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| my observations ONLY---
Here most feed colored feeders. About a 120 day feeding period. Steins I am told takes a 200 day feeding period to 'finish' properly.
Here we dont have so called steer stuffers,,,but people use calf creep feeders built for pasture pairs with creep gates. Holstein steer heads get bigger than the trough area to eat in. MAYBE a steer stuffer is built differently and wider troughs. IF you open the feeder enuf for them to get a good deep bite they sort and slop more than they eat. If you keep it only open as far as they dont slop the slobber freezes up and snow etc freezes crack shut and requires constant work,,,hard work to keep flowing right.
If they have to tip there head to feed they will eat enough to take hungry out of belly and not enough to gain aggresively.
My opinion only again. Best way is a TMR in a bunk either fenceline or wood on CONCRETE. (Moving bunks every day out of mudholes gets old fast)(dont ask how I know)
Back to feeding periods,,on a shorter feed period it shows up less BUT it is VERY hard to get enough calcium in a ration, period. On a longer feeding period it has a very detrimental effect altho sort of sneaky subtle. Hand feeding a pound or two of good alfalfa hay is usually enough to fix said shortage of calcium. A ring of something crappy to chew on helps their attitude and cribbing,,,,that being bean stubble,cornstalks,poor hay. IF you have good hay in the ring 1/3 of steers will eat mostly hay,,,1/3 mostly corn,and 1/3 will mix them about right
If your stuffer offer enough head room so they eat over the trough without slopping it out it well may work with either hand hay fed or alfalfa pellets in the mix. No calcium substitutes like hi cal or other powder will stay in suspension in a feeder(even with 5 gallons of syrup stirred to 100 bu to have something to stick to the shell corn kernels). Maybe would if cracked corn was fed. Even tried a grinder with no screen and run slow so limited cracked corn,,,no dice. AND the cattle will not eat any powdered form of calcium free choice.
Thats what little I know of cattle feeding,,,plus its best not done in a swamp... | |
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finishing holsteins
