Show Steer Eating Issues

[LSD1402]

Ok we are about to pull out hair out trying to get this calf to eat consistently.  We have tried everything from Liquafat, Glu-coat, and now we are cooking his corn nightly and adding molasses to his ration.  He will nearly clean up his feed in the night feeding the first day he has a new version of the ration offered to him.  Then every feeding after that he slowly backs off. He will consistently eat about 16-17 pounds however we have roughly 97 days until the show and need about 250 more pounds on the big guy!  We want him eating between 25-30 pounds to be able  to get finished.  Do y'all have any advice out there, tricks or anything else we could try to get this calf to turn on his appetite. Oh and we are using a Vita-charge liquid and paste to increase his appetite.

 

[obie105]

From my experience the more you change feed or mess with it the more they will go off feed. Go back to the basics. Is he getting any roughage to scratch his gut?

 

[LSD1402]

Yes he is getting roughage.  We feed 2# of alfalfa and he can graze as well in the evenings.

 

[vc]

I would take away the alfalfa and give him a grass hay, you may want to also keep him in a dry lot, he could be filling up on the hay and pasture. Back to basics on the grain, feed grass hay and think about adding some Stabilized Rice Bran to put some finish on him.

What is his ADG?

If he is gaining close to 3 pounds a day, you are right on schedule as far as gaining 250, should hit that easy.

 

[LSD1402]

he is only gaining about 1.8-1.9.  In a 14 day span he gained 5 pounds.  The trap he is in there is not much grazing it is more for free exercising for him in the evenings since he is tied up all day under fans and a port-a-cool.  We feed other cattle straight ground shelled corn and they gain like crazy but if we do this to a haired steer he will shuck his hair in no time flat.  Playing with these haired cattle is an entirely different ball game when trying to grow and and get them to eat.  We know he loves cotton seeds but the gossypol is hard on the gut so trying to counter what he likes and keeping his gut right is tricky. 

 

[vc]

What exactly is the mix or ration you are feeding him? His conversion rate is not that good, he is around 9.4 to 1.

Try holding him back on the grain for a day or 2, start him on grass hay and then start working him back to full feed. He should be eating between 24 to 27 pounds of grain and gaining from 2.7 to 4 pounds a day. I am assuming he is between 1050 and 1150 at this time

If you do not mind me asking, what is he?

 

[Tallcool1]

Well, this is some free advice so take it for what it is worth.

1.  Put him in a SMALL turn out pen at night.  Give him enough room to stretch out and no more.  If you are having trouble putting weight on him, you darn sure don't want him exercising any of it off.

2.  I agree with vc, no more alfalfa.  Grass hay only. 

3.  If you have access to ground ear corn, put him on it.  He will eat it.

4.  Get some Kelp Meal, and give him 2 oz per day top dressed AT NIGHT for 20 days, and then take him down to 1.5 oz per day top dressed AT NIGHT.  Feed the entire days of Kelp Meal in one feeding.  This will lower his internal body temperature to counter act the heat that you are going to add with the heated up ration.  It will keep him from shucking his hair.

5.  If you are feeding him by himself, stop.  Get something else in the pen with him to force him to belly up to the bunk.

6.  Put a feed pan in front of him in the cooler at noon if possible.  Do whatever you can to get that steer's consumption rate up. 

7.  PM me a picture of the steer, and depending on how sound he is and how feminine fronted he is, I may have a couple other ideas for you.

8.  DO NOT PANIC!  You are absolutely on top of this.  Like vc said, you are right on track......because you are recognizing the problem now instead of a month from now.  GOOD JOB!!!

I can't help but ask...what is he?  Don't tell me...Eye Candy?

 

[LSD1402]

Thanks for your input. Your right vc his conversion is terrible right now. As a calf in the spring he was converting 1 to 4. It was also cooler. He is massively hairy right now and I think that is most of the problem. He is a heatwave out of a monopoly daughter. Our ration consists of ground corn, cottonseed hulls, oats, canola meal pellets, and a mineral package. There's no problem with the ration. All the other cattle in the barn are doing extremely well. We were playing with other ingredients on hand to see if he liked something better, but no change. Like I said earlier, I think heat is the issue. My plan is to back his feed off and top dress with rice bran to keep the energy level up and increase his hay consumption. Hopefully then I can slowly increase his feed again. I was thinking of using thermal care from adm but may try the kelp meal.

Tallcool, feeding him with others doesn't help. I wish I had some ground ear corn, the worlds most perfect feed. We only tried the alfalfa as we were wanting to boost the protein levels in hopes of jump starting his appetite. Where can I get the kelp meal? I know what you are thinking with your other ideas, but I'm afraid soundness may be an issue. His adg has gone up some the last couple of weeks but is nowhere near where it needs to be. But maybe we are on the right track. Thanks for all your help.

