Beef Cattle Nutrition Feeder and Stocker Cattle

Market Beef Lifecycle Age of animal, months Weaning Birth GrowingFinishing 06-7 Stocker and older Harvest CalvesYearlings

Preconditioning Nutrition guidelines:  Creep feed and bring feeder into feedlot  Palatable diet, not dusty  Feed long-stem hay and topdress grain for a few days  Feed in a bunk to get used to it

Preconditioning  Free-choice watering system  Loose free-choice salt  Increased mineral needs prior to shipping  Avoid silage or fermented feeds-smell will drive them off  Caution with lots of grain: acidosis, bloat, founder

Stocker Cattle Weaned calves that are forage-fed for a period of time before being sold to enter a feedlot For spring born calves bought in fall:  Winter on high-roughage diets in drylot  Winter graze on wheat/winter oats, or fescue  Winter on stocks (corn or milo) until gone, then feed silage with CP (legume/supplement) in feedlot

Other Feedstuffs High energy supplementation, but need low starch  Soy hulls  Wheat midds  Brewers grains  Fed up to 6 lbs/day to 500 lbs calves Protein supplementation  Limited by energy, so CP may not get response Balance between expected performance and cost of supplementation (Feed:Gain = 5:1)

Bar F Cattle Company Stocker cattle and preconditioning operation in north central Arkansas ~1200 head at a time ~9000 head move through in a year Calves range from lbs at start Calves from TN, AR, NC, KY, MO, GA, AL

Backgrounded Cattle

Transition Rations First time calves into feedlot-goal is to minimize disease and death loss Get them eating!  Medium quality roughage free-choice  Plus protein supplement if needed  After 2-3 days-add grain at rate of.5 lb/100 lbs

Market Cattle Requirements Generally 2-3% of BW for DM intake CP-between 9 and 14% Feedlot cattle average 12-14% TDN-65-85% Calcium % Phosphorus %  Considerably higher with byproducts Ca:P ratio of 2 (or greater):1 to avoid urinary calculi

Backgrounded Cattle Weaned calves placed in drylot or pasture with more emphasis on growing than stocker calves Fed grain + roughage Target finish is 800+ lb Move straight to finishing ration

Growing Cattle Growing calves in feedlot until switched to finishing ration More roughage than concentrate generally Phase 1 feeding-50-60% concentrate from lb  Traditionally mostly silage diet now stalks, hay Phase 2 feeding->75% concentrate over 800 lb (mostly grain diet)

Finishing Cattle Target is to increase marbling-improve quality Concentrate:roughage ratio of 85:15 or higher Faster gains on higher concentrate diet Increase in TDN by 10% may decrease intake by 10% High concentrate diets can lead to problems like acidosis, founder, and liver abcesses

Feedlots in Iowa

Feed Additives

Non-nutritive ingredients added to the diet Examples commonly used:  Medications  Flavorings  Colorings  Growth promotants  Antioxidants (preservatives)

Antibiotics Inhibits growth of some (not all) microbes  Continuous inclusion-in diet all the time Coccidiostats  Short-term inclusion-used to cure/treat a disease  Examples: Tetracyclines, Tylan, Penicillin Should antibiotics be utilized in livestock feeds?  Bacteria become resistant to antibiotics  Super bugs, antibiotic treatment becomes useless

Ionophores Commonly fed to cattle, kill certain rumen bacteria  Beef cattle (cows and feedlot)  Changes rumen bug population so can improved feed use Considered an antibiotic Examples: Rumensin, Bovatec TOXIC to horses!

Ionophores Commonly used:  Ralgo, Synovex (S,H), Compudose, Revalor Active for days after insertion into ear Increased gains  Steers 8-12% and heifers 6-10% Increased efficiency (feed to gain)  Steers 5-8% and heifers 4-7%

Hormonal Effect Additives MGA-fed to feedlot heifers, to suppress heat Acts like progesterone in female cattle P 4 is pregnancy hormone- MGA tricks body Increases gain because heifers will go off feed during estrus- riding, etc Approved for use to synchronize estrous cycle in breeding females Feed continuously and then withdraw-->estrous

Questions?