steer not gaining

[paj315]

We have a Tiger Woods steer that isn't gaining weight very well . He has a good appetite and is currently eating about 24 lbs per day but in the last 45 days he has only gain 45 lbs. He doesn't have any symptoms like scours etc. just not putting on the pounds. He has been wormed recently and  has access to mineral and eats it just not converting. Any suggestions? I am at my whits end trying to figure this out.

 

[chambero]

How heavy is he now?

 

[paj315]

2 weeks ago he weighed 900 needs to finish about 1300 at the end of July but at this rate he will never make it

 

[Tristen21]

I'm having the same problem. My steer is pushing 700 and he's my county steer. I was feeding him umbarger and it wasn't helping him gain. He's now eating show chow but still not gaining. Would worming help. He's been wormed once. He needs to finish 1300 but will never make it now. Any suggestions?

 

[cowman 52]

The point I may be missing--steer weighs 1140 and eating 25 lbs???? 

That ain't enough feed!!!!
Takes 2 1/2 percent to just maintain.  1200 lbs equal 36 lbs. At 3 percent which should be a about 2 1/2 lbs gain,  turn up the feed, and my favorite is red cell,  in the jug, a touch on each feeding.
If the guts become a little loose, add hulls or beet pulp, but quit skimping on the feed.
Another way to think,  takes 6 lbs feed for 1lb gain maybe,  30 lbs gives you a shot at 5  Lbs gain, steer is past his prime to do that unless he is hungry, then he might do 4 gain for a while, but see if this thinking doesnt help

 

[Sassy2899]

What is the nutritional analysis of the feed you are providing to him? If you can give us the data from the feed tag or some data if you are feeding a home remedy it could help some of us figure out if it is meeting his maintenance requirements.  To get any animal to grow you first have to meet their maintenance requirement, once you meet that you can start feeding more to obtain the ability to meet his growth needs. 

 

[GoWyo]

Maybe add rumensin pellets and vegetable oil.  Make a gradual change over a few days.  The rumensin should help them utilize their feed better.  Make sure the feed does not already have rumensin or bovatec in it if you add it.

 

[Tristen21]

I feed the purina show chow fitters edge. He seems to like it and eats about 26 lbs a day. He's just not gaining like he should

 

[rackranch]

Please don't try to feed your steer 36lbs of feed a day.  Also, I would do a little research before believing that it takes 2.5% of your steers body weight just to maintain his weight. After doing your research it also help to remember that each steer is different. Frame score and level of maturity play an important role as well.  I'm with sassy, if he is wormed and eating that much feed the nutritional value of your feed may be an issue.  It seems to me with the drought in a larger portion of the country this is and has been a little bit of an issue.  It wouldn't hurt to to take a fecal sample into the vet to checked anyway.  Lastly, I would look at his hay.  You need a hay with some stem to it to scratch the rumen.  This will help increase absorption.  G-Luck

The point I may be missing--steer weighs 1140 and eating 25 lbs???? 

That ain't enough feed!!!!
Takes 2 1/2 percent to just maintain.  1200 lbs equal 36 lbs. At 3 percent which should be a about 2 1/2 lbs gain,  turn up the feed, and my favorite is red cell,  in the jug, a touch on each feeding.
If the guts become a little loose, add hulls or beet pulp, but quit skimping on the feed.
Another way to think,  takes 6 lbs feed for 1lb gain maybe,  30 lbs gives you a shot at 5  Lbs gain, steer is past his prime to do that unless he is hungry, then he might do 4 gain for a while, but see if this thinking doesnt help

 

[vc]

I agree with Rackranch, we never feed more than 25 pounds a day of grain, we also fed 3 way grain hay at least thelast 3 months. I think they coarse hay helps them get guts naturally. Unless you weigh the calf empty each time you weigh it is hard to get a true reading on their gain. If you weighed the calf full the first time and then empty the second time there could be a 50 to 60 pound swing, I have weighed a calf in the morning full then weighed him at the end of the day prior to kicking out, he went from 1410 to 1350 in 12 hours of just laying in the barn in front of fans.
We weighed once a week, we always weighed prior to kicking out when the calves were empty. This allows you to get a better reading on the ADG.

Full= 20 pounds hay and grain + 5 gl (40 pounds) = 60 pounds, calves can drink anywhere from 1 gallon to 10 gallons at one time that can really change their weight.

I would try and weigh him empty 2 weeks in a row and see what he is gaining.

Tristen 21, we worm our calves every 30 to 45 days, with the last worming 45 days out from their final show.

 

[Justin69.o]

If possible add more corn. I have a BIM steer gaining 5.4 pounds per day average since the start of march. Feed him as much as he will eat and make sure he has clean water to drink and he should grow.

 

[GoWyo]

If possible add more corn. I have a BIM steer gaining 5.4 pounds per day average since the start of march. Feed him as much as he will eat and make sure he has clean water to drink and he should grow.

