The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

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Discussion

October 27, 2007

Added weight in calves may not be worth cost

By Mike Surbrugg

msurbrugg@joplinglobe.com

BUFFALO, Mo. — Gains beef calves get from creep feeding may not be economical for the producer, according to Gary Naylor, University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist, Buffalo.

Creep feeding is providing concentrates to suckling calves to supplement mother’s milk.

“Many factors need to be considered when deciding whether or not to creep feed,” Naylor said.

At the top of list is the quality and quantity of forage.

When calves have access to quality forage the economic advantage of creep feeding is diminished, he said.

“An abundance of high quality forage like we are experiencing this fall should facilitate better calf gains than normal without creep,” he said.

Then comes the cost of extra gain. Naylor said grains and byproduct feeds are relatively high priced this fall. It can take as many as seven to nine pounds of creep feed to get an additional pound of gain per day, he said.

However, corn gluten feed, distillers’ grains and soy hulls are relatively inexpensive this fall compared with corn and should work well in creep-feed rations, he said.

“Recent research has proven that these products were found to be very palatable and gave favorable results when compared to corn/oat-grain mixtures,” Naylor said.

Then comes marketing strategy.

“If you plan to sell calves born in the spring at weaning, heavier, fleshier calves will be price discounted when compared to lighter, leaner calves,” Naylor said.

Creep feeding would not likely be economical when calves are backgrounded on a growing ration after weaning or pastured on stockpiled forage through the winter.

But if calves are put on a high-concentrate finishing ration immediately following weaning, research indicates that creep feeding may be beneficial, Naylor said.

Replacement heifer calves should not be creep fed, he said. Any additional weight gained while nursing their mothers will be lost in the growing phase. Also, research at the University of Illinois showed that creep feeding has shown to reduce future milk production in heifers, he said.

Another recent study has looked at benefits of limiting intake of creep feed.

He cited an Oklahoma State University study where those calves that received limited creep (one pound per head per day of cottonseed meal) were much more efficient in additional weight gain.

In that study, free-choice, creep-fed calves took eight pounds of feed to gain a pound of added gain while the limit-fed calves needed only three pounds of feed to get that gain.

The specialist suggested that hand feeding as the most accurate way to deliver a given amount of creep feed. Portable panels with creep gates and feed bunks work well with this system, he said.

Some producers provide salt to limit creep-feed intake.

When salt is used, start calves on none to 2 percent salt until the intake reaches two to three pounds per day and then up the amount of salt to 5 percent until intake again reaches two to three pounds. Finally increase salt to 10 percent, Naylor said.

Creep feeding, along with management practices like vaccinating, deworming, and dehorning will reduce stress at weaning, Naylor said.

More details about creep feeding may be obtained from guide sheet 2060, “Creep Feeding Beef Calves.” It is available at University of Missouri Extension county centers.

Naylor: (417) 345-7551.

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