How to Put Weight on Calves

Raising beef cattle can be a very lucrative operating. The price of quality beef is an excellent source of income for a landowner, not to mention a delicious alternative to store-bought meat. One of the most economical ways to raise your own beef is to buy calves cheaply at auction and raise them yourself for slaughter. For most ranchers, this means putting as much weight on the calves in the shortest time possible and with the least amount of investment, then making a profit by selling the calves for slaughter, or having them butchered for consumption. Knowing how to put weight on a calf can help improve efficiency in this process.

Things You'll Need

  • Pen
  • Creep feed
  • Shelter
  • Hay
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Instructions

    • 1

      Pen up the calves in a small enclosure. You do not want it so small that the calf cannot run around a bit, at least in circles, to keep its muscles in use, but you want it to limit the calf's activities in order to to keep it from burning more calories than absolutely necessary. Clean the pen at least once a week to make sure the calves stay healthy.

    • 2

      Provide free-choice creep feed for your calves at all times. This can be purchased at any feed store and is usually a 14 percent-protein mixture of forage products, feed additives and vitamins and minerals. You can fill up a feed tub as long as you make sure it is out of the weather. Also there are special creep feeders you can purchase. As long as you make sure your calves have access to plenty of this feed at all times, you will see a definite weight gain.

    • 3

      Hay is another essential part of the diet for calves. To properly digest the creep feed, they need enough roughage in their system to keep the gut in good health. Provide a round bale or other means of constant grazing for your calf. The hay need not be horse-quality, but remember, whatever you put into your calf as far as nutrition goes, the more you will see and taste it in the quality of its meat

    • 4

      About 60 to 90 days before slaughter, add corn to your calves' diet. Whole corn is cheap and a great way to marble the calf meat with enough fat to make it juicy, tender and even more delicious. Adding 20 lbs. of corn a day to the calves' diet will have them gaining weight quickly.

    • 5

      Worm your calf. Follow the instructions on the wormer label to make certain you worm it at the appropriate time before slaughter. When you worm the calf after you first get it and then do a follow-up wormer within a couple of weeks, you are saving yourself some money and adding condition to the calf. Parasites no longer will be eating your food.