show day feed questions?/Can you over feed Depth Charge?

[PCJR21]

I recently started attending some jackpots to try learn a little about show day feeding from the pros to better help my 4-h group. We have been very successful in getting cattle fed right In terms of finish. but Im definitely behind the curve when it comes to feeding steers in the time between show weighin and the show ring. (Currently it’s 2-3 days)

(FYI we are a slick steer show) half of our steers are getting beat at the scale IMO.
Our 1300lbs steer will have similar muscle and similar body but the pros are coming across at 1200lbs. We “don’t” have a Re weigh, so I know they are holding those cattle back. When we hold cattle back we do more harm than good and can’t get the body back in them and something’s can’t get them back on feed.

I have been trying different things to get more fill and body back into the cattle. Different hay, depth charge, probiotics. But I’m still missing something.

Recently watched some pros that were stalled next to us at a jackpot feeding a very large amount of depth charge. My guess was 6-8 lbs in one feeding. It was a heifer 1200lbs would be my guess.

Another time a guy I know had a 500lb calf looking perfectly full and said it was honestly just depth charge. I had seen the calf before and this calf did not have this kind of volume.

So,

Can you over feed depth charge?

Can you bump up the amount the night before the show or on show day with out bloating the calf?

Any other ideas???

Thanks

 

[Tallcool1]

I understand the general question and idea of what you are getting at.  I do however have some questions.

Why are people coming across the scale at 1,200 pounds for a fat steer show?  I don't understand that.  I know that they want to shrink in order to get in a lighter class but that weight seems to low to even get a steer in the running for consideration in the grand drive.  I can see shrinking a 1,450 pound steer back to 1,350 to get him in the running, but don't understand shrinking an "ideal market weight" steer back into the 12's?

As far as feeding all of that depth charge, my guess is that it is being fed because the heifer likes it and will eat all of it they put in front of her.  Precon will do the same thing in terms of immediate result, as will small amounts of alfalfa or Winning Fill.  NO, you can't overfeed Depth Charge.  You won't kill one with it.

If you are seeing DRAMATIC depth and fill differences in like a day's time...my guess is that they are pumping them with water.  That is about as immediate as it gets!

Short story for you:  several years we took a really good fat steer to our State Fair.  The steer was weighing a natural 1,425, and we were considering pulling him back to 1,360 and seeing if we could maybe get lucky!  We were struggling to figure out what to do, so I decided to call the guy that had raised the steer (Sullivan Farms in Iowa).  Joe Sullivan gave me some of the best advice I have ever gotten when it comes to this type of thing.  He said the #1 priority is to have the steer looking his best when he walks in the show ring.  Unless we absolutely positively KNOW (because we had done it with this steer in the past) that we can get the steer filled back up, don't do it.  You will end up at the weight you want with a steer that looks horrible.  We showed him at the weight he belonged at, and he was Reserve Champion in his division.  So......by not stressing the steer, we did a lot better than we were even hoping for!

 

[PCJR21]

That’s great advice and sounds similar to my experience also.
Thanks

 

[SlickTxMaine]

There's a local family that brings mediocre animals to our local and county show.  Usually show up with very dirty and not very well behaved animals.  This past year they had a young heifer that looked "ok" in the stall.  Had a nice front end, but not much body.  The heifer ended up winning our local show, she had so much depth and body when she went in the ring - looked really nice.  The next morning we show up to feed, clean, etc - we are stalled next to them, and I ask my son, "Where's the heifer that won the show"?  The animal was unrecognizable!  Not sure what they fed or did to that calf, but it was unbelievable. 

 

[Jacob B]

Pumping them only seems to give em that lower belly expansion, they still look hollow up high and don't have the top look as with the ones that get really good feed n hay in front of em. Ultra full looks way better than water to me