Question: I would like Dr. Meyers feeding directions for a 900 lb medium frame angus and a 850 larger framed angus/simmental show steers. We have been feeding them 8 lbs of fitters edge and free choice grass alfalfa for 60 days with a gain of 2.25 lbs/day. Shows start in June and end the third weed of August. Would it be advisable to get to approximatly 1200 lbs for the first shows and coast them to target weight (1350?)? If so, what feeding recommendations should I follow?
Answer: Martin,
Thank you for contacting the Honor Show Chow Website!
8 lbs of feed / 875 lbs of body weight = 0.9% of body weight intake (low; normally 1.5-2.0%)
8 lbs of feed / 2.25 lb of average daily gain = 3.6 lbs of feed per pound of gain (very efficient)
1,350 lbs (target weight) - 875 lbs (current weight) = 475 lb of gain / ~ 180 days = 2.63 lb/d gain needed
Angus - I would keep him on the HSC Fitter’s Edge. I think you need to be feeding at least 15-18 lb/hd/d.
X-bred - I would continue feeding the HSC Fitter’s Edge and add 1 lb/hd/d of our High Octane Power Fuel, or feed him our HSC Finishing Touch. When adding the Power Fuel or moving over to the Finishing Touch, make any rations changes over a 10-15 day period. Again, I think you need to be closer to a 16-19 lb/hd/d feeding rate.
Once the steers are finished, maintain them using our HSC Full Control (12 lb/hd/d) the last 30-60 prior to your target show.
I would continue to feed free choice hay. I would recommend a medium quality grass hay vs. alfalfa. You don’t need any additional protein when you are finishing/fattening. Also, I think it will reduce your potential chances of bloat/loose stools.
Clean, fresh water, salt and free choice mineral is recommended in the turnout pen.
Please let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns.
THANK YOU for the opportunity to work with you and keep up the great work!
Steven E. Myers, Ph.D.
Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC
Consulting Beef Nutritionist
Question: We are having trouble with Ringworm. Is there anything we can add to the feed that will help with this?
Answer: Dewey,
Thank you for contacting the Honor Show Chow website!
Sorry for my delayed response. I have forwarded your question to some of our ambassador team to make sure I wasn’t overlooking something available for your situation. To our knowledge, there is no longer available a feed additive for treatment of ringworm in food producing animals.
You can find a great deal of information on the internet about ringworm in beef cattle. That may/may not be helpful. I would encourage you to work with your local bovine veterinarian.
Thank you and good luck!
Steven E. Myers, Ph.D.
Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC
Consulting Beef Nutritionist
Question: I have two crossbred steers that I am starting to break. One steer is a big bodied, short but stout calf and the other is more of just a calf from the herd. He is muscled but not very proportioned. Last year we fed my steers the Purina calf grower. That contained things like pellets, and oats that we mixed with ground corn. My friend feeds his calves a mixture of ground corn, oats, beet pulp mixed with liquid molasses. So my question for the experts is do you sell a feed liked that and if you don’t, then do u sell it separate?Answer: Greg,
Thank you for contacting the Honor Show Chow Website!
Purina Calf Grower - what was this exactly? Are you referring to the HSC Fitter’s Edge? We also have a product called Impact Beef Grower offered from our Beef Cattle Business Group, but it doesn’t have oats in it (or oats shouldn’t be mixed with it).
It sounds like to me you are seeking a product like our HSC Grand 4-T-Fyer. The features and benefits of that product can be found at www.HonorShowChow.com. This concentrate comes in a 50# bag. It can then be blended with corn, oats, cottonseed hulls, beet pulp, molasses, etc. on farm or at the local dealership. This option works great, especially when you have access to the needed ingredients at a reasonable price. I personally would avoid a “fine” ground corn if possible. A cracked or rolled corn would be preferred for this type of ration.
I would encourage you to speak with your local dealer. I’m certain that they will be able to help you and answer any product availability questions you might have.
Please let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns.
Thank you,
Steven E. Myers, Ph.D.
Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC
Consulting Beef Nutritionist
Question: Does the Fitters Edge and Finishing Touch come unmedicated?
