Pure Bred Calves

Dragous

hi all

Here's the predicament... How much do you feed pure bred calves, if you feed them too much the won't grow (end up small fat and stumpy), or will they. this is in an atempt to get them up to show standards.
what age should you start feeding?

whelan1

what breed you got we have angus and start them on creep around 1 week old and raise it up then

reilig

Yes, I agree with the Whelan. Start them as early as you can on creep. Also use a creep gate to let them go ahead of the cows to get fresh grass. The more you can gety into them the better. Never heard of them ending up fat and stumpy because of over feeding.

adne

If shape and height is in their genetics overfeeding wont stunt it...... If their short and stumpy its cause their ma or da was short and stumpy :D

snowman707

Start feeding as early as calves will eat, start on a calf/pedigree ration.

It depends on what stage you want to sell/show the stock, on how hard you to push them.


If feeding high levels calves need a roughage (hay or straw, straw is preferable by a lot of breeders) more so than grass.

If you really want to push them feed Show BIZ Turbo or similar for about 10 weeks before sale or show

Remember roughage is as important as the creep, feeding high levels of expensive meal & it not been digested, well you are only p*****g into the wind.

We keep a couple of Ped. Lim. but sell from the yard now as we find more farmers want an animal that are not force fed. Less problems with feet etc., &
the bull won't 'melt' when working.

Our own stock bull is a home bred animal & now preparing for his eleventh (hopefully) working season. He is almost 13 years old.

Bitten & Hisses

snowman707 wrote: »

We keep a couple of Ped. Lim. but sell from the yard now as we find more farmers want an animal that are not force fed.

Hi Snowman, I also keep some pedigree Limousins. How do you get on with selling them from the yard? Do you advertise, or is it by word of mouth? I have quite a bit of difficulty selling pedigree stock from home. I find that if you advertise, you get fellas ringing up looking for prices over the phone but who have no intention of ever calling to you (I'd never quote to someone I hadn't dealt with before) or else you get the guy coming into the yard who won't spend over €1000. I have two nice bulls coming up for sale shortly, one of which has a docility score of 120 and I just want to get a fair price for them.

whelan1

we advertise in the farmers journal and you normally get tyre kickers but you'd know the genuine people a mile off ... alot of people who bought bulls before come back again

snowman707

Bitten & Hisses wrote: »

Hi Snowman, I also keep some pedigree Limousins. How do you get on with selling them from the yard? Do you advertise, or is it by word of mouth? I have quite a bit of difficulty selling pedigree stock from home. I find that if you advertise, you get fellas ringing up looking for prices over the phone but who have no intention of ever calling to you (I'd never quote to someone I hadn't dealt with before) or else you get the guy coming into the yard who won't spend over €1000. I have two nice bulls coming up for sale shortly, one of which has a docility score of 120 and I just want to get a fair price for them.

at this stage mostly word of mouth, got a good few repeat customers.

we also sell a number of BR.fr XLm & montbeliarde XLm. bulling heifers. Demand for these outstrips our supply about 3 to 1. especially the MOX

All our stock are extremely docile & fully engaged.

wiggy123

i do keep purebred angus cattle!
i do feed the flake maize+beef nuts!
as the flake maize is cheap per bag--gettin it in the north!

hav since heard that flake maize-fattens angus/hereford cattle..and is not a gd idea...any ideas?
i do see a shine in my stock with feeding it

i do find barley-runs through them! beef nuts alone are to dear!

What would u recommend as a feed--say to young calves! or to bulls--aiming for breeding purposes,etc?