Feeding show cattle is a long project.

Really long.

If pigs teach you how to make adjustments, cattle teach you how to wait for those adjustments to show up.

That's because a calf isn't going to become the finished product overnight.

He's growing.

He's maturing.

His skeleton is developing.

His muscle is developing.

His body composition is changing.

And all of those things are happening on their own timeline.

Your job isn't to force him to skip ahead.

Your job is to support the calf through each stage of that growth curve.

Know Where You Are Before You Decide Where to Go:

Before I start worrying about exactly what I'm putting in the feed bucket, I want to know two things:

What kind of calf am I feeding?

And:

Where is he in his maturity?

Those two things tell me an awful lot about the feeding program ahead of me.

Cattle are different from other species in this respect.

A pig can change relatively quickly, and I may find myself manipulating his ration several times as his body changes.

Once I get a calf into a program that suits him, I usually don't want to constantly reinvent it.

I'll make adjustments.

But most of the time we're staying in the same general lane and letting time and maturity do their jobs.

You Can't Feed a Calf Into a Different Maturity Pattern:

There's another part of knowing what kind of calf you bought that matters tremendously with cattle:

How early or late maturing is he?

Some calves are simply going to come together earlier.

They'll begin showing muscle shape, body, condition, and that more mature look sooner in the feeding period.

Others are later maturing.

They stay greener longer.

They may keep growing and developing frame while you're standing there wondering when they're finally going to start looking like a show steer.

And here's where you can get yourself into trouble:

You cannot feed a later-maturing calf onto an earlier-maturing growth curve.

You can support his growth.

You can make sure he has the nutrition he needs.

You can manage him well.

But dumping more feed into him because you're impatient isn't going to magically move his biological clock forward.

In fact, trying to force that calf to look mature before he's ready can create a whole new set of problems.

This is why knowing what kind of calf you bought matters so much.

If you bought a later-maturing calf, you bought yourself a later-maturing feeding project.

Plan accordingly.

Give yourself enough time.

Feed him through the stage he's actually in instead of trying to feed him into the stage you wish he were in.

That's also something to think about before you ever buy the calf. The maturity pattern of the animal needs to make sense for the amount of time you have before your target show.

Feed can support the growth curve. It can't rewrite it.

The Green Stage: Build the Foundation

Let's start with the green calf.

He's flat.

He's immature.

He doesn't have the muscle shape, body, condition, or finished look you're eventually trying to produce.

And that's okay.

He's not supposed to be finished yet.

This is probably the longest stage of the entire feeding project.

Early on, you're going to see a tremendous amount of skeletal growth and frame development.

Sometimes it can feel like you're pouring groceries into a calf only to watch him get taller.

Keep going.

During this stage, I want a nutrient-dense ration that provides enough protein, energy, fiber, vitamins, and minerals to support the amount of growth I'm asking from him.

This is not the stage where I want to get cute and start making tiny finishing adjustments.

I'm building the foundation.

And building takes groceries.

Push the Program—Don't Overfeed the Calf

There's an important distinction here.

When I say I want to push a green calf, I don't mean dumping as much feed into him as he'll physically consume.

More isn't automatically better.

I want to support his growth aggressively without overwhelming his digestive system, ruining his appetite, or creating unnecessary problems.

There's a sweet spot.

Enough feed that he's receiving the nutritional support he needs.

Not so much that I'm constantly dealing with leftovers, inconsistent intake, digestive upset, or a calf that simply doesn't want to eat.

Find that spot.

Then be consistent.

Cattle reward consistency much more than impatience.

Then One Day, Something Changes

This is my favorite part.

You've been feeding him.

And feeding him.

And feeding him.

For what feels like forever.

He's grown taller.

He's gotten bigger.

But you're still waiting for him to start looking like the animal you pictured when you bought him.

Then the subtle changes start.

His hip begins changing shape.

You start seeing more definition.

His width becomes more apparent.

His body begins filling out.

Suddenly, instead of looking like he's constantly growing up, he starts looking like he's growing out.

That's your signal.

The calf is changing gears.

And now your feeding program can begin changing with him.

Tucked up Flank:

There's one area that drives beginning cattle feeders absolutely crazy:

The flank.

They look at their calf at an early stage of growth and expect it to look like a finished project.

Everything else seems to be changing, but he's still tucked up through his rear flank.

So they start trying to fix it.

Here's what you need to understand:

That flank is one of the last pieces you're waiting on.

As a calf matures and begins filling, you'll generally see that development progress from his front toward his rear.

You'll start seeing more body and dimension up front.

His middle begins coming together.

His overall shape starts changing.

And meanwhile you're still staring at that rear flank wondering why it hasn't gotten the memo.

Give it time.

That flank dropping and filling is part of the later stages of the process.

