Year of the Rooster
Chillin' with the herd
I've been told that feeding a no-roughage diet to market steers makes them grow outward (wider) rather than upward (taller). Is this true? And what are your opinions on it?
No-roughage Diet?
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jhm47
True BYH Addict
They may finish faster, so that gives them the appearance of growing outward. That's probably where that came from. However, you'd better be very experienced in bovine nutrition if you try something like this. There are some programs out there that try the "no roughage" route, but it doesn't take much of a glitch to cause a total disaster.
WildRoseBeef
Range nerd & bovine enthusiast
This "no-roughage diet" is just another fancy name for a concentrate, all-grain or hot diet consisting of grain, silage and other constituents that make up a hot, high-concentrate diet for cattle. This diet is designed to make steers put fat on their frames rather than bone and muscle, which is what you are referring to as "growing out" (i.e., getting fat, like if a person were to indulge themselves on junk food for several months) rather than "growing up" (i.e., keeping lean, like if someone were to have a strict no-fat diet of just vegetables they would get real thin and lean). This diet is only used on feedlots or as a means to "finish" steers so that they have adequate marbling and fat content for butchering. As JHM stated, it is a type of ration that takes diligence and experience to be messing around with, not something that a newbie or a rookie should take because chances are you could make your animals not only get sick, but die.
My opinion on it is that it is the worst way to finish a steer for slaughter. Cattle are not designed to consume such high-concentrate rations such as an all-grain diet because, for one, they tend to get real sick on it if it's not introduced nor managed properly. Acidosis is a huge problem with such diets, and can result in loss of stock if they are not caught right away and treated. Cattle can also founder on such diets, just like a horse would. Finishing cattle like this means VERY intensive management, where you have to be around there checking on them at least once or twice a day, if not more, to see if any are getting sick, not eating as much as they should, etc. You can't go on a holiday for a few days when you are finishing cattle on this type of ration, not like if you were finishing them on grass.
And then you get health issues on the human side too, at least the long-term ones if you eat too much grain-fed beef. Not to mention I find such beef a bit tasteless, even though it is really tender and juicy and all that.
For me personally, I would not finish steers on a "no-roughage diet." I like doing things that are more "middle of the road", but leaning slightly to the right (grass-finishing). I would give steers as much high-nutrient grass and excellent quality hay as they like, plus feed them a bit of grain (maybe 1% of their bodyweight each of barley, not corn) once a day. It doesn't matter if it takes longer to feed them out like this, but at least the steaks will have a bit of flavour and adequate marbling to them to make them worth eating.
My opinion on it is that it is the worst way to finish a steer for slaughter. Cattle are not designed to consume such high-concentrate rations such as an all-grain diet because, for one, they tend to get real sick on it if it's not introduced nor managed properly. Acidosis is a huge problem with such diets, and can result in loss of stock if they are not caught right away and treated. Cattle can also founder on such diets, just like a horse would. Finishing cattle like this means VERY intensive management, where you have to be around there checking on them at least once or twice a day, if not more, to see if any are getting sick, not eating as much as they should, etc. You can't go on a holiday for a few days when you are finishing cattle on this type of ration, not like if you were finishing them on grass.
And then you get health issues on the human side too, at least the long-term ones if you eat too much grain-fed beef. Not to mention I find such beef a bit tasteless, even though it is really tender and juicy and all that.
For me personally, I would not finish steers on a "no-roughage diet." I like doing things that are more "middle of the road", but leaning slightly to the right (grass-finishing). I would give steers as much high-nutrient grass and excellent quality hay as they like, plus feed them a bit of grain (maybe 1% of their bodyweight each of barley, not corn) once a day. It doesn't matter if it takes longer to feed them out like this, but at least the steaks will have a bit of flavour and adequate marbling to them to make them worth eating.
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Year of the Rooster
Chillin' with the herd
Wow, that's really interesting to know. Thank you very much - both of you.
Royd Wood
New Member
Yes I agree - cant imagine loading a diet like that into my Galloways but great question and answersYear of the Rooster said:
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- #6
Year of the Rooster
Chillin' with the herd
Which brings up another question: what would be a proper diet for beef cattle?Royd Wood said:
Royd Wood
New Member
Grass and HayYear of the Rooster said:
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- #8
Year of the Rooster
Chillin' with the herd
Royd Wood said:Grass and HayYear of the Rooster said:
WildRoseBeef
Range nerd & bovine enthusiast
Obviously!Royd Wood said:Grass and HayYear of the Rooster said:
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- #10
Year of the Rooster
Chillin' with the herd
haha I guess what I'm really asking is if there needs to be anything else in there diet such as grain? Or is that not really a necessity?
I guess what I'm really asking is if there needs to be anything else in there diet such as grain? Or is that not really a necessity?
