Steer will not eat grain

[slkwtrrnch]

My steer will not eat grain and is about 100 lbs under weight - show is in June. Any suggestions on getting him to eat grain. I have tried holding his hay, adding molasses to the grain.  have also put a heifer in with him to try and get him to eat the grain, still no luck.

 

[hamburgman]

You can try wetting the grain with water, however it can take a while for the calf to like this kind of feed.  Make sure you grain isn't too powdery and there is a fresh smell to it.  Would not suggest taking away the roughage, what you can do is cut back some, but many cattle will eat more if there is roughage around.

 

[SlickTxMaine]

Last year when our steer was not eating well, we started adding calf manna.  He really liked it and it got him eating.  This year we are using Vitafirm Sure Champ pellets, it also keeps their appetite up and digestion working. 

 

[GoWyo]

All the above and then back off the grain to maybe 2 or 3 lbs. per feeding and add in some probiotic like Appetite Express with the grain.  It will help him get the bugs right in his rumen and then you can build up your grain amounts gradually making sure to keep him on the probiotics.  I am skeptical of some feed additives, but it seems Appetite Express really works for keeping them on their feed.  Their manure smells a lot better when we are feeding it, and that tells me their gut is more in balance even with all the grain.  Also, keep some grass hay in front of him -- I disagree on removing the roughage.

 

[AAOK]

Are there Cottonseed Hulls in your grain mix?  If not, mix some in and watch him eat!

 

[vc]

You might want to try a different brand of feed, I have had them not eat on type of feed and tear up an other type, had one that would not eat, tried several brands he picked at each one, mixed them to gether to get rid of them and ate like he was starving.
Have also had to try different lots of the same brand, some times there is just something wrong with a lot, had bad fat in one batch, all corn with very little of anything else in an other, to many fines in the last, mill just had a hard time getting it right, when it was right they loved it. We have since changed brands, I want to open a sack see the same feed each time.

 

[OH Breeder]

Has anyone tried GluCoat? Isn't this what it is suppose to help with?

 

[BCCC]

Has anyone tried GluCoat? Isn't this what it is suppose to help with?

I am feeding it right now, and the calves really started to bloom right away, and will eat the bottom out of the trough

 

[vc]

We are using it this year, they do seem to like it. There was also a beneficial side effect: our heat wave was pretty edgy, could not really comb or use the blower on him from the front shoulders forward with out him having a fit. A week after we started adding the GluCoat, he just settled down, comb and blow from head to tail without issue.

 

[Joe Boy]

Did you recently separate the calf from other or another calf?  This will knock them off feed sometimes.