feeding

[nosejob8807]

i have a 6 month old mainetainer heifer calf that has been on feed for about 2 months or so, ive  been feeding her (about or more, no joke) 16lbs. a day whos about 575 or so (i have no clue).. is this right? shes eating it all but not filling out i guess you could say. i feed MFM developer (if that makes a difference) ive fed it for a couple years with good results but nothing with her yet. nice calf, has a ton of spring of rib but yet you put your hands on her and you can feel all her ribs, i like my heifers to be semi lean but not this lean. should i up the feed? change it? or add a little somethin somethin? or is she just going to stay this way? im not really big in suppliments though. ive just never had a calf that was like this. 

 

[showsteerdlux]

Your feeding right now about 2.8 % of what you are guessing her weight to be. This is high enough cause you really don't want to put to much condition on her. I would maybe slack off on the grain a little and substitute in dry or wet beet pulp or even cotton seed hulls if you are looking for the more filled out look. If you don't mind what are the protein, energy , etc.. levels on the feed that she is getting?

 

[ATOZ]

I would say you are on track with the pounds per day. I have always been told 2% to 3% of her body weight and she is around 2.5% . Has she been wormed within the last 3 or 4 months and the only other thing would be to put a $2.00 magnet down her in case she has some metal in her stomach. ( We do this to all of our show cattle just in case) . Good Luck.

 

[AAOK]

One thng about Maintainer calves, many have the genetic base to develop some frame.  It sounds to me like you have a heifer that is growing well, and not yet ready to start packing on the meat.  MFM is probably the best mixed feed on the market.  I sure wouldn't be messing with their formula.  If this were my calf, I would have her eating 20- 25 pounds of grain per day, and about 4-5 pounds of good hay.  Having always fed larger framed heifers, I'm not a big fan of developer/growing rations.  I'm also not a believer in supplements, other than a good mineral pack.  I feed a finishing mix all the way from starting on feed, through a heifer's fisrt 4 months after her first calf. 

 

[red]

good tips Dan. Give them time to grow before you start looking to add fat or fill. You'll have a better reproductive heifer in the long run.

Red

 

[nosejob8807]

she is getting some frame on her.. i noticed that a couple days ago, had to stop myself and say dang. she has been wormed.. last month actually. im trying to kinda "push" her to fill as she'll be shown next month (early next month i think). i also to believe you have to grow them before you add fat, but i wanted her to look her best as she'll be the youngest in all her classes, im pretty sure, and i want her to beat the older heifers :0) haha