TOO MUCH PROTEIN by Mike Mehren Ph.D.

It’s that time of year again. The biggest obstacle that needs to be overcome is when to begin feeding grain. Let’s say we buy a steer May 1st, at that time he weighs 900 lb. Our fair begins August 1st. We have 90 days to put on enough weight to be 1200 lb by fair time. This means the steer must gain 3.3 lb/day. (finish weight minus start wt = 300 lb. ((300 lb divided by # of days 90)) = 3.3 lb/day gain). That can be accomplished, but grain must be fed daily.

To estimate how much feed your steer will eat; a rule of thumb is 3% of its bodyweight. So, a 900 lb steer will eat 27 lb of feed. A good point to begin grain feeding is to feed about 30% grain and 70% hay. That means 8 lb of grain and 19 lb of hay.
We need to increase the amount of grain to give the animal a chance to gain rapidly. The following is an easy schedule to use for a 900 lb steer.

Day	lb of grain	lb of hay*
1 – 7	8	19
8-10	10	17
11-13	12	15
14-16	14	16
17-19	16	14
20-22	18	12
23-25	20	10

*Continue to increase grain but never let the cattle go without hay!! This table is for a 900 lb steer or heifer; a 600 lb steer would start at 6 lb grain daily.

The pounds of hay daily will change from animal to animal. The chart shows an estimate. You should feed enough hay that there is always some available to your steer. Feed a moderate quality alfalfa, grass , grassy/alfalfa, or grain hay. Don’t
feed real fine stemmed alfalfa because it can lead to bloat.

A feed additive known as Rumensin may be added to a grain mix. Almost all cattle fed to finish in feedlots use this product. In a finishing diet it helps control intake, so that the cattle eat many small meals daily rather than a couple of large meals. It reduces the pounds of feed needed to achieve each pound of gain. For instance, with Rumensin cattle should eat about 6 to 6.5 lb for each pound of gain. Without Rumensin it may take
7 to 7.5 lb of feed for each pound of gain. It also prevents coccidiosis. It has a side effect that is almost as important as feed efficiency; it reduces the incidence of bloat.

I don’t recommend buying all of your concentrate (or grain mix) at the same time. It will take a ton or more of grain to finish an animal over a 3 to 4 month time period. Grain should be fresh. It can spoil and cause your animal to go off feed... especially when it’s just about fair time. Maybe you could go together with a group and purchase a ton at a time, so that is eaten within a couple of weeks.

Feeding time and amount are very important. I recommend feeding ½ the grain in the morning and the other ½ in the evening. A three pound coffee can weighs almost 3 pounds when filled level with grain. This may vary a little depending on the amount of grain and the kind of grain. Steam-flaked grain takes up more room than ground grain, so a mix that had a lot of steam-flaked grain would fill the can with fewer pounds than on with ground grain. Be consistent! This is especially important when you are feeding 20 lb of grain or more. Keep feed in front of the cattle at all times. This means that there should be fresh hay in the feed bunk or whatever you use for hay each and every day during the time you are feeding cattle. Hungry cattle eat too fast and can get sick. If you decide to change the kind of grain or hay you are feeding, do it gradually. For instance, if you are feeding 10 lb of grain and you decide to use another kind or brand of steer finisher, on the first day feed 7 lb of the ‘old’ grain and 3 lb of the ‘new’ grain. Do this for 3 days. Then feed 5 lb old grain and 5 lb new grain for 3 days. Next feed 3 lb old grain and 7 lb new grain for 3 days, and finally feed all 10 lb of the new grain. This should also be done for hay. If you change to a different cutting of hay, or a new kind of hay, feed 25% ‘new’ hay and 75% old hay. Using our 10 lb example: Feed 3 lb new hay and 7 lb old hay for 2 days, then 5 lb new hay and 5 lb old hay for 2 days, and finally feed all new hay. It is not necessary to use three different grains. Some stores cell a Starter, Grower, and Finisher concentrate. This can be simplified to finisher fed at the levels recommended above.

The three most common diseases that occur when feeding fair cattle are acidosis, bloat, and founder. Acidosis is an acute stomach ache. As the name implies there has been an accumulation of acid which is damaging the tissues of the gut. Cattle with acidosis may go off feed and kick at their stomach. Their manure will look different than normal. Bloat is a disease that involves trapping the gas that is produced in the gut during digestion. The left side of the steer becomes swollen and painful. Founder is a disease that causes the claws (toes) of the hoof to become quite long. The feet are very sore. All three are related to feeding grain. I recommend contacting your veterinarian if your animal shows any sign of these diseases. Immediate treatment can correct the problem before the animal becomes sick enough to miss the fair.

Cattle are naturally grazing animals. Their digestive system has evolved to digest grasses and other plants. We feed them grain to grow and fatten them more rapidly than when eating grass. Since this high rate of gain is unusual, the gut has to adapt to the change in feed. The kinds of microbes in the paunch change to species that digest starch. Ninety percent of the time these diseases are caused by some kind of change in feed or feeding management:

1. too much grain too fast
2. ran out of feed for a period of time
3 fed late or skipped a feeding
4. water trough leaked or bucket dumped and no water available
5. feed becomes stale or moldy

Water is just as important to cattle as feed. If you want the cattle to gain and finish you need to be certain that they have clean water every day. Some cattle will drink 20 gallons of water daily during hot summer months. That is just for 1 animal. A good way to clean a water bucket or trough is to drain it completely and then scrub it with a mixture of bleach and water. You might mix 1/4th cup of bleach with 1 gallon of water. After you wash with bleach, rinse out that mixture, and replace with clean water. Mark the bleach container so that all will know that it is a chemical mix now and not fit for drinking. A skull and crossbones can be used for this purpose. You might just write POISON on the container. Keep the bleach in a place that children or animals can’t reach it.

Typical finish grain has added minerals and vitamins. The label will provide instructions for feeding and recommends that hay must be fed in addition to the grain. Feeding plain white salt is the only feed necessary to make a complete ration.

Michael J. Mehren, Ph.D. is a livestock nutritionist living in Hermiston OR. His first- and last fair animal jumped out of the sale ring and left to visit people in other parts of the fair. He can be contacted by Email at mehrens@eotnet.net.