- A step-up period of increasing grain availability is a must, cattle should be acclimated to the high concentrate diets during at least 20 days;
- Utilize palatable, high-quality hay, silage or roughage source;
- Limit-feed concentrate and practice good feed bunk management;
How much to feed a steer calf?
Approximate Feeding chart Steer Weight % of body weight eaten per day approximate feed amounts 500 3% 12 lbs grain 3 lbs hay 800 3% 20 lbs grain 4 lbs hay 1100 2.5% 24 lbs grain 4 lbs hay HAIR CARE Comb your calf as much as possible. Not only will this help calm him but it will keep his hair coat and skin healthy.
Do steers eat grass or grain?
Steers also receive more profitable nutrients from the grain in a much smaller package. A steer can only consume grass until the rumen is full. Once the rumen is full, the steer cannot consume (or utilize) any more feed until the existing feed is digested.
Are beef cattle good feeder steers?
While these cattle are not bred to have high efficiency for turning feed into meat, they can make excellent feeder steers when fed the proper nutrition.
How much concentrate do you need to feed your steers?
Estimated concentrate intake was 80% and pasture intake 20%. Quality grade code: 3 = Low Select, 4 = High Select, 5 = Low Choice Figure 1. Effect of finishing on pasture (Forage) with 1% of bodyweight concentrate supplement daily or conventional finishing (Grain) on bodyweight of steers.
What Should I feed My beef steer?
Nutrition. Cattle weighing 700 pounds or more should be fed a ration containing 11 percent crude protein in a ration composed of grain (usually corn, but barley and wheat are often also used), protein sources, and roughage.
What is the best grain to feed a steer?
Corn, oats, and barley are the primary grains fed to cattle. Oats, which has a lower energy value due to its high fiber content, is considered the "safest" grain in regards to potential digestive disturbances.
What should I feed my growing steer?
Angus-based steers and feeding until finish weight. This diet assumes feeding corn silage at 40% (DM basis) of the diet along with corn, unroasted soybeans, limestone, and a commercial vitamin and mineral mix.
How much grain should I feed my steers?
The average amount of grain will be: o 770 * 1.5% = 11.55 pounds/88% Dry Matter o = 13 pounds of grain per day. The increases need to be done slowly so the calf does not get acidosis and go off grain feed. When individually feeding cattle, each animal will respond differently.
How often do you feed a steer?
Otherwise some cattle will overeat the grain and that can have very serious consequences,” he said. “Feeding them at the same time each day helps the rumen PH balance,” said Weaber, who recommends feeding twice a day, 12 hours apart.
How much corn do you feed a steer?
Assuming that 750-pound steers are fed a typical corn/ hay/supplement ration for 160 days, about 60 bushels of corn are required for each steer. Depending on grain yields, two to three steers can be finished from the pro- duction of one acre of corn.
What feed makes beef taste best?
In terms of flavor profiles, corn is the most popular grain used by beef farmers. Grain fed cattle tends to be more fatty and this is what produces marbling and that beefy flavor.
How much alfalfa should I feed my steer?
By feeding 5 pounds of alfalfa every day or 10 pounds every other day, producers can meet the nutrient requirements of the beef animal for less cost.
What do you feed a steer before slaughter?
For finishing beef cattle prior to slaughter, most are fed a mixture of ground, shelled corn or millet. These grains are inexpensive, nutritious and add fat to the meat to make it tender.
How do you feed a steer?
6:309:32How We Finish Steers on the Ranch - Grass Fed, Grain Finished - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThey'll be started on it very slowly. Only a pound a piece and slowly ramped up to a max grainMoreThey'll be started on it very slowly. Only a pound a piece and slowly ramped up to a max grain ration of about 20 pounds per day over a period of about 90.
Is cracked corn or whole corn better for cattle?
Processing Corn Even though corn can be fed whole with satisfactory results, cracking or rolling prior to feeding will increase digestibility by 5 to 10 percent. In most instances, grinding or rolling corn will not markedly improve average daily gain, but proper processing will improve feed conversion efficiency.
How long do you grain a steer?
The amount of time on feed can vary from 60-150 days. For a backyard steer, 90 days on grain should be sufficient. The grain component will help him gain faster and change the flavor of the beef to more closely match what is purchased in the grocery store.
What age do you butcher a steer?
Age at slaughter “typically” can be from 12 to 22 months of age for the high quality grade market. The reason for the range in age is that some calves are weaned and go directly to a feeding facility and are finished for slaughter.
