texas state fair steer

[JCFAMILY]

[Why would barley and corn screw up a calf. I have a yellowjacket steer that needs to be a little fat er and was going to use steamed barley. Will this not work?

The higher energy you feed the higher a calf's internal body temperature will get.  That's the primary reason when one gets sick you need to pull them off feed and give them only hay.

But this time of year it can be a real problem.  For our winter majors, I (and probably most everyone else feeding steers in Texas) add quite a bit of additional corn or other feedstuffs like barley to try to get them finished.  However, this time of year when its so hot that approach can cause one to go off feed in a hurry. 

Personally, I like to rely on the newer fat additives that are out there that can help with finish without the potential side effects of extra corn this time of year.  In my opinion, the finishers most of of us feed are about as hot as you can get away with this time of year.

I'm not a barley expert because I had severe bloating problems with it on some calves one year (lost one) and don't bother with it anymore, but I understand its probably not as hot as corn.





Thanks for your help. What product would you recommend to add fat to a steer when its hot?

 

[farmin female]

I personally am way to critical when in comes to evaluating cattle we showed. Looking at your calf from this angle i would like to see him cleaner fronted/chest floor which may be due to age (uncontrollable) but i really like his muscle pattern yet would like to see a better substance of bone but on the positive side it looks like he has some sheath to match a "wastier" front end coupled with a clean patterned calf from the heart girth back which means i would oil the ears and try him as an abc  (lol)  (thumbsup) yes im serious about this it might just be the angle and picture but thats my opinion and also one word of advise for feedin in these heats is to stay away from corn and barley it will work if you dont screw up a calf. Final Cover and Dark N' Rich are two really good products. Goodluck! for the state fair he looks competitive if fat enough, sorry if that sounded harsh in anyway im sometimes long winded and too straight forward when talkin cattle  :-\

what is "Dark N' Rich"?  I have not seen that product.

 

[DCC show cattle]

its a vigertone product its supposively 98% fat if im not mistaken somethin like an ounce of that is the same as a coffee can of corn if i remember right its hot stuff that has never burnt one of ours versus corn that has burnt up two of ours and we turn out on a grass pasture have fun hay and feed a fairly high fiber ration with added beet pulp and such