you a lot of money buying Probios and more expensive feeds with voo doo ingredients!!!!

Cats are nibblers, dogs eat one or two meals a day. I just turned a bovine into a feline!

I have never used a formula for feeding, such as feeding 2% of the calf's weight. If you put feed out in the morning and go back in the evening and there is one handfull of feed left you have a happy gastrointestinal tract and a calf that is gaining weight the way it should. That's assuming all other things such as genetics, feed quality, housing, herd health are equal.

Now I did not address the issue of having one calf peak on one day, but please think about what I have said.

I feed my show animals on the above plan until a couple weeks before a show and then I work them gradually into the 'you are only going to be able to eat all you want in only a few minutes and get over it' routine. Actually, once the calves are weaned and gotten onto the above routine, I have to cut them back because they are gaining too many pounds per day. I have never kept a bull or heifer on full feed over 7 or 8 months of age; it's too hard on those joints and other body parts. Fat cattle do stay on the above plan and if I have a cow/bull combinaton that can't produce a calf hanging in the locker in 13 1/2 months or less, my Dad tought me to sell the cow and shoot the bull.

I got awfully wordy to just say....think how a normal bovine eats.

The sun is shining in Ohio. Glory be!

Malinda


 

vc

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Jul 24, 2007
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The steer that gained the 4.7 a day, is a March calf, He is not fat but putting on condition, just put him on stabilized rice bran to help with the finish. he probably needs another 100 pounds to hit his optimum weight. We have 40 days left before weigh-in. Calves are not in a cool box just a shaded area with fans and a Swamp cooler blowing on them. We rinse at 5:30 am in the morning then they get fed, the feeders Hang on the wall so they have the feed in front of them all day, son ties them up when he gets home from school, they rinse again about 6-6:30 pm turn out at dark, calves get grain and hay. The run they are in also has grass that they can graze on.
Calves get 22  pounds of a showfeed mix. 1 pound calfmanna, 1 pound stabilized rice bran, scoop of natural stride, and a flake of Bermuda hay each.
No implants, or payleen.
 

chambero

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Feb 12, 2007
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Texas
Our feelot cattle typically gain between 2.5 to 3 pounds per day as a group (no implants, steers and heifers averaged together).  Our calves in the show barn average a little better than 2.5 over the course of a year.

All of our cattle are roughtly 1/2 to 3/4 Angus with Maine, Chi or Simi making up the rest with a few PB Angus thrown in.  We don't see significant differences in the gains between the PB commercial Angus and the ones out of more club calf oriented lines.  We'll see differences beween bulls, but its just a quality issue that is animal specific - not really breed relaed.  Some bulls are just better than others.  Honestly, our best show calves are coming from the bulls that throw the better gaining calves.  Our feedlot buyers must not see much difference in gains between our and their other good suppliers because they keep wanting ours. 

I think a lot of it has to do with how individuals feed calves and the whole target management used on show calves.  The older, more mature calves tend to look better at the same weight as one that has been pushed hard to get there.  Genetically I don't think there is much of a difference between "show calves" and commercial cattle.
 
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