Is 280lb weight gain possible by August 5

[mightyarrows]

My daughter is raising her first steer this year.  He was a budget steer.  We got him at 315, and weighed him 30 days later at 370.  Our fair has a minimum weigh in of 650, by August 5.  Do you think this is doable?  What should we add to his feed if it'll help.  He gets 9lbs. of feed and hay daily.  The feed is 13%, 4% fat.

We aren't 100% sure on his breed either. Adding pics

 

[Topridge]

Yes.  You can hit that goal.  Keep him healthy, wormed and content.  I assume he will also get grass.

 

[Chuck Wagon]

He should gain 100 lbs a month.  He looks sick the way he is holding his head, might need a wormer.  I start them out with a finisher off the bat and as much feed as they can eat in 30 minutes then pull it.  They need that hunger, then can eat more hay.  As they get bigger, I give them more time, but they learn pretty quick to finish the feed or it gets taken away.  Give him brewers yeast as top dressing and add beet pulp.  This pushes his belly out so he can eat more

 

[mightyarrows]

Thanks for the tips.  We wormed him the other night.  We've been leaving his feed in there all day and he eats. He is still a bull and we need to have him cut or banded, hopefully in the next couple of weeks.  We weren't around due to shows and fair much, so we wanted to wait until we were done with that. He gets hay, but not grass. 

Someone suggested adding Calf Manna to his feed, so we were going to try that also. 

 

[Chuck Wagon]

Deworming disrupts the good bacteria the rumen needs to keep the calf healthy.  Always follow up with a probiotic or go to your co-op and add brewers yeast.  There are lots of products out there but keep in mind that hot weather kills the bacteria in a tube of probios left in a shoebox.  Keep it cool.  Make him a happy calf and the rewards will come. Clean pen, pan, clean water and ventilation.  It no secret but requires work

 

[vc]

Get on a routine, feed him at the same time each day. If you change feed, or amounts do it over a few days. I like to get the dry probiotics powder and add it to their feed once a week just for peace of  mind. I myself would not add any beet pulp to his feed at this time, you want him getting as much energy as you can right now, I would pump him to 10 pounds and add a pound of the Calf manna to his feed. try and keep up with his growth and feed, as he gains weight increase the feed, at 400 pounds he should be eating 12lbs, at 450-13.5 and so on.

The other thing, cutting or banding, the sooner the better, it may set him back a little, so the sooner you do it the sooner you can get him on track a gain, and the warmer it gets the more you have to deal with flies.

Worm him every 30 days and mix it up, I would hit him with injectable or pour-on ivermectin this next time if you did not already.

Good luck and hope your daughter enjoys her project.