Eating problems

[ckey0095]

Hello, I was wondering if any of y'all could help me out. My steer has been really weird about eating the past few weeks. There are times that he'll eat all of the feed at each feeding, but then other times he'll eat about 4 or 5 pounds out of 30 pounds for the whole day. Two nights ago he ate everything but a pound of feed so yesterday morning I fed him his usual amount of feed and when I went out there later that night I went out there to feed him again and he only ate about 6 pounds of feed, so I left it in the barn to see if he'd eat it during the night, when I went out there this morning it looks like he hasn't touched it at all. I checked his temperature this morning also and it was 102.4, which is normal, and he's drinking a lot of water, his stool is fine so I don't understand what the problem could be. Can anyone help me out with this? I'm wanting him to eat and drink a lot right now cause I'm trying to get his stomach to finish dropping and more weight put on him because I have 50 days until my show. I'm also posting some pictures of him so maybe I can get some tips or helpful hints or positive criticism about him. Please note in these pictures he wasn't eating all that well so he doesn't look as big as usual and my boyfriend was taking the pictures at weird angles. Thank you, I appreciate your time

 

[ckey0095]

This is the final picture

 

[jcedvm]

Is he bloating at all?

 

[ckey0095]

No he isn't, I've been checking for that but there's been no sign of it at all

 

[AndersenClubCalves]

If he were mine I would consider cutting he's feed back to 25 pounds, Thirty is a lot. Then when he starts cleaning that up really well I would possibly bump him to 27.5 and then if you feel the need and if he will eat it go ahead and bump back to 30. I personally think you are just giving him to much feed. Another note if he doesn't clean up his grain I would say with in the 30-45 minutes take it away. If he walks away from it take it away and just feed him again the next regular feeding time. I know you are wanting to push him but if he's not eating your loosing ground. Hopefully hay is included in this 30 lbs currently its important to keep their rumen working properly.

 

[jcedvm]

If he were mine I would consider cutting he's feed back to 25 pounds, Thirty is a lot. Then when he starts cleaning that up really well I would possibly bump him to 27.5 and then if you feel the need and if he will eat it go ahead and bump back to 30. I personally think you are just giving him to much feed. Another note if he doesn't clean up his grain I would say with in the 30-45 minutes take it away. If he walks away from it take it away and just feed him again the next regular feeding time. I know you are wanting to push him but if he's not eating your loosing ground. Hopefully hay is included in this 30 lbs currently its important to keep their rumen working properly.

I agree with this.  If he's not bloating and/or sick he's likely just not hungry.  I agree with the above statement that timing is poor in regards to wanting finish him out but you're simply not going to make him eat if he isn't hungry.  Good luck!

 

[CAB]

According to your post, you are saying that you are feeding your calf 60 lbs. total per day. I find that hard to believe. That would be more than a mature cow or bull would even want to eat daily consistently. Please check out your weights per feeding and get back to us. Looking @ your calf in the pictures, I'm guessing he weighs approximately 700 - 750 lbs. @ 3% of 725 lbs. that = 21.75 lbs. of feed per day not per feeding if you're feeding twice per day.

 

[vc]

60 pounds a day is just crazy, lets say he is gaining 3 pounds a day, that means he is converting every 20 pounds of feed to 1 pound of meat. What are you feeding him and what is the protein and fat content?
We never fed over 25 pounds a day of feed and finish some calves out at 1400 pounds in 18 months. The average conversion is somewhere between 6/1-7/1 you are getting 20/1, I would almost guess most of the feed in just passing through him.
I noticed in the picture you are using a hanging feeder, is that what you feed him out of, if yes how many of those does he eat a day?

 

[FriedgesCharolais]

I personally would like to know what your ration contains because at 60#/Day of feed I would think that he should have more cover on him than what he does. Also to me I wouldnt worry so much on the belly dropping as getting some fat on him so he will start to drop that flank a little bit. Just my 2 cents.

 

[BogartBlondes]

I have had a couple calves like this, they get the feed in front of them but won't eat.

In my experience it has always been because they are ingesting too much protein in the hay and grain combined. The less/or lower quality hay that the calf gets the better when trying to finish cattle. The roughage should be for the rumen's working purposes only and the rest of the nutrients should come from the grain.

To get calves back on grain what we usually do; is take away all of their hay and give them about one small bale flake of wheat straw as well as a good pail of grain (we use 14%). Over the course of 24 hours they will finish the grain and pick through the straw. We then wean them back onto moderate quality grass hay (about 3/4 small square bale per day) and 3% of body weight of grain per day. They seem to rarely come off of feed again after this.

This is just my experience and it has worked well for me

 

[Greg_Kirlin]

I agree with all thats been said. 30# is ALOT of feed for that guy. If he was mine, I would just cut him back to around 20-25#/day. You could always increase the % protein with a supplement if you don't mix your own feed. Also, try adding molasses. Sometimes they get bored with it so if you add something sweet, he might start eating more.