Answer: Michelle, Thank you for contacting the Honor Show Chow Website! There are locations throughout the U.S. that manufacture the HSC Fitters Edge and HSC Finishing Touch without medication. You will need to speak with your local dealer regarding that option in your local market. Do you have concerns with the use of CTC? We feel this medication is beneficial when feeding market animals to improve feed efficiency and increase weight gain. The Aureomycin we use does not have a withdrawal time, and is in full compliance with the 4H/FFA meat quality assurance programs. If the medication is a problem, you can purchase our HSC Grand 4T Fyer concentrate and blend it on farm with corn, oats, barley, cottonseed hulls, molasses (or whatever). Please let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns. Thank you, Steven E. Myers, Ph.D. Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC Consulting Beef Nutritionist
Question: I am feeding Finishing Touch and am trying to feed a 900 lb steer to finish for a target weight of 1280 Lbs for the third week of August. Is there a way that I can hold him that long? Where can I get cottonseed wholes and how will I feed them? How long prior to shows should I feed beet pulp, wet or dry and in what amounts?
Answer: Nathan,
Thank you for contacting the Honor Show Chow Website!
1,280 lb to 900 lb = 380 lb/190 days = 2.0 lb/d average daily gain.
Depending on the frame size of your steer, I would recommend feeding him our HSC Fitters Edge plus free choice medium quality grass hay. This will be a lower energy product that will still get you the needed gain. Once the steer is 1,240 lb or so, I would then feed our HSC Full Control. Feed 12 to 14 lb/hd/d plus free choice medium quality grass hay. He should maintain his weight or gain less than a pound per day. Even at that feeding rate, he will stay full and fresh looking.
In your part of the country it may be very difficult to find cottonseed hulls. I have copied two Land OLakes Purina Feed team members on my reply that live in your part of the country. They may/may not have some ideas on where to purchase cottonseed hulls if they are available.
You can feed beet pulp whenever you want. It is a source of fiber. Hay is also a source of fiber! If you want to feed it, it will depend on your preference on feeding it wet or dry. The calf in question may help you with that decision also (if he will not eat it one way or the other). When feeding it dry, I would start at 0.5 to 1.0 lb/hd/d. Monitor the stool quality, fill, and feed consumption. Increase the amount fed in 0.5 increments up to 2.0 to 3.5 lb/d (or whatever you think).
I hope this helps.
Thank you,
Steven E. Myers, Ph.D.
Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC
Consulting Beef Nutritionist
Question: Feeding heifers and I am trying to keep from getting them too fat. Can the grand 4T Fyer be mixed with commodities such as soyhulls & corn gluten? I have a mixed delivered to the farm in bulk that is 1500 lbs & 500 lbs. I was wondering about using that as a base with the grand 4T Fyer.
Answer: Jeff, Thank you for contacting the Honor Show Chow website!
When you add the HSC Grand 4T Fyer to your current mix, the protein level gets quite high. The third ration will likely increase cost, but it provides you a balanced ration with a lower TDN and NEg (net energy gain). As you are aware, if they are too fleshy you need to lower their total energy intake (either through the energy in the ration or by lowering the total amount of grain fed). Not sure how many head you are feeding, but you might want to give some serious consideration to the use of our Honor Show Chow Full Control product. Depending on their size/weight, you could probably feed 8 to 12 lb/hd/d plus free choice medium quality grass hay. The important thing is to provide a balanced ration. Based on the information you provided, I think you are missing out on the potential look of the heifers if you are not feeding any minerals, vitamins, etc. To answer your question, I do not think I would add the HSC Grand 4T Fyer to your current mix.
Thank you, Steven E. Myers, Ph.D. Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC Consulting Beef Nutritionist
Question: My daughter purchased an 8 month old heifer, little high strung, having hard time finding anyone in the area who carries a complete feed product geared towards show heifers. We do have ground corn but so far she turns her nose up at anything mixed or given to her separate (just 40% w/o concentrate that we feed out bred cows) she is losing weight at the time we need her to put it on. Has been vetted with no apparent reason to be picky.
