How much is too much?

[WT]

At what point (%), do you think feed is converted the most efficiently? I understand the old rule of thumb that 2.5- 3% of the animals weight is what's considered "right", but are there really folks feeding 1250# steers 37# of feed per day? How much of that is not being converted? I only ask because we have three steers in the barn right now. The heaviest steer is 1155 and he's eating 21#/day and still gaining over 2.5/day. That's 19# of my finisher, 2# rice bran, and 10oz. StandAlone.

 

[mbigelow]

Well I think you are right on the amount you need to be. 21# of grain and a flake or 10# of hay at night would be 31 # of total feed.  At 1250 and 2.5% that should = 31.5# of feed and that is exactly what you are feeding. The closer they get to the finish the harder they are to manage.

 

[WT]

Forgot about the hay and that's a great point. The big steer is getting 2# of plain old grass hay every evening. It takes a little longer and the girls hate doing it but it gets weighed out every single time lol. He's been my guinea pig this year. I really think today's feed mixes have enough roughage "built in" to sustain a healthy gut.

 

[vc]

We never really fed over 25 pounds of mixed feed a day, plus a flake of 3 way grain hay each a day. Had calves gain anywhere from 2.5 to 4.2 a day at that rate. Our Unforgivens were the  best gainers.

There is a study out there where the the steers on a control diet gained better or more efficiently on a controlled diet then the calves on free feed did. The free feed calves gained a little more a day but the conversion rate was a lot worse. If I remember right something like 19 pounds a day was where they converted the best. I do not remember if the hay was included in the calculation or not, I will see if I can find the study.

I think each calf is a little different, but they all have a point where you are wasting feed, it just passes through. Managing the feed and keeping the calves on track is the toughest part in raising one.

 

[Simmgal]

Someone once told me that if they can s*** through a screen door, you're feeding them too much! ;D  (lol)

 

[WT]

Managing the feed and keeping the calves on track is the toughest part in raising one.

That's my favorite part. Both of my little girls put in the time it takes to be competitive in the showring but the oldest really enjoys the "game" of feeding one.

Someone once told me that if they can s*** through a screen door, you're feeding them too much! ;D  (lol)

That oughta do it!!!

 

[Tallcool1]

My philosophy follows the last part of VC's post.

I get your question, but it is pretty rare that we actually WANT one to gain 3+ pounds per day.  The management part is the trick.

If we can get them to gain 2.0 to 2.5 per day, that is where we want to be.

 

[WT]

I agree. When I NEED one to get upwards of 3#/day, he hangs around 1.8 and vice-versa lol.

We have a steer that, according to the breeder, would be a late bloomer and would likely be pretty strong as a lightweight at our county fair in April. Well, here we are about 100 days out and he hit a growth spurt and weighed 1060 this morning. I'm not complaining at all because he'll still be a good middle-weight but he's butterball fat and looks great right now. But I need him to look like this in three months! I see lots of hay and beet pulp in his future.