Dose creep feeding pay

[ty378]

What's everyone's thoughts on creep feeding dose it pay

 

[edmun2010]

no

 

[rackranch]

What kind of shape is your pasture in?

 

[OH Breeder]

What's everyone's thoughts on creep feeding dose it pay

ABSOLUTELY!
Depends on what industry you in, we put creep out as soon as they start hitting the ground. Most of my calves are sold in May. same families come to see them and make purchase decision. We don't push them we get them started and it makes it much easier when weaning. Gives us gains on the weaning end. I do milled creep ration and it is not that expensive for what I gain in pounds.
Kind of when you go to buy a new car, its nice to see it shiny and waxed. Plush interior and power windows. or you could sell them the strip down version. Creep just gives them an advantage. More eye appealing for our industry buyers.

 

[Mill Iron A]

Like OH Breeder said if you are selling calves early it will give you the bloom you need. If you are treating it a little more like a commercial operation then the best is to feed the pair liquid feed. The liquid feed helps with NDF digestibility. It will help the cow make more milk but also give the calve some sugars, npn, and chelated mineral package that will support health and growth through immune upregulation and fiber digestibility.

I will attach a graph showing that as the calf grows his capability for Dry Matter increases. The cow at this time is producing less milk and even if she stayed par it would become less and less total % of dry matter. On pasture what the calf uses to fill that gap is forages. If you can supplement the pair with a supplement that is focused on increased NDFd then you will get more muscle and frame gain that will not shrink. Cheapest and best gain you will put on in that calfs career.

Economics:

Supplement for the calf will cost around $.20/hd/day

Extra calf gain depending on genetics and environmental factors will consistently fall around .25 lbs/hd/day due to supplementation.

Therefore Cost per pound of gain is $ .80

 

[HAFarm]

Like OH Breeder said if you are selling calves early it will give you the bloom you need. If you are treating it a little more like a commercial operation then the best is to feed the pair liquid feed. The liquid feed helps with NDF digestibility. It will help the cow make more milk but also give the calve some sugars, npn, and chelated mineral package that will support health and growth through immune upregulation and fiber digestibility.

I will attach a graph showing that as the calf grows his capability for Dry Matter increases. The cow at this time is producing less milk and even if she stayed par it would become less and less total % of dry matter. On pasture what the calf uses to fill that gap is forages. If you can supplement the pair with a supplement that is focused on increased NDFd then you will get more muscle and frame gain that will not shrink. Cheapest and best gain you will put on in that calfs career.

Economics:

Supplement for the calf will cost around $.20/hd/day

Extra calf gain depending on genetics and environmental factors will consistently fall around .25 lbs/hd/day due to supplementation.

Therefore Cost per pound of gain is $ .80

The research suggests not, creep feeding doesn't pay well enough for the labor required.  Yes the weight is higher put bigger weights pay less at market.  If you are going to raise show steers and heifers then I think you have to creep feed to get all growth possible. 

 

[Mill Iron A]

Actually that is research based. What you are confusing is dry feed creep vs. creeping or feeding the pair a self fed supplement at a much lower intake rate and minimal labor so taking out both of those factors. Also, it is highly efficient vs dry creep conversion as it is going into muscle and frame vs fat and bloom. Very economic for commercial producers.

 

[Medium Rare]

550lb calves and 750lb calves have been selling for the same dollars per head here the past two years. It isn't too hard to do the math to figure out you're working for free on any extra inputs you've put into those extra pounds.

I buy oats straight out of the combine and auger straight into the feeders so labor is kept at a minimum and I still can't justify it on anything I'm not retaining ownership of through slaughter or as a replacement. 

They just aren't paying for it, so why put the extra effort into it?

 

[OH Breeder]

550lb calves and 750lb calves have been selling for the same dollars per head here the past two years. It isn't too hard to do the math to figure out you're working for free on any extra inputs you've put into those extra pounds.

I buy oats straight out of the combine and auger straight into the feeders so labor is kept at a minimum and I still can't justify it on anything I'm not retaining ownership of through slaughter or as a replacement. 

They just aren't paying for it, so why put the extra effort into it?

Our operation is not commercial. I sold all my steer calves by May 31st this year. Creep is out from day one. They will be weaned ready to leave in July. If you are targeting the show cattle market it is the best advantage you can give your calves. I am not sure when the last time anyone got $3000 for a weaned calf at stock yards. We do not sell stock yards any more than necessary. Anything that doesn't make show- goes in the freezer. I have a waiting list every year for meat. Old cows go to whole cow hamburger and people call wanting it all the time.

So it depends TY378 what your market is.

 

[Emigkj07]

We have tried to creep feed a couple different times and just couldn't get the calves interested in it at all. we have tried straight 12% sweet feed (thinking it would entice them in), and calf starter (an ADM product with a dairy calf on the front). one year we had half decent luck with the calf starter, until an old bucket calf turned cow figured it out and drug the creep feeder 50 ft trying to get her fat self out. We calve in Feb and March and tried creep feeding in may/june when they go to the pasture and really not enough of them got in there to eat to notice a difference. How do you guys get your calves to go in the creep feeder?

