Weanling pedigree bulls

Mac Taylor

Looking for a bit advice. I have 2 April born Limousin bulls showing a nice bit of shape and have just started to creep them. Don't do a lot of creep feeding hence the reason for the question. I have looked at previous threads but they were more about the content etc rather than the amounts. Would someone outline a feeding programme for the next few months. (Would hope to have them for sale in May) I'm not planning on horsing a load of meal into them for 2 reasons. 1. It does not pay and 2. I don't want a bull that will melt when put into service. Thanks in advance. Mac

Kovu

Will you be selling them in the field or halter sale Mac? And what age would you be selling? No point overdoing them now if you'll have them for 20 months compared to 12 months.

Would make a difference to my feeding amounts if I had them!

Mac Taylor

.Kovu. wrote: »

Will you be selling them in the field or halter sale Mac? And what age would you be selling? No point overdoing them now if you'll have them for 20 months compared to 12 months.

Would make a difference to my feeding amounts if I had them!

Plan is to sell at home. Would love to halter train but can't justify the time requirement to train them. 13/14 months old.(May/June) I've sold at that age the last few years but my feeding programme has been hit and miss!!!

Base price

Catch 22 question. However I reckon you are on the right path. Feed a little often over a long period and you will get results. Best to start now rather than wait until Jan next year and trying to pump the up.
It depends on whether you are feeding silage or hay. If silage, have you got it analysed.
Personally I preferred feeding pb bulls hay and I could adjust their meal intake on a gradual plain. When I was breeding pb's I preferred to feed the commercial type bulls on rolled oats with minerals. The show bulls were treated differently. However we always started feeding in October on a gradual upward intake.

Mac Taylor

Base price wrote: »

Catch 22 question. However I reckon you are on the right path. Feed a little often over a long period and you will get results. Best to start now rather than wait until Jan next year and trying to pump the up.
It depends on whether you are feeding silage or hay. If silage, have you got it analysed.
Personally I preferred feeding pb bulls hay and I could adjust their meal intake on a gradual plain. When I was breeding pb's I preferred to feed the commercial type bulls on rolled oats with minerals. The show bulls were treated differently. However we always started feeding in October on a gradual upward intake.

Thanks BP. Have both Silage and Hay. Dont usually test the silage. Why hay over silage? How many Kg's did you start with and level of increase did you plan. Sorry for all the questions:eek:

Kovu

I wouldn't be of much use with kg's and amounts of feeding....we gave 4/5 pans a day, possibly a kg each a pan? to any animals we had to show/sell the following Spring. A lot depends on the quality of the silage to be honest. If it's good stuff a few kg a day should set them up over the winter. No point having them mud fat next year.
Threw some linseed oil over them as well too, gives a great shine to their hair.

Genghis Cant

I always felt feeding hay made them bulk up a little in the belly. So it'd be silage I'd go with.
The amount of crunch to feed would depend on a few things, quality of the feed, out wintered or not, thrive etc.
I suspect Mac that you'd know fine well yourself if the bulls are thriving. I'd be goin with my guts on it!
For what its worth I never fed silly amounts of crunch to a weanling bull.

Base price

The reason that I fed hay was that I always felt they utilised the meal better. Never problems with large guts.
Started with crunch about half a kg a day then upped to 1kg after a few weeks, then added a kg of rolled oats but split over two feeds.
Good dose and lice treatment going into the sheds also sets the up well.

Mac Taylor

Genghis Cant wrote: »

I always felt feeding hay made them bulk up a little in the belly. So it'd be silage I'd go with.
The amount of crunch to feed would depend on a few things, quality of the feed, out wintered or not, thrive etc.
I suspect Mac that you'd know fine well yourself if the bulls are thriving. I'd be goin with my guts on it!
For what its worth I never fed silly amounts of crunch to a weanling bull.

Agree with you on hay v silage. I suppose where I am coming from is I've been looking at some of the young bulls on dd and comparing my own. To be fair, I've probably not been pushing them enough and am trying to get the balance right. It's getting harder and harder to sell bulls now so I need to up the ante:D