Feed & Watering

[klintdog]

Does anyone have tricks to get cattle eating out of feed pans and drinking out of water buckets when you pull them out for the first time. We're going to be heading to Billings for a week next week and I want to make sure I can get them on feed and keep them there. The heifers are eating out of pans without a problem, but the bulls can't seem to figure it out.

I've tried the Gatorade/Kool-Aid/Coke in the water trick, tried giving salt bolusses, salt in the feed, drenching with pedialyte, Sullivan's water filter, you name it and we've probably tried it to get them drinking.

Let's hear some of the tricks you guys keep up your sleeves.

I'll start on one with the pans. I took our feed pans and put them into the feed bunk for the heifers. This way the heifers get used to eating out of them when they're not tied up, so they dig right in while they are tied.

 

[shortyjock89]

When we wean young calves for show, they are fed in pans every day, morning and night.  If they don't figure it out, they don't get grain.  Same with the water.  We start bringing water to them that first week, and if they don't want to drink from a bucket, they don't get water.  They figure it out pretty quick when they get thirsty.

 

[redwingfarm]

Good luck with your calves, when we start working with our show cattle we try do it in a step by step process.  1st we put on halters and let them dram them for 10-14 days,  after that we start getting in the pen with them walk amongst them and step on the halters to stop them and just stand with them for a while.  the next step is we put feed pans outside of their pen and let them watch as we take the grain to put in the pans, we then lead (drag) the calves out of the pen to the feed pans, this will take a couple of days until they figure out that the pans are where they want to go.  after about a week they will wait at the gate to get lead out to the pans.  we also start leaving them tied for a while and start watering them with water from their tank in buckets.  Once you get here they should be "educated" enough for eating and drinking at a show.  We also take a washed out 30 gal round-up barrel full of home well water with to the show for the 1st day at least, then switch to city water, after the 2nd show they don't what water you give them
hope this helps

 

[amss101]

We feed out of pans all year long too.  Of the morning, we put them in their pen and give them their feed in their pan.  Then, we go in and get ready...about 30-45 min. then take the pan out.  Whatever they eat in that time period is what they get.  Same thing at night before we turn them out.  They get all the hay they want all the time.  We keep small tubs in their pens during the day for water and a tank in lot at night.  About a week before a show, I dump the tank out and take out the tubs~go to only buckets.  Like someone said before, they get thirsty and start drinking from the bucket in about a day.  Then, when you get to a show, they know the routine.  Then, we go back to the old way until the next show comes around.  It's a lot of work, but what isn't when you play this sport.