Is it cheaper to raise your own beef?
Price-While the cost of feed can be a lot up front, the cost of natural grass fed beef is much cheaper to raise than to buy in the store.
How much hay does a steer eat per day?
Cows will voluntarily consume 2.0% of body weight or 24 pounds per day. The 24 pounds is based on 100% dry matter. Grass hays will often be 7 to 10% moisture. If we assume that the hay is 92% dry matter or 8% moisture, then the cows will consume about 26 pounds per day on an “as-fed basis”.
How much grain should I feed my 4h steer?
The first few days, feed one to two pounds of grain and all the grass hay he will clean up. Then increase the concentrate a half pound daily until the steer is receiving one pound per 100 pounds body weight (600-pound steer = 6 pounds).
What do cows eat?
Most of a cow’s life is spent eating grasses and hay. During the spring and summer, when the grass grows plentifully, beef cattle eat more pasture grasses. During the late fall and through the winter cattle are fed hay. In a perfect world, this rotation—grass in the growing season and hay through the fall and winter—would be enough.
What to do if cattle have insufficient forage?
With insufficient forage, cattle need feed. You should take action right away if you know that your herd’s grazing will be limited. You could simply reduce the number of cows in your herd, which would immediately reduce the amount of supplemental feeding the remaining cows require.
Why do cows need cubes?
Cattle Cubes. Cattle cubes help your herd maintain both their weight and condition because they are formulated to supplement fair and low-quality forage. Cattle cubes provide the protein, minerals, and vitamins a cow’s forage sometimes lacks. Cattle cubes come in several different sizes, making them easier for your cattle to eat.
Why is pelleted feed digestible?
Another reason pelleted cattle feed is more digestible is the thermal process used to manufacture it. The thermal process locks in amino acids and other nutrients, providing better nutritional benefits for your cattle.
What is textured feed?
Textured cattle feed is made from flaked corn, molasses, protein pellets, and several other energy sources. It is also fortified with macro and micronutrients, vitamins, and other natural ingredients. Because it contains molasses, textured cattle feed is often referred to as “sweet feed.” Today’s textured cattle feed, which uses less molasses than in the past, still provides an advantage; it makes the feed more palatable, which is good news for your cattle.
What are cattle cubes?
Cattle cubes come in several different sizes, making them easier for your cattle to eat. Most cattle cubes contain 20% crude protein but also can be found in higher protein percentages. TIP: To reduce competition among your herd, your best choice is to feed them with ground, free-choice cattle cubes.
Why is it important to have enough forage for cattle?
The quantity of forage available to your herd is paramount to their health and longevity. With insufficient forage, cattle need feed. You should take action right away if you know that your herd’s grazing will be limited.
When should I supplement my steer?
The second time I recommend supplementing grain is during the finishing period. I usually define finishing as about 90 days before slaughter, but the amount of time is really determined by the farmer.
Why is it important to raise beef steers?
Having correct information will help you decide what breed is best for your property and how old you want the steer to be at purchase and slaughter. It is also vital to understand the nutrition behind raising grassfed beef, so you can keep your feeder steers healthy and productive.
Why do cattle finish faster?
This is one of the reasons why grain-fed cattle finish more quickly than grassfed cattle. Since we are raising our cattle mostly on pasture grass, which is a largely unenergetic feed, supplying steers with a grain supplement will increase their energy efficiency and slightly speed up the finishing process.
How long does it take for a steer to grow?
If you’re interested in growing and finishing your steers, you can purchase calves that are just weaned or even bottle calves. These calves will take about two years to grow and finish, depending on breed and what slaughter weights you are interested in producing. These calves will also be less expensive but will require more health care maintenance and attention, especially at the beginning.
How long does it take to raise a steer?
The easiest and fastest way to raise a steer is to buy a steer that just needs finished. These are steers that can need anywhere from two to six months until ready for slaughter. These steers will be larger and therefore more expensive. Usually you have these steers for such a short period of time that no health care is necessary, however, their feed efficiency will be influenced by what they ate as a calf, and that could potentially increase the time to finishing.
Why are Texas Longhorn cattle so rangy?
Texas Longhorn cattle, or herds with Longhorn genetics in the mix, are rangy and valued for their reproductive abilities and overall hardiness in beef operations.
What are the traits of beef?
This includes traits like high rate of gain, good marbling, good feed efficiency, compact body structure, calving ease, etc.