Too much corn and they get acidosis and go off feed.  I would look at the percentage fat and the starches like sugars to put in the calories.  We have been feeding our own ration that we mix each day that has 50% corn, 25 oats and 25 barley, then top dressing Sure Champ, rumensin pellets, cottonseed hulls and a cup of 50/50 molasses/vegetable oil per head and free choice grass hay.  They weigh 1200 lbs. and we have cut them back to 17-18 lbs grain mix per head per day.  They have gained between 3 and 4 lbs per day on this ration since October, only went off feed once for about 4 days, and the most we fed was 20 lbs. per head per day when we were pushing them in January and February.  They are getting fat and our show isn't til August, so we quit pushing them and are just shooting for about 2 lbs. or less per day gain.  This ration is the best gaining/fattening ration I have ever fed and it has no brand name prepared feed in it.

 

[CRS]

We had a similar problem.  We went and had fecals done and then used the Safeguard Paste at the dose recommended by the Vet and he is really putting it on now.  We feed a custom mixed ration with all steam flaked grain and he is able to put on about 4 to 5 lbs a day without the patchy back fat.  The steam flaked is expensive, but they absorb most of it.

 

[Justin69.o]

we grind our own feed and a batch contains 3000lbs corn 1000 lbs gluten 200 lbs oats and 150lbs hubbard gluten finisher balancer and our calves grow like crazy

 

[chambero]

If they aren't growing but they are still eating and they don't have something wrong with them (i.e. parasites), there are a few potential reasons:

• Lots of show steers just run out of gas and don't get very big.  Your calf may be just done.  It isn't uncommon for calves from the Heat Wave and similar bloodlines to be done at around 1100 lbs.  They don't all make it to 1300.  If your calf is fat and they stop growing, that's probably the reason. 
• Calves with structural problems - even those you haven't noticed yet - will flat out stop growing when they start hurting.  Their body is telling them no more. 
• Some calves just go through spells where they slow down or stop gaining.  Some keep going at a reduced gain (that's why a lot of 22 month old steers win as 1300 lbers), some will pick back up again in a a month or so

Best thing to do in each of these cases is to wait it out for a month.  If it continues, your best bet is to probably implant him with Revalor S or such.  That will kickstart some, but you better be sure you don't have a structural issue behind it. 

Not every calf is made to be a 1300 lber.  Show your calf at the weight he looks the best - don't try to force the issue unless your sure he has the frame and structure to support the extra weight.  That's what lightweight classes are for.

It has been a long time since I've had a big steer (1000 lbs plus) that would eat 3% of their body weight.  Most are lucky if they will eat 2.5%.  I always believed the 3% rule, but if you really weigh your feed you'll find a bunch of these black calves nowadays just don't eat that much.

 

[paj315]

We feed a ration mixed at our local mill it is a 12% protein. To that we add appetite express and peanut oil. He was wormed a month ago with Safegaurd paste. He has a good appetite and cleans his feed up. I don't know maybe he is just a poor doer ? After talking to several people and hearing comments on SP seems to be a fairly common problem with these show steers. Maybe I should have just stuck with my Herefords they always seem to do well. Our hereford heifer eats anything you put in front of her and gains like crazy. She is almost a month younger than the steer and is on less feed and she weighed in at 1050 on the same day we weighed the steer. Would giving him a probiotic help? I know weight lifters use it to convert protein into mass so I'm wondering if it would do the same thing with my steer.

 

[LLBUX]

Is he alone in his pen?  May need a little competition at the feedbunk.

 

[RyanChandler]

1% is a maintenance ration.

3% is generally considered full feed. A 1200 lb calf on full feed should be gaining 5+ lbs/day.

I would feed him a much higher corn ration as suggested. I've fed 75% corn rations and never had Acidosis. Plenty of products such as rumensin/monensin and bovatec will help prevent it as we'll.

 

[paj315]

I have him penned with our heifer but separate them to feed them otherwise she would eat everything . They are fed in stalls next to each other so they can see each other when they eat. I have thought about cooking some shelled corn and adding that to his feee will that help?

 

[Sassy2899]

I think you may have a low protein feed.  I if your calf is weighing close to 1000 lbs should be on a finisher/grower ration.  this would make the protein around 13-14%.  I know this may not sound like a big percentage change but when you start to mess with nutritional requirements you are messing with stuff that is measuredin Parts Per Million.  I think if you increase the protein percentage of this steer it may have an improvement on him.  You may also want to give him a probiotic.  I know he probably hasn't been sick, but if the protein of the feed is to low it IS NOT meeting the Nitrogen requirement that the Rumen Microbes need, thus they die off and the animal can't turn as much protein in to the appropriate Amino Acids that the body needs.  This creates a deficiency and could be part of the problem you are having with your steer not gaining any weight.