bad corn?

[Rustynail]

  For  the last few year I have been buying some cold ground corn from a local guy.  I have feed it to some steers and a few bull.  They have always done real good on it, gained weight and grew out well.  This year I have been feeding it for about four months and the calves all looked horrible.  Skinny , not growing well , and they looked like i was starving them.  I just kind of figured with the cold weather and a bad year I would just get them grass fat this year and sale them in the fall instead of May like usual.  The have been off the corn for about three weeks and on free choice grass hay.  I think they have all gained at least 60-80 pounds in those three weeks.  Anyone got any ideas about what the heck going on?

 

[Burnetaggie99]

Just bad corn.

 

[hamburgman]

The moisture content of the corn could be high considering the fall, you might be greatly underfeeding DM

 

[Rustynail]

600 lbs steers + 8.5 lbs of corn per day + free choice hay  and they weren't gaining weight until I took the corn away.  Thanks for the comment but I don't think I was underfeeding.

 

[hamburgman]

yeah it was probably bad corn, my bad.  Ask about aflotoxin (pretty sure I slaughtered that word)

 

[Show Heifer]

With all the moisture last year, a lot of corn had mold in it even before harvest. Stop feeding that corn and find a supplier that checks their corn. Or find a prospective source and send in your own sample. It won't guarantee the entire lot to be mold free, but its a start.  The other thing I would do is worm your steer with a panacur type product. (I mix granuales in the feed). Repeat three weeks later.
Coccidea will also cause "bad doing syndrome". Sometimes they can have a low level of coccidea that won't show symptoms. Either do several fecal checks (it is commonly missed) or just go ahead and treat your steer for 5 days with a treatment level of Corid.

Good Luck

 

[ba]

Start the toxin feed blinder that makes cattle pass the toxins on through their system.  Do not feed without it.

 

[Rustynail]

The producer is grinding it fresh as he sells it.  But is the mold is on the corn as it's stored and then ground, should you be able to smell it in the feed?  I really doesn't smell like anything.  I am just baffeled by this?

 

[wpenrod]

Some of our corn this year looked and smelled just fine but was really high with toxins, Hard to find places that will even take it, I think the only way to tell if you have it is to get it tested, I would start there and get the corn your buying tested. At least around here (northern Indiana) just about any place that is buying corn can test it for free.

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

If you have a black light, the aflatoxin mold will "glow" under it. RW

 

[simtal]

Romer labs in MO tests for mycotoxins

 

[sam1988]

Im curious, what is the test weight of the corn you are feeding?