Feeding question

[Badbarr34]

Got 2 steers that are 80 days out from show.  We are pushing both pretty hard to hit target weights.  They were both right on track but went off feed for about 3 weeks. I had always tried them up during feeding time since they were in together to keep them from consuming the other calfs feed. Had done this for months. When they went off feed I tried everything to get them to start back eating. (Skipping meals, probios, appetite supplements, reducing feed and then gradually increasing, hay,) I tried it all but they were still eating maybe 6 or 7 lbs a day. After getting sick of trying i started just putting their feed in their feeders and not tying them. Due to the worry of one out eating and the other not getting enough I have been giving extra so that there is feed in the feeder 24/7. I have done this for a little over 2 weeks. I add about 35 -40 lbs of new feed in a day. They are on Show Chow Full  Range with rice bran and power fuel mixed in. So my question in short is do I keep doing this or should I try to get them back on a twice a day feeding schedule? Trying to get max consumption amount. I have always fed twice a day even when needing to push but just didnt know if there were any real negatives to leaving feed in front of them all the time. They haven't been eating a lot at one time but when I pop in throughout the day they seem to be eating several times.  Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

[looking4champions]

Just my two cents....

If they are eating, who cares how?  In order for you to even get any indication of how well they are eating..... and converting, you need to weigh your steers.  At the end of the day what counts is ADG (average daily gain).  Long term you expect to visually see a difference, but the scale won't lie. The scale is a good short term and long term tool for tracking progress. 

Also, keep in mind that rice bran and Power Fuel are typically used to add energy/put on conditioning..... Don't let that Power Fuel fool you, there is a lot of energy packed in that stuff and it doesn't take much.  Depending on how much of the two you are adding (rice bran/Power Fuel) you could be making your ration too hot.  I also know that the HSC Full Range is "THE TRUTH".  Especially if you follow Purina's recommendations for feeding. 

I know a few people who use the same approach to feeding steers and continually raise good fat steers.  At the end of the day, the main thing is you can see they are eating now.  You just need to monitor how much they are eating and how well they are converting. 

Once again, just my two cents.

 

[Chuck Wagon]

I agree, You have to track their weight.  I am not a fan of leaving feed out for show steers, it gets stale anyway.  They should be able to eat it all up in 30 minutes, so pull feed pan even if they didnt clean it up.  You want them to eat on show day, so alway stay with a feeding regimen, same time every morn and night.  6 & 6 is good.  I guess he has access to hay.

  Steers always need to be hungry, so here are some things we have done to stimulate appetite when they go off feed.  Skip a morning feed a week, till they get back on track  Two handfuls of alfalfa in feed, those stems really do a number on the rumen.  Sweet , cane hay is good too. add brewers yeast, this is excellent source for rumen stimulation.  Vitaferm paste.  Probios is a live organism in a tube, at a certain hot temp, it dies.  change to a different feed.

Last resort, and always works is to kick them out to pasture for a couple of days with cows.  They really have to fight and work to eat.  When you bring them back in stall, they never go off feed again.
 
Hope it helps!