Needing advice for first ever steer? (Newbie here)

[Lillian.H]

This is my first steer that I will be showing with my FFA, and he will be my senior year project. He will be moved into the barn on April 24th, so I have just over two weeks to prepare before picking him up from the breeder. I am looking for general advice, tips on good products, and anything else that might help me get started. I will probably be on here pretty often throughout show season.

The terminal show will be in late February or early March. It is still somewhat undecided whether he will go to county or majors. If he goes to majors, the plan would likely be San Antonio, then Houston if he does not place well enough at San Antonio. That was the recommended show path, but I would appreciate input if there is a better approach.

He is a late August-born steer and is currently around 550 to 600 pounds. My biggest challenge right now is figuring out what feed to start him on, and I would really appreciate advice on that. My ag advisors want to avoid Purina because they did not have good results with it last year, but I have been getting mixed recommendations otherwise, and none of it really lines up. Most of the advisors helping me are not very specialized in steers. I was told do my own research and the starter feeds all seem so different.

I would also appreciate any honest critiques on my steer so I know what to focus on improving as soon as I pick him up.

 

[vc]

I would find a good quality show feed carried by a local dealer, Rival show feed is always a good option, you want to get him on a deloper right now, regardless of the brand you go with do a little research compare it to other feed labels, a developer should be around 3 percent fat and 13 protein, Start him slow about 6 pounds a day slowly working him up to 2.5 of his body weight, 600 = 15 pounds of feed a day feed him 3 pounds morning an night if he eats real well and does not get loose( crappy) after 2-3 days add a pound a feeding if everything is good after a few days repeat, do this until he is on full feed. If during the process he does get loose or seems to have issues back it off until he is handling it and the start moving forward again, plenty of good grass hay all the time. Feed him on a schedule, feed the same times each day, cattle like a routine they stress less when on a good consistent routine,. I'm assuming he is halter broke (at least broke to tie) , give him a few days to settle in and get used to you and his new home, then I would start working on getting him haltered and work his hair rinsing, blowing and combing him out everyday, tying him with his head up for an hour a day working up to 2 hours a day. Just the routine of working with him daily is a good start. after a few weeks of this start working him with the showstick teaching him to lead into his stance, find his spot that when you scratch him he relaxes. for helpful tips watch the Stockup Supply videos or any of the others for help. Nice steer, as far as what to work on with him in particular hard to say when you get him home and start working with him you may see things that need attention, a picture is hard do really judge.

 

[Cattlegirl19]

yes!! a showman that asks questions and seeks advice is a showman that wins.

i personally like mixing my own feed.
my steer is on my custom mix of corn, oats, 38% protein dairy mix (builds muscle great), along with beet pulp for filler. pushing corn now that he needs finish, something you can do a month or two out from that terminal show. shove everything to him fast as he’ll eat it. 2.5-3% of his body weight a day is good for competitive gain.
as for products, don’t waste your time with expensive shampoo. buy Mane-Tail-Groom by the gallon. Sullivan Supply’s smart sensation brush, a fluffer comb, and a rice root brush are your daily best friends.
you’ve got really good hair going on him, so to keep that, rinse twice daily, morning and night - long enough to drop his body temp. get him completely dry and apply MTG once a day, blow that in. start him on regular probiotic supplements - something i learned by experience (you’ll thank yourself later!) let him out to pasture every night (or almost every night) to get his feet off the concrete.
if you have any more questions, let me know! he’s a very promising steer, and once you get a little fat on him, there’s no way you won’t win!

 

[Cattlegirl19]

also, ditto to VC about the daily routine. for me personally, however, i would work up to tying for much longer periods because hes going to be standing for anywhere from six to ten hours at a time at a show. i’m not saying you necessarily need to do that daily, but getting him used to longer periods (i would say 5-6 hours) every so often wouldn’t hurt. otherwise, i agree with everything they said and think its a perfect routine to get into!