 

[rtmcc]

Just a few questions.
What's his manure look like with what he eats now?
Have you checked his temperature?
When is the last time he was wormed?
Have you done a stool sample for coccidiosis?

A healthy rumen is a happy rumen!!

 

[knabe]

alfalfa can make ruminants froth and bloat, especially when changing feed.

seen 1000 bulls bloat and die from it.

 

[Tallcool1]

Thanks for your input. Your right vc his conversion is terrible right now. As a calf in the spring he was converting 1 to 4. It was also cooler. He is massively hairy right now and I think that is most of the problem. He is a heatwave out of a monopoly daughter. Our ration consists of ground corn, cottonseed hulls, oats, canola meal pellets, and a mineral package. There's no problem with the ration. All the other cattle in the barn are doing extremely well. We were playing with other ingredients on hand to see if he liked something better, but no change. Like I said earlier, I think heat is the issue. My plan is to back his feed off and top dress with rice bran to keep the energy level up and increase his hay consumption. Hopefully then I can slowly increase his feed again. I was thinking of using thermal care from adm but may try the kelp meal.

Tallcool, feeding him with others doesn't help. I wish I had some ground ear corn, the worlds most perfect feed. We only tried the alfalfa as we were wanting to boost the protein levels in hopes of jump starting his appetite. Where can I get the kelp meal? I know what you are thinking with your other ideas, but I'm afraid soundness may be an issue. His adg has gone up some the last couple of weeks but is nowhere near where it needs to be. But maybe we are on the right track. Thanks for all your help.

I was probably wrong to not ask where you are from. I suppose he could just be THAT haired up and hot? 

Your feed mill can order Kelp Meal. It's cheap. I think maybe $50 for #50. It is the "secret ingredient" in Tasco, Fire Extinguisher, Thermal Care, Shag, etc..

I know this can be the most frustrating thing to deal with, and I know it can get irritating with all of the ideas.

Last year we had one of our 3 steers do this. We finally started just feeding him in the cooler and he actually started eating again and his consumption went way up. I confess that overheating really didn't occur to me, but that may have been his problem as well. He was really hairy too. We fed him in the cooler so we knew EXACTLY what he was eating. 

The idea rtmcc had might just have some merit too. He may have a "bug"!

If I had known last year that our steer was actually overheating, I would have rough clipped some hair off him. I know what people say...he will shuck!  I would do it anyway.  Clip the top of his neck and some of his back.  And turn the cooler down...which I'm sure you're doing already.  The Kelp Meal really helps them deal with heat stress, and it is scientifically proven by the University of Nebraska in a commercial feedlot environment. Don't be afraid he will melt at night, he won't.

DON'T GIVE UP!!!!, and get the kids involved with this. This is the lesson.  This is what makes these kids turn into great business owners and Doctors and Parents or whatever they choose to be.

 

[LSD1402]

Thanks, tallcool. I really do appreciate your input. We live in central Texas, so it is hot and humid. This morning it 75 degrees and 90% humidity and the steer is puffing like its 100 degrees outside. We have fed many slick steers, but this is our first haired calf and I'm now convinced heat is the issue. Based on his hair coat, he has no business being in Texas. He was designed for a North Dakota climate. Definitely going to try the kelp.  Based on manure and outward appearance his rumen is fine.  I'm just tired of beating my head against this wall.

 

[CAB]

When is the show that you are targeting. Can you shear off his hair and it be fine for the show date?
Those club calf genetics sometimes are not pro growth. With his breeding, he is kind of an inbred multi crossed up deal. Possibly hindering his growth.

 

[barngoddess]

Had the same problem with a steer last year during the heat and my new calf started off a little rocky but is now a great eater. My first suggestion, take it or leave it, is get some VitaCharge from Biozyme. I use the top dress powder. However, I wouldn't use that until he starts to eat his feed a little better. Get some tubes of their paste and give to him. It kickstarts their appetite and once you get him on the powder you can feed it all year if needed. It has worked WONDERS on everything we've used it on. I've found that it even sometimes turns the pickiest of eaters into the biggest hogs in the barn and sometimes can pull it out of their feed if they're doing well.

I agree though to get him back to the basics and start him out small. Give him a little but of food at a time, and if he eats it keep adding more. Some people will argue to not let an animal pick for more than 20 mins but at this point let it in there all day if needed. He just needs to eat! Sorry I'm not good with all the fancy numbers and conversions but I know how and what cattle usually respond too...feeding is very individualized

At this point just do your best to keep him cool...fans, rinsing, neck coolers, whatever the case may be. Good luck!!