4h steer

[coastrangecathunting]

My daughter is raising a steer for 4h. I was curious if anyone out there has any helpful tips for wieght gain. The steer wieghs 700 lbs now . She is feeding payback feed. Just bought a ton of it so not changing the feed. Is there something she could ad ?

jc

[colobbcat]

Im assuming you are feeding it one of their grower rations...That said i would feed as much grass hay as it will eat and feed it a coffee can night and morning at the same time every day. Gradually increase the feed once a week or two depending on how well they are eating, and gradually decrease the hay, you will also need to feed a mineral suppliment free choice to keep their cal phos ratio in check, among other things (this is a must). you can pick one up at your local feed store they usually come in 50# bags...also you will want to suppliment the feed with a probiotic of some sort to keep the rumen healthy, and digesting all that expensive feed you are pouring to it. towards the end probably a month before fair you will want to be on full feed...as much as he will eat night and morning probably around 20-30lbs a day and feeding about a flake of hay just enough to keep the rumen happy (you dont want them filling up on hay and not eating their grain). The cooler you can keep him the better, some guys go as far as keeping them indoors with fans and misters, but some sort of shade is ideal. if its all working right they will gain upwards of 4lbs a day. JMO from raising show steers for 20+yrs...

[Dads dogboy]

JC,

Great advise from the above Post!

The only thing that I would add is if you are on well water and the Fairgrounds is on City or Chlorinated water, you may have a problem when you get to the Fair. Animals do not like the taste and smell of city water, we have handled this by adding an can of beer to the projects water bucket, starting about a month before the show.

You can also just haul plenty of your water from home, we found it easier to do the can of beer.(some research says beer may actually aid in weight gain and digestion after the project is on FULL feed)

Be sure and use the Probiotics as the results are great for the cost!

PS we are still on to head your way in a week or two!

[coastrangecathunting]

Thanks for the advise. As of now he is up to about 4 coffee cans in the AM. and 4 in the PM. There is a mineral block with him and she is giving him probiotic. How much probiotic should she be feeding him? The feed she was using was texured and the feed she just got is pellit. She is gradually changing him over. We are on the same water as the fair grounds so that wont be an issue. Do u really think she should give him some beer? He is in a pen about 20ft by 20ft with a roof over it. She lets him out once a week to run around and buck . He is already haulter broke and is like a big dog. Myself nor my wife has ever fed him , she is doing everything by herself.

jc

[Goose]

Pretty new to this site and this I my first post but in regards to the steer being like a puppy now his entire attitude might change when you get him to the fair but what I always did was mix strong concentrate of chamomile tea up and let my heifers drink it the entire time I was at the show its a natural calming aid a d just eases the tension and anxiety of being home from the normal surroundings

[duck duck goose]

Think human. When you're trying to loose weight it's diet and excercise, so do the opposite, lots of food and no excercise. Works for chickens lol