Implant for frame growth

[faycopa]

Have a May born steer weighing 1160 and carrying some condition at around 48" hip height
Show is in approximately 4 months
Would like to get some more frame size to him to be able to hit 1400 lb.
Any implants out there help promote frame growth?
Currently on a 14% protein ration but not pushing the feed - concerned he will get too fat early

 

[doreck show cattle]

Posilac shot, dairy farms should be able to get some ( I do NOT know if it will pass a drug test, so don't go run out there shoot him up and come yelling at me if he fails one )

 

[RyanChandler]

Increase the protein and lower the energy of the ration. Those with the opposite problem should do the inverse.

 

[faycopa]

Increase the protein and lower the energy of the ration. Those with the opposite problem should do the inverse.

Even higher than 14%?

 

[cowboy_nyk]

Yup 16% isn't out of the questions at all.  Especially if he's fat enough already

 

[faycopa]

Yup 16% isn't out of the questions at all.  Especially if he's fat enough already

Thanks cowboy... We will bump the protein up with some soybean meal

 

[Bradenh]

Posilac shot, dairy farms should be able to get some ( I do NOT know if it will pass a drug test, so don't go run out there shoot him up and come yelling at me if he fails one )

prob not a good idea to knowingly recommend an off label use of a hormone product designed to increase milk in dairy cattle. Coupled with the fact that there is absolutely zero proof that administering rbst will do anything to change the genetic limitations of frame score, if you have any substantial data to support a claim besides cow show pillow talk about it working I would like to see the research to back it up.

I agree with x bar and cowboy

 

[WinterSpringsFarm]

BST WILL add frame size to dairy heifers, I know for a fact. Not sure what it would do for beef, but I could imagine it would do the same.

 

[ty378]

What is bst

 

[Bradenh]

It's a dairy implant that can't be used without labeling the product that the animal has been given it. It's used to enhance milk production in dairy cattle and there is nowhere near the research done that says it will do anywhere near as satisfactory results as implants designed to increase beef in beef cattle. And even if it did work which like I said I don't see why someone wouldn't use a standard implant but that's neither here nor there. It's off label hormone use probably not the things you want to be endorsing or talking about being used in jr show programs for the sake of ethics and PR

 

[ty378]

Oh ok dairy guys use it for milk production.is it just bst or is there a full name

 

[WinterSpringsFarm]

Bovine Somatotrophin. It was a hormone used to increase milk production. What we found was when given to heifers it really increased appetite which in return increased frame size. Wo knows what it would do to beef cattle.

It also helped a lot if farmers go under I think. As the call for none BST milk came out farmers took their herds off of it, and cows that had BST previously really fell hard when they no longer had it. So entire herds were basically poor producers.

 

[Dale]

Why not use an approved implant such as Ralgro?  The wisdom used to be that Ralgro (and probably also other approved implants) increased frame along with more rapid rate of gain.  I avoid using Ralgro if a 4-H steer is already large-framed.  There may be a withdrawal to observe--ask your veterinarian and read the label.

 

[faycopa]

Why not use an approved implant such as Ralgro?  The wisdom used to be that Ralgro (and probably also other approved implants) increased frame along with more rapid rate of gain.  I avoid using Ralgro if a 4-H steer is already large-framed.  There may be a withdrawal to observe--ask your veterinarian and read the label.

Dale - I'm not opposed to using Ralgro or any other implant.  We are hoping to get some more frame on this steer in order to get enough size to be competitive.  Given his current hip height of about 48" I doubt we could get him much past 1250 lbs

 

[ty378]

Dose ralgro not make higer tail heads?

 

[faycopa]

Dose ralgro not make higer tail heads?

Have heard that as well ... This steer doesn't have a high tail set at the moment so hopefully that would not be an issue