Answer: Beth, Thank you for contacting the Honor Show Chow Website! How long has she been weaned? First, we need to find someone that will supply you with the needed products. Please visit www.HonorShowChow.com again and type your zip code into the dealer locator. You should find your nearest dealer locations. Please click on Advanced Search and change the miles from 25 to 50. You will find several more options. I would encourage you to give them a call to inquire about product availability. I assume you have a fairly large amount of fine material when using your ground corn ingredient. I think that can explain a large portion of your feed refusal situation. How much hay are you feeding? I would offer free choice medium quality grass hay. Do you have any other calves in the same pen? That MIGHT help with the docility concerns and might improve her feed consumption. I would recommend feeding her our Preconditioning/Receiving Chow for 7 to 10 days. Feed 10 to 15 lb/hd/d (half in the am; half in the pm). Then transition her over to our HSC Fitters Edge as follows: 75% Preconditioning/Receiving Chow:25% HSC Fitters Edge for 3 to 5 days 50% Preconditioning/Receiving Chow:50% HSC Fitters Edge for 3 to 5 days 25% Preconditioning/Receiving Chow:75% HSC Fitters Edge for 3 to 5 days 100% HSC Fitters Edge for 3 to 5 days 15 lb of PCRC for 10 days is 150 pounds 11.25 lb of PCRC for 3 days is 33.75 pounds 7.5 lb of PCRC for 3 days is 22.50 pounds 3.75 lb of PCRC for 3 days is 11.25 pounds TOTAL: 217.5 or 5 bags of Preconditioning/Receiving Chow needed. Please make sure she has clean, fresh water. Once she is consuming feed good, we can then add some (1 lb/hd/d) of our High Octane Power Fuel to help increase her weight gain. Please let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns. GOOD LUCK! Steven E. Myers, Ph.D. Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC Consulting Beef Nutritionist
Question: We feed fitters edge this year to our show calves. I would like to know the differance between the fitters edge and the grand 4-t fryer feed.
Answer: Greg,
Thank you for contacting the Honor Show Chow Website!
HSC Fitters Edge is a complete feed. HSC Grand 4T Fyer is a CONCENTRATE to be blended with corn, oats, cottonseed hulls, beet pulp, molasses, etc. on farm or at the local dealership. When blended with the grains (depends on the inclusion obviously), it will provide similar nutrient fortification to a product like HSC Fitters Edge or HSC Finishing Touch. In certain parts of the country, the HSC Grand 4T Fyer grind n mix option can save significantly from a ration cost standpoint. In other parts of the country, those cost saving might be diluted down (freight, grains are not available locally, no grind and mix facilities, etc.).
If you are feeding several animals, I would look at the HSC Grand 4T Fyer option. If you are only feeding 2 to 3 head, I would probably recommend staying with the HSC Fitters Edge simply from a convenience standpoint.
You can find the features and benefits of both products at www.HonorShowChow.com, click on Honor Show Chow Feeds, click on HSC Beef Cattle Feed.
Please let me know if you have any additional questions.
Answer: Worming is important. We live in Oklahoma and worm every 3 months usually using cydectin. If it is a paste then we use safeguard. I know people that live along the southern coast and they worm every month. You can also contact your veterenarian for the latest workers and pour ons that become available. Thanks!
Question: We have an 800 plus pound shorthorn heifer that our granddaughter is showing. We have had some bloat problems in the past with her, but feed her a mixed feed made with 4 Tfyer, corn, cottonseed and oats plus we add some extra Diamond V which has helped the bloat. We are careful about overfeeding her (recommended by our vet to use the extra Diamond V) because of her bloat. We are feeding her about 8 lbs of feed per feeding twice per day plus free hay and she does not eat all of this. She starts out eating like she is starved but there is always some left. She needs more gut. She is a great heifer but is not showing well because she lacks the fill (gut). Should we continue using our own feed mix or go to a complete feed? Is 4Tfyer to be used all the way through? I guess we started with this as we are farmers and have our own corn to utilize. We are also feeding our shorthorn plus steer this same feed. He is doing well, but want him to continue. Thanks for any help that you can give us.
Answer: Dixie,
Thank you for contacting the Honor Show Chow Website!
What is your current mix (percent corn, oats, HSC Grand 4T Fyer, etc) for this heifer?
We have the recommended levels of Diamond V Yeast in the HSC Grand 4T Fyer. I do not know that MORE will help.
You reference cottonseed. Is that cottonseed hulls? Are you adding 7.5 to 10%? That should help with body dimension.
Your corn: is it whole shelled, cracked, flaked or what? I was wondering if you had some fine material contributing to the bloat situation.
Is the bloat issue under control at this time?
What kind of hay are you feeding? I would avoid any legumes (alfalfa or clover).
With the harvest conditions this past year, are you feeding only good quality grains (no mycotoxin, alfatoxin, etc.)? That may affect her aggressiveness to consume the feed.
You can certainly feed your heifer a 4T Fyer mix her entire show career. The inclusion of the grain ingredients may need to be adjusted along the way to keep her in the desired body condition.
If you are seeking more fill, try feeding 2/3 of the grain mix and 1/3 of our Preconditioning/Receiving Chow (tag is attached). I think you will like what that does for her.
Depending on your current mix, you may/may not need to adjust the grain ingredient inclusion for the market steer to finish.
Please stay in touch, and let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns.
Thank you,
Steven E. Myers, Ph.D.
Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC
Consulting Beef Nutritionist
