Any ideas how to put fat on the last two ribs?

[reno1014]

My son has a show calf weighing around 1125.  He is a char/limi cross.  I have 20 days to county show and we are having problems getting fat cover on his last two ribs for the finished feel.  We started adding corn to his feed, but cannot monitor his intake because he is with his "stall buddy".  We tried taking the stall buddy out but he wont eat anything if she is gone.  Does anyone have any ideas ... He is perfect everywhere else...just a little younger than the rest of the county calves and I dont want to wreck him because his last show is Houston in March, but I would like to be competitive at county.  No drugs or icky stuff please.  Or do you think I am worrying for nothing and a judge will see his potential and judge off of that?

 

[shortyjock89]

I think it all comes down to the class breaks. If he is one of the heavier calves in his class, he should be one of the more finished calves, and the judge should be fine with him not being finished 150 lbs short of the ideal market weight.  I think that you are fine where you are with his weight, and if he gets knocked a place down because he's not fat at 1125, then so be it. I would rather do good at the big show than at a county fair. 

 

[renegade]

If you still want to monitor feed intake here is what i do. When i started tying them up to feed they didnt eat very well because they had been eating together and were pretty aggressive. So i tied them close enough together they can touch if they turn side ways and there noses can get close but there buckets are on oppisite sides so they dont get into eachothers food. So it would be a bucket, calf tied close to that, about two feet, another calf and then his bucket.

 

[doubled]

Liquid fat can do wonders

 

[showsteerdlux]

How about golden flo or one of the sullivans products. Some cooked corn or barley wouldn't hurt him either.

 

[cattlejunky]

corn oil works and it is cheap.  get at the grocery store.  i think you only use 4 ounces per feeding.  mix it in the feed.

 

[red]

w/ the corn oil start out very lightly. Just spritz it on or you'll get them too loose. I like a little cherry flavoring too. Just a couple of drops.

Red

 

[TJ]

w/ the corn oil start out very lightly. Just spritz it on or you'll get them too loose. I like a little cherry flavoring too. Just a couple of drops.

Red

I'd cook some corn and/or barley - top dressed with the normal ration.  Can be cooked in a crock pot.

AND

As Red stated, a small amount of oil/sunglo... too much oil & they will get runny!!
OR
A few ounces or work up to a 1 lb. per day of a high fat content Lamb's milk replacer - top dressed.  (Might be your best bet for quick results).
OR
Work up to about a 1 lb. per day of any high fat content horse feed - top dressed. 


In a nutshell... the cooked grain increases digestibility & absorption (more calories) + fat calories convert into fat cover quicker than carbs calories, IMHO (more calories).  Just be careful & don't go overboard with the cooked grain or the fat supplements.     

You might also consider giving them a probiotic to add more good bugs to the ruminant.  I love Fastrack (but, I am a Fastrack dealer!  )  & I think that it is by far the best probiotic product that I have ever used (I've tried several), but it needs to be purchased FRESH (not off a store shelf!!) & it needs to be stored in a cool environment or else it will kill the good bugs in the product & it makes the product less effective.  Once you've added the good bugs, I'd also add a yeast supplement to feed those bugs.  I've even poured beer on cattle feed for that exact same reason... it helps to feed the bugs.  You want the digestive system hitting on all cylinders & probiotics + yeast will do that for you. 

And of course the obvious... make sure that he has been recently treated for worms/parasites.   

1 more thing... make sure that he is getting a high quality mineral supplement & that all the nutritional bases are covered and they need to have fresh, clean water at all times!! 

Best wishes!!

TJ

 

[TJ]

Since you only have 20 days, it might be hard to get all the desired finish that you want, so here are a few things you can do...

When the judge feels your calf, slightly turn his head toward the judge. 

Foam him really good over his ribs & brush it in. 

You probably already know those 2 tricks, but I wanted to post them just in case. 

TJ

 

[knabe]

When the judge feels your calf, slightly turn his head toward the judge. 
TJ

have him already turned towards the judge, then straighten him out, but still curved towards the judge, so it looks like you are being fair.
or just have him slightly curved and don't do a thing.  curving towards the judge may just tick him off and feel closer.  it's not like your going to fool him easier just by being obvious.

can't believe i said that.

 

[TJ]

When the judge feels your calf, slightly turn his head toward the judge. 
TJ

have him already turned towards the judge, then straighten him out, but still curved towards the judge, so it looks like you are being fair.
or just have him slightly curved and don't do a thing.  curving towards the judge may just tick him off and feel closer.  it's not like your going to fool him easier just by being obvious.

can't believe i said that.

Really good advice... you covered key a point that I failed/forgot to address. 

 

[reno1014]

Thanks to everyone for their advice!  I will try some of these and see what happens.  This is our first calf, and we are very green when it comes to anything to do with club calves.  Amazing how some of the same things we used on hogs works on cattle too!  I am glad I didnt shy away from cattle when everyone was telling us how hard it was.  This is the best experience with livestock we have had.  Also amazing how attatched you can get to the little buggers too!  If he could get a social security number and stay under 18 I would keep him forever!

 

[chambero]

There are some sold fat supplements out there such as Final Cover that will work a little differently than corn.  I'd suggest trying one of those.  You can't really get them too fat here in Texas, especially for a slick shear show that you mentioned he'd be going to.

For your county, it really just depends on how much competition you have as to whether his cover will hurt him.  Unless you are in one of the super-competetive counties that has lots of good calves, Judges usually tend to lean toward the better overall steer keeping in mind that his terminal show is later on.  In other words, judges will tend to use a real show steer over a very average calf that just happens to be "done".

 

[renegade]

I for one took a little away from the advice about the foam and turning the head but i was told to turn the head toward you a little (especially in profile) to smooth out the shoulder a little, this would be good if he is feeling over the ribs on your side but if not then i guess i would just straiten his face out when the judge comes by?