 

[jnm]

I start out with a bag of horse feed. The molasses in it gives more of a smell to get their attention

 

[OH Breeder]

We have tried to creep feed a couple different times and just couldn't get the calves interested in it at all. we have tried straight 12% sweet feed (thinking it would entice them in), and calf starter (an ADM product with a dairy calf on the front). one year we had half decent luck with the calf starter, until an old bucket calf turned cow figured it out and drug the creep feeder 50 ft trying to get her fat self out. We calve in Feb and March and tried creep feeding in may/june when they go to the pasture and really not enough of them got in there to eat to notice a difference. How do you guys get your calves to go in the creep feeder?

SOunds like your ration to me. I don't always use molasses in the summer because it sometimes is too sweet. Calf manna usually enough to capture the smell. I also use cherry oil. Past 10 years we have done creep and never had an issue. But is put out on day one when we start calving. By summer calves usually laying in creep and we can walk in work them a little bit. Bed in the creep pen well it is kind of a get away for them. But each to his own. It works for me. We keep doing what works. JMO

 

[Annieboon]

hi all, i would like to start creep feeding some calves, and as wondering if any one has a plan to build a creep feeder, or pictures of how people are doing this?

thanks regards Annie Boon

 

[AAOK]

Asklund Acres (AAOK) Feeding Program
HomeAsklund Acres (AAOK) Feeding Program
One of the most requested items on Steer Planet is AAOK’s Feeding Program.  Here it is direct from Dan Asklund:

“I have copied and pasted our Feed Program and Ration below.  It will save you money verses a branded feed.  Even though almost all of our show feeding was heifers, our mix would be regarded by most as a steer, or finishing ration.  I’ve fed it to calves as young as 2 months, and kept them on it ’til they were 2 years.  My advice to anyone is to not try to save money with cheap (or no) mineral.

The Healthy Glo can be fed anytime.  You’ll see results within a couple of weeks.  Don’t try to topdress 2 lbs of it all at once, or your calves will scour.  The great thing about it is that it won’t burn the gut, and it realy improves the quality of the hair coat.”



ASKLUND ACRES Program for Feeding Show Calves.
www.clubcalves.com/asklundhome.htm

1.  Calves should be fed twice a day, the same time each day. Optimum is 6:00am & 6:00pm.

2.  Calves should be haltered and tied next to each other…. close enough to see each other eat, but far enough apart to not be able to reach one another’s feed.

3.  After 20 minutes, they should be pulled from their feed, and the feed cleaned up.
(this teaches them to eat all their food quickly. Sure comes in handy at shows)

4.  Measure feed by pounds, not scoops.  They should eat 10 – 15 pounds of feed, twice daily, depending on the size of the calf.

5.  Make hay or pasture available year round.  I recommend small area containment from morning feeding to evening feeding, rinsing, brushing and showmanship work.

6.  Turn into larger area pasture with hay or grass for the night.  Make sure there is plenty of room to exercise.

Now here is our ration, per ton

1200 lbs. cracked corn
400 lbs. cotton seed hulls
200 lbs. whole oats
100 lbs. soy bean meal
100 lbs. molasses

I top dress each calf 1 oz. per feeding ADM/Alliance chlortetracycline medicated mineral.  The mineral additive is not optional.  No ration will work without a quality mineral program.  On the occasional need for a fat additive, I use ADM’s Healthy Glo.  This is a 100% stablized rice bran developed for Race Horses.  1 pound per head per day.  It will increase muscle, hair & quality of hair coat.

That’s our feed program. It has remained unchanged since 1996, and we have never had a problem.

 

[Will]

We always creep the calves we are going to show or try to sell as show calves.  With the level of competitiveness if they get any behind it is hard for them to catch up and be competitive.
On the commercial calves we creep when it makes financial sense.  Right now it cost me $1.04 to put on an additional pound of gain.  With calves bringing $2.50 plus it makes sense for us to creep this year.  It is like trading $1.04 for $2.50. I can remember when just getting $1.45 per pounds was really good. Now a few years ago when corn was high we did not creep the commercial calves.

 

[FriedgesCharolais]

The one thing I have noticed is that everyone is talking about pounds of calves at weaning from the creep feed, but it hasnt been mentioned that the cows should come back in better condition in the fall also.

 

[Tyler]

The one thing I have noticed is that everyone is talking about pounds of calves at weaning from the creep feed, but it hasnt been mentioned that the cows should come back in better condition in the fall also.

Adding to that...calves wean easier and don't go backwards, fewer sick calves at weaning.

On the other side its labor and added expense.  Each operation needs to weigh the pros and cons, so I would say it depends on your goals.

 

[ploughshare]

Yes, especially if pastures are challenged.  We use AAOKs mix with a midwest twist and the cows breed back and the calves grow well.