Please help. Steer won't eat.

[Colorado2009]

I purchased a nice blue roan April steer at the Arizonal Nationals held in December. He weighed about 650 in late-January at our county weigh-in. He is under coolers and fans all day.

The feed he is on right now is Show Chow Finishing Touch. He gets about 6 pounds of this twice a day with about half a pound of soaked beet pulp. He rarely cleans it up. Most of the time he'll eat about half or 3/4 of it. I started out only giving him 3 pounds of hay in the evening but now I have started offering it to him free-choice at night, hoping to put on weight.

On July 28th, we weighed him again. He only weighed 925. I am planning to take him to state fair in mid-August. He needs to weigh a minimum of 1000.

I've talked to people about trying to get him to eat better. We've slow cooked whole corn all day and I've fed him about a pound mixed in with his feed. He cleaned most of it up at first but then he got bored. I've also tried sprinkling plain table salt over his feed but he only nibbled at it.

What else can I try?

Also, this calf has a terrible kicking problem. He'll fire at you when you're just standing by his front leg or right behind him. Today I started sacking him out like a horse, which seemed to help. He kicks his leg over the side bar of the chute so much that he ends up hurting his leg, not wanting to put any weight on it for a while. Does anybody know any other ways I can get him over this problem too?

Please help. Any help I can get would be so great. I'm just really starting to stress right now. Thanks.
Colorado2009

 

[BCCC]

Have you tried excersing him before feeding him? that might help build up an apeitte. Have you gave him any probios, if not deffinatly do that. Have you tried skipping a feeding?

If it was me I would give him probios skip his night feeding and excercise him that night and the next morning and then just try giving him 4 pounds of straight feed, if he eats it then the next feeding give him 6 pounds and so on.  Is there a reason you are feeding beet pulp? if not then cut it because its just for fill. Also when you skip a feeding dont give him axcess to hay. On the kicking I seem to remember AAOK posting something about tying a milk jug to its tail and let them out a pen and they will kick up a storm, and eventually stop. When you say middle when are you talking? middle of August is only 3-4 days away

 

[farmboy]

i agree with the probios stuff. it works 

buddy of mine took his heifer to our fair, she didnt eat for about 3 days except some very little hay. he bought a tube of probios and put it in her mouth, you couldve set a 50lb bag of feed in front of her and she would have eat it all

 

[BCCC]

you couldve set a 50lb bag of feed in front of her and she would have eat it all

What you mean your heifers dont do that?? jkjk I got one heifer that will eat of 60lbs of straw(bedding) along with her 20 lbs of feed and then she will litterly puke from being over full and look really bloated :'(

 

[Colorado2009]

I haven't tried exercising him before feeding. I'll try doing that.

As for the probios, I have given him a dose yesterday but it didn't seem to make a difference.

I also bought a bag of Ranchway Show Flake Finisher and he likes it a lot better than the Show Chow.

I took out the beet pulp. The only reason I was feeding it was so he could get as thick as he is made for.

My state fair is August 20th to the 24th when we move animals out of there. If he doesn't make weight and sell at state, I'm going to take him up to the NILE show in Montana in October. I'd make more money there than trying to show him at Denver or Arizona.

 

[CJC]

Have you tried worming him.

 

[Colorado2009]

That's another thing I keep forgetting to do. All we have is pour-on though but if I remember I'll do that today.

 

[CJC]

Pour on I use Cydectin. It's not cheap for the small bottle approx $80-100 for it (can do about ten to twelve head depending on weight). Paste I use safeguard.

 

[Rocky Hill Simmental]

Is he alone when he eats? We had one like that once and he wouldn't eat unless there was another one with him. When there was another steer with him, he'd finish all his food just so his buddy wouldn't get it.

 

[Colorado2009]

He isn't alone when he eats. I have a steer that I caught for Catch-A-Calf at Denver. They are penned together most of the time except for at night so I can feed my roan more hay without the other one pigging it down.

 

[fluffer]

I would switch his feed, try something new.  We use fitters Edge, but it really doesn't matter, just get him something new.  Has he been implanted?  Deworm him, and let us know how he is after that.

Good Luck

 

[justme]

I have a slow eatting heifer that leaves some everytime...hates any fine feed.  We've started adding some Winning Fill by Kent feeds.  WONDERFUL stuff.  At shows it really gets them eatting and gets them drinking really well.  This has really gotten my daughters heifer to eat up better.

 

[showstick09]

Does he have free choice water? Because sometimes, if they aren't drinking they aren't going to eat. Also something you can try, get a small bottle of Vitamin B-12, draw up 2-3cc, take the needle off and squirt it under his tongue. I did it with my steer last year when his appetite went bad and it worked with him. Do it only a few times before your show in August.