feeding show heifer

[money]

ok so here is my story. We are trying to show heifers only and have always struggled with feeding!!!!!!!!!!!! We always fight feed intake. I have tried every feed over the years and have finally found a feed that I thought was of good quality. I have been feeding Kalmbach heifer grower which is a 13 protein, 3.5 fat and 16 fiber. our heifer weighs 700 lbs and is eating 14 lbs a day and looks way too green( she is a may) and 14lbs is all I can get in her and this includes 2 lbs of fulltank so 12 feed and 2 fulltank for 14 total. We feed in hanging feeders twice a day pour feed in and let them eat as they wish in individual pens. I have never liked feeding shredded beet pulp as our cattle usually sort. So please help what should we feed to get the desired condition/ gain and no offense but please do not say aaok program just want ideas on what I'm doing wrong thanks

 

[money]

Here is a picture of heifer

 

[GoWyo]

I can seldom get them to eat more than 2% of body weight in grain, but still get decent gains.  If you add a rumensin pellet, that can help keep them eating.  The other thing is to add energy to the ration in the form of fat, either through vegetable oil or stabilized rice bran products.  If your ration is at 3.5%, you could take it to 4.5-5%.  For rib shape and depth, ours seem to do well on free choice grass hay.  I only feed ruma-fil or full tank or cottonseed hulls to add a little fiber to the grain ration, which helps them to eat a little more.

 

[cowman 52]

Thought I would add a few cents worth,  been doing this for a lot of years and getting one to eat has never been a problem.  Don't know your feed but not a big fan of a feed that is much past 12 percent and fat over 3 or so.  Seems that a bulkier feed that is not real heavy, and intake goes up.  Be wary of fine, powdery feed additives,  they don't allow the belly to work right,  cows were meant to use feeds that are coarse and when you get away from that, feed conversion goes down.  Cotton seed hulls have got expensive and scarce, we have had real good luck using a ground hay or chaff hay,  the ground timothy hay from tractor supply has worked really well.  Have had some eat almost 4 percent of their body weight and by volume a 5 gallon bucket is pretty much par for the course.  Do like a wet feed,  the dairy guys east of here feed as close to slop as you can get,  wetter the feed, more butterfat. 
Just an idea, 

 

[RyanChandler]

I have never liked feeding shredded beet pulp as our cattle usually sort. So please help what should we feed to get the desired condition/ gain and no offense but please do not say aaok program just want ideas on what I'm doing wrong thanks

You need to be feeding a 'finisher,' not a growing ration.  Being over 16% fiber, the energy level of the feed you're feeding is not very high.

If you like the kalmbach feeds, then this is the feed you need to be feeding:  http://www.kalmbachfeeds.com/shopping/beef/T513R.aspx   

 

[simm4ever]

I seem to have more luck if cattle can be fed in pairs or small groups to increase competion at the bunk.  Feeding individually sometimes leads to lazy eaters with no incentive to finish their feed unless a time limit and removal of leftovers is involved.  IMO fulltank and other related products are best near showtime and at 700 lbs would be better to have 2% consumption of your show ration plus hays and beet pulp. Try mixing the beet pulp in ration to reduce the sorting.

 

[blackdirt cowboy]

Based on your picture, I'd say your heifer is not too green. If your goal is to have a productive breeding animal, please do not feed a finishing ration. A breeding animal should never be fed a finishing ration. They will deposit fat around their ovaries and in their udder, becoming a hard breeder and poor milker. Once that fat is deposited, no diet will reverse it's effects. I would much rather see a breeding animal a little too green than too fat. Your ration is perfect for what you are trying to accomplish. Just be sure to give her unlimited free choice hay. It doesn't have to be high quality either. Something coarse would be preferable to complement your ration. If you feel
Like you need to get her a tick fatter, add a product like liquafat at a rate to bring the fat level up to 4%.

 

[OLD WORLD SHORTIE]

Bring them along slowly works best for me, but I like precondition them so they are not so green. Feeding finisher can help you catch up, but just don't stay on it to long just till she gets to where you want her. I feed Purina though