Why is it important to take inventory of feeds?
Even through hay will make up a small portion of the ration, it is important to know the quality and the nutrients it will be contributing to the overall diet.
How long does it take to finish cattle?
This time can range from 80-300 days.
Do ranchers sell beef?
A trend that has become more prominent in recent years is for ranchers to finish a few animals and sell beef directly to the consumer. Consumers have a desire to know where their beef comes from, value the story and are seeking ranchers to purchase beef from. At the same time, ranchers have been seeking opportunities to add value to their cattle and reduce their exposure to market swings.
How to feed a calves?
Mimicking feedlot diets may not be practical when finishing calves on-farm; however, similar steps used in the commercial feeding industry should be adopted including: 1 Calves should be transitioned from a roughage diet to the final high concentrate diet over a three-week period. This is called a step-up program. 2 Feed calves at least twice per day when the final diet does not contain built in roughage or is not formulated to be self-fed or self-limiting. 3 Include 10% to 15% roughage in the final diet for increased rumen health and reduced acidosis. 4 Feed calves a balanced diet (protein, minerals, mineral ratios and vitamins). 5 Adjust feed amount as calves grow.
How much weight did a steer gain?
Steers grazing bermudagrass pastures gained 1.7 pounds per day, while steers grazing alfalfa (2.8 pounds per ), chicory (2.5 pounds per day) and cowpea (1.9 pounds per ) gained more rapidly and had greater backfat thickness at slaughter. Steers grazing pearl millet only gained 1.2 pounds per day and had the least backfat at slaughter. Among the finishing systems, fatty acid composition tended to be similar and the ratio of the polyunsaturated fats to saturated fats was similar. In this study, all treatments had shear force values that would be considered at or below the threshold for consumer accepted tenderness.
What breed of beef is best for farm raised cattle?
Calves selected for farm-raised beef vary in type. Budget, marketing niches and end product goals will determine the type of calf that works best. Small-framed dairy calves, like Jersey calves, can have exceptional meat quality; however, percent retail product and size of cuts, like ribeye steaks, will be fairly small. A Large-framed, heavy-muscled beef breed will have very good cutability (high percentage retail product) but calves of this type can take longer to reach maturity, will likely be slaughtered prematurely and freezer space may be inadequate to store all the cuts. Calves of beef breeds that are moderate-framed and early maturing with good muscling are ideal for most farm raised beef programs. Producers that desire greater lean may desire calves of traditional Continental breeds like Charolais and Limousin; whereas, producers that desire the flavor and juiciness of steaks with more marbling (intramuscular fat that determines USDA Quality Grade) may prefer calves of predominately English breeding such as Hereford, Red Angus, Black Angus or Shorthorn. Finishing calves with more than 25% Brahman influence can tend to reduce cutability and tenderness.
Why is it important to raise your own beef?
Advantages to raising your own beef include having control over calf quality and choice of how the calf is finished out. Calves can be finished on grass, grain and grass, or high concentrate diets. There are disadvantages to consider when fattening your own beef.
How much weight does a cattle gain on pasture?
An overview of 23 published studies from 1978 to 2013 showed that cattle finished on pasture gained 1 pound less per day than cattle fed high-concentrate diets in confinement (1.55 vs 2.54 pounds per day.) Forage-finished cattle were finished at a lighter weight (~950 lb pounds) than grain-finished cattle (~1,100 pounds) and dressed at a lower percentage (56% vs 60%). Forage-finished cattle had 0.2 inches of back fat vs 0.5 inches for feedlot finished and as a result are leaner when delivered for slaughter compared to grain-finished cattle. Leaner beef is generally scored by taste panelists as being less tender and less juicy compared to fatter beef. So, the health-conscientious consumer seeking forage-raised beef is usually willing to accept trade-offs of flavor, tenderness and juiciness for a leaner beef that may contain a greater proportion of heart-healthy fats. Whereas, other consumers may continue to seek the grain-finished beef characteristics, but want to support local sources of grain-fed beef.
Why is it important to keep feed troughs clean?
Feed troughs also should be kept clean to minimize leftover feed spoilage and buildup of uneaten portions due to mixing fresh feed with spoiled feed in troughs. Hay used in forage-finished beef programs should be high in quality.
Why should beef feed be stored in a dry location?
Feeds should be stored in a dry location to reduce the chances of molding. Feed storage facilities need to be kept clean to keep pests (rodents and insects) at a minimum.
