Kent Beef

Summary of Cattle Performance Data

(4 experiments)
Comparing Terramycin (10-14 days) with Aureo S700 (10-14 days)

 

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Kent Starting Programs are outlined in the Kent PNP Precision Plus^® Cattle Feeding Guide featuring the following products:
    Rebound^® Supplement - Supplement Program
    Rebound^®  Energy - Semi-Complete Program
    Rebound^®  Complete - Complete Program

Other Starting Programs
Growing and finishing rations as outlined in the Kent PNP Precision Plus^® Cattle Feeding Guide can be slightly modified as follows and used as starting rations:

1. Select one of the rations that does not include over 1 lb of grain per hundred lb of body weight.
2. Replace part or all (depending on amount required) of the protein supplement with Rebound Supplement.

 
Notice: IMPORTANT
The most common and most serious mistake made when starting cattle is improper management of grain consumption. Under no circumstances should cattle be fed more than 1 lb of grain per 100 lb live weight the first day in the feedlot.
Every group of cattle is different due to background, previous nutrition, disease, etc., and they need to be treated as such.
Some cattle will readily consume grain upon entering the feedlot and some cattle (green cattle) have to learn what grain is and may take ten days to two weeks before consuming an appreciable amount. It is plain to see that a mixture of the two types of cattle could result in serious problems.

For example: A  group of 500 lb steers.
     30 green steers, no previous grain feeding
     10 previously grain fed
     40 head x 5 lb of grain per head = 200 lb of grain
This could be fed on day one if each was to consume its own share.
But, what is likely, is that ten of the steers will consume the whole 200 lb (20 lb per head).
Over-consumption of grain will result in a severe digestive disturbance. This condition is commonly referred to as acidosis, enterotoxemia, lactic acidosis, founder, or overeating disease. The common symptoms are mild to severe bloating, physical discomfort, reduced appetite, and sometimes rapid death if conditions are right.

Sequenceof events:

1. Sudden increase in grain consumption causing an abnormal rumen fermentation the animal is not physiologically equipped to handle.
2. This fermentation results in an increase in acidity of the rumen contents and rapid gas production.
3. An increased level of lactic acid is produced and is absorbed into the bloodstream. The acid is believed to be responsible for muscle stiffness and development of “sled runner” hooves that occur later.
4. The increased acidity of the rumen (low pH) is also ideal for the growth of a particular group of organisms called the Clostridium (CL) perfringens (type D). If these organisms are present in the digestive tract under extremely acid conditions, they will grow and produce toxins.
5. The toxins produced by Clostridium perfringens may cause death in a few hours.
6. The short course of enterotoxemia precludes treatment. However, the surviving animals should be switched to a higher roughage diet and, if possible, moved to a new lot.
7. If the toxin-producing CL perfringens are not present, the cattle will merely go off feed for a few days and may show signs of mild to severe bloating. Long “sled runner” hooves may or may not develop after overfeeding.

All of these events may be avoided by careful observation of the cattle and careful management of grain intake. This is not only important at starting but at any time the grain portion of the ration is being substantially increased.

Another situation where overeating is likely to occur is when cattle are started on limited grain and free-choice roughage, then switched to a self-feeder (high concentrate ration). Commonly, the feeder will increase the grain feeding until the cattle leave some grain in the bunk. If not accurately measured or weighed feeder may mistakenly assume the cattle are on full-feed and switch cattle to a self-feeder. When actually, the cattle were filling up on roughage and not consuming much grain. This system will only work if the cattle are brought up to full-feed grain and limited roughage (less than 3.0 lb air dry roughage per head per day).

An ounce of good prevention management is better than a pound of cure, particularly when there is no cure available.

Growing (backgrounding)
Growing (also called backgrounding) is probably the least understood phase of cattle feeding. The object is to feed calves to gain weight at an economical rate, but keep fat deposition at a low level so the cattle may still make economical gain through the finishing period.

Ordinarily, feeding calves to gain at about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds per day until they weigh between 600 to 800 pounds (depending on sex and quality) is a desirable growing program. This rate of gain can be obtained by feeding a full feed of roughage plus about one pound of grain per hundred pounds of body weight.

Due to the relatively high cost of calves, the period of growth from purchase weight until cattle are ready to be finished must be efficient enough to reduce overall costs per unit of weight significantly.