Help. Steer not gaining.

[jchandler16]

I have a steer that has stopped gaining weight. he has not gone off feed in fact his appetite has increased if anything. Weighed 600lbs at the beginning of january. weighed him 18 days later and he was weighing 675. Was averaging 4.2lbs/day of gain. I weighed him today and he was 700lbs. gained 25lbs over 21 days. In january he was eating 24lbs of grain a day and is currently eating on average 30lbs per day ( every now and then he leaves a pound in the dish) and free choice hay. His stool is firm. no signs of him getting burnt out. What could cause this drastic change in daily gain but with no change in intake?  What can I try to get him gaining again?

 

[shortybreeder]

Make sure you are consistent when weighing. Always full or always empty, otherwise you can have a lot of variability.

 

[jchandler16]

I stay as consistent on my weighings times as possible after noon before second feeding.

 

[OH Breeder]

Have you only weighed him twice? Or did you just start weighing him.

 

[jchandler16]

I started weighing him in the beginning of January and have weighed as close to every 3 weeks as possible give or take a day. I get the scale i use from the local ffa chapter so access varies a little. I just have the three weights starting at 600 to 675 18 days later and 700 21 days later

 

[JTM]

Rising and falling temperatures and weather in general can have an effect. I would have expected less intake though.

 

[Moezmom]

What is his temperament like?  I've been told if they are high-strung they can eat like crazy and burn it all off with nerves.

 

[blackdirt cowboy]

A steer doesn't eat 30 lbs of feed a day and not gain weight. I suspect this is a case of less fill on the last day you weighed him. If he drank just 5 gallons of water less that day, there is roughly 40 pounds. That would put his gain at 65 pounds in a 21 day period. If he's still eating 30 pounds a day, you can rest assured he is still gaining weight.

 

[jchandler16]

His temperament is very good. he is the most docile steer i've ever had. my 3 year old nephew walks him without any difficulty so its not from his high temperament. Im hopping it is just a lack of water intake.

 

[vc]

As long as he is eating and his guts seemed to be fine I would not panic until the next time I weighed him and he still was not gaining. You might have just hit him emptier than the times before. If that is the case he may even show a higher ADG the next time, but the overall average may be right on track.

 

[jchandler16]

I know its cutting it kinda close but I need him to gain another 400lbs over the next 100 days. below is posted his grain composition. Is there anything i should add or change that would help him keep up his ADG? Like I said earlier he eats about 30lbs of grain a day and free choice hay






RIVAL SHOW FEEDS: BEAST
Feed for Beef Cattle
205068
MEDICATED

For increased rate of weight gain

ACTIVE DRUG INGREDIENT
Monensin* 29.8 g/ton
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Crude Protein Not less than 12.5%
Crude Fat Not less than 4.0%
Crude Fiber Not more than 11.1%
Ash Not more than 5.2%
Calcium Not less than 0.35%
Calcium Not more than 0.75%
Phosphorus Not less than 0.25%
Sodium Not less than 0.02%
Sodium Not more than 0.42%
Selenium Not less than 0.30 ppm
Selenium Not more than 0.40 ppm
Potassium Not less than 0.55%
INGREDIENTS: Cracked Corn, Cottonseed Hulls (Not More Than 19.5%), Soybean Meal, Rolled Barley, Cane Molasses, Ground Wheat, Calcium Carbonate, Tallow, Distillers dried grains, Cottonseed Meal, Wheat Middlings, Ground Extruded Whole Soybeans, Sodium Chloride, Vegetable Oil & Animal Fat Blend, Dried Cane Molasses, Potassium Sulfate, Magnesium Sulfate, Monocalcium Phosphate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Monensin Sodium, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin, Potassium Chloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Ferrous Sulfate, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Extract, Thiamine Hydrochloride, Calcium Iodate, Manganous Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Lignin sulfonate, Cobalt Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate

 

[vc]

He is currently eating over 4 percent of his body weight, push him to hard and you may end up with more issues than a bad ADG over a 3 week period of time. Try and get another weight on him as soon as you can just to see if the last one was a fluke.

 

[SlickTxMaine]

Has he been de-wormed lately?? 

 

[jchandler16]

He got lice mid january and was dewormed mid january and then 14 days later a second deworming. Both times was with Ivomec pour on

 

[CAB]

  Where are you from? What feedstuffs do you have available in your area? That seems like a lot of ingredients in your feed ration. This is just my opinion and others absolutely will not agree with this statement, but here it is anyway. If you want maximum gain I would not offer any hay, rather I would build the roughage requirements into his ration. If your calf is eating hay and filling any part of his gut with hay that leaves less room for calorie, ( energy), dense feeds. If you feel that you have to feed hay then weigh / measure what 2 lbs of hay actually is and looks like. That is plenty of scratch for a finishing ration. I would rather you use CSH, beet pulp, & whole oats to scratch. I love AAOK's ration here on steerplanet because I can easily tweak his ration as I go along and adapt it to whatever I am feeding and what to achieve and save a ton of money verses buying it in the bag from a name brand company.

 

[jchandler16]

I am from northern california. I know beet pull and whole oats are easily found near me. not sure on the CSH. Are you saying to build a dairy cow style ration with hay silage or fiber component  mixed in with the grain instead of feeding free choice hay?

 

[vc]

CAB he says the calf is eating 30 pounds a day it does not sound like intake is the problem.

 

[CAB]

  B4 I hit post I knew I would get some type of a comment and everyone can sure feed however they want and what they want, but if a person is wanting to get maximum gain you cannot fill up the tank with a high fiber low energy feed, you just will not get the maximum gain. It doesn't sound like intake is the problem. I never have had a 700lb calf be able to eat 30lbs of feed which raises some questions also. Looking at the ingredient list, it looks like a collage of what's, what of feedstuffs. Sometimes less is more. I'll let someone smarter than me get guidance. Good luck.

 

[vc]

CAB was not questioning your post, just with a 700 pound calf eating 30 pounds a day and not gaining weight something else must be going on.
jchandler16 The feed you listed is an Associated feed if I'm not mistaken, it can be a little hot, A lot of people feed it in our area, but they will cut it with Show Fill, a product that Associated makes, it goes along with what CAB suggested, it is a roughage based product. Take out 3 pounds of the feed and add 3 pounds of the fill each feeding. I believe Blaine Rodgers helped design or designed the Rival feed. You might shoot him an Email and see what he suggest. http://rodgerslivestock.com/

Here is the Show Fill feed

SHOW-FILL
205023

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Crude Protein Not less than 8.3%
Crude Fat Not less than 2.4%
Crude Fiber Not more than 13.8%
Ash Not more than 6.8%
Calcium Not less than 0.17%
Calcium Not more than 0.57%
Phosphorus Not less than 0.13%
INGREDIENTS:

Plain Dried Beet Pulp, Whole Oats, Cane Molasses, Cottonseed Hulls (Not More Than 7.0%), Propionic Acid Ammonium Hydroxide, Sorbic Acid, Benzoic Acid, Phosphoric Acid, Propylparaben, Methylparaben, Butylated Hydroxyanisole (Preservatives)

FEEDING DIRECTIONS:
Feed to beef cattle along with other feed ingredients to supply adequate nutrients that are required at this stage. Provide plenty of clean, fresh water at all times.

Storage Recommendations : Feed is perishable. Store this product in a clean, dry, and well ventilated area away from rodents and insects.

 

[jchandler16]

Yes you are correct it is an associated feed. I will talk with my dealer and see if he carries Show-fill. If I add the show fill as a forage should i continue with free choice hay or get rid of the free choice hay as cab suggested?