If the rest of the calf is progressing appropriately, don't start tearing apart a feeding program that's working simply because the very last piece hasn't arrived yet.

Watch the direction the calf is moving, not just the hole you're waiting for him to fill.

But if you start adding a bunch of filler supplements trying to make that flank drop before the calf is ready, all you're doing is taking up room in his gut that could be used for the nutrition he needs to actually get there.

This is another reason photographs are so useful with cattle.

When you see him every day, that empty-looking flank can become the only thing your eye sees.

Go back a month and compare pictures.

Look at his front end.

Look at his rib and body.

Look at his width.

Look at his hip.

Then look at where that development is moving.

The flank will come as the calf reaches the maturity to put it there—but only to the extent that his genetics allow. If you bought an overly high-flanked calf to begin with, don't expect the feed bucket to magically turn him into an extremely deep-flanked one.

Some problems are feeding problems. Some are selection problems.

Learn to know the difference, and when you're selecting your next calf, pay attention to which problems you're willing to manage.

Don't try to finish the last piece before he's finished building everything in front of it.

The Filling Stage: Change Gears

Once that calf reaches enough maturity that you're seeing the shape and dimension you were waiting for, my priorities begin shifting.

I'm no longer feeding exclusively for that long period of growth and development.

Now I'm thinking more about finish.

Condition.

Body.

Softness.

Depth.

The final look I'm trying to produce.

At this point, fat and energy become increasingly useful because now I've got a calf that's ready to start putting that padding on.

I don't necessarily need to keep hammering him with the same protein level I wanted while I was aggressively supporting growth.

Instead, I can begin letting him coast while supplying the energy he needs to fill and finish.

But keep watching his muscle.

If I begin seeing signs that he's losing some of the shape or expression I want, that's when I may decide he needs a bump in protein again.

The important part is that I'm reacting to the calf, not blindly following the same feeding program from beginning to end.

I'm no longer trying to force something his body wasn't mature enough to give me.

Now I'm working with the maturity I've spent all that time building.

Don't Change the Program Because You're Bored:

This might be one of the hardest cattle-feeding lessons.

Sometimes nothing needs changing.

Read that again.

You've been feeding the same ration.

The calf is eating.

He's growing.

He's healthy.

Everything is moving in the right direction.

But you've been staring at him every day for three months and you desperately want to do something.

Don't.

Cattle can make you feel like nothing is happening because you're watching the process one day at a time.

Then somebody who hasn't seen your calf for three weeks walks into the barn and says:

“Holy cow, he's changed.”

That's cattle.

Don't create a problem because progress wasn't entertaining enough.

Watch Trends, Not Tuesdays:

This is probably the easiest way I can explain cattle feeding.

Don't judge the program by what's happened every Tuesday.

Look at the direction he's trending in.

Is he growing?

Is his appetite consistent?

Is his condition moving in the direction you want?

Is his muscle development progressing?

Is his body beginning to change?

How does he look compared with two weeks ago?

A month ago?

Two months ago?

Pictures can be incredibly useful here.

Take one from approximately the same angle and distance every couple of weeks.

When you put those photographs beside each other, you'll often see changes you completely missed while looking at the calf every day.

Feed the Calf, Not the Calendar:

There isn't one magical date when every calf switches from growing to filling and finishing.

That's why you have to watch the animal.

Two calves of the same age can be at very different stages of maturity.

Two calves on similar feeding programs can respond differently.

And two calves headed for the same show may need different management to arrive there looking their best.

The calendar tells you how much time you have.

The calf tells you what he can do with it.

That's why maturity needs to be considered when you're selecting the calf in the first place.

A great later-maturing calf may be exactly what you want for a show far enough down the road.

That same calf on a much shorter timeline may leave you trying to accomplish something his maturity simply isn't ready to give you.

You can't change the growth curve just because your show date is getting closer.

You have to select and feed with that timeline in mind from the beginning.

Don't Forget the Rumen

Just like our goats and sheep, underneath the show project is still a ruminant.

Forage, water, minerals, gradual ration changes, consistent intake, and rumen health remain part of the program.

A long feeding period makes consistency even more important.

You're not trying to win one great feeding day.

You're trying to string together months of good ones.

A consistent hay program is easy everyday wins.

It isn't flashy. Nobody is going to sell you a miracle tub of it at the show. But consistent forage intake and a functioning rumen are part of what keeps that long feeding project moving forward.

Don't overlook the boring stuff because it isn't exciting.

The Takeaway:

Cattle are probably one of the most relaxing species to feed once you understand what you're waiting for.

You're not trying to change them every week.

You're watching a long process unfold.

Start by identifying the kind of calf you bought.

Understand whether he's earlier or later maturing.

Support his early growth.

Give him enough nutrition to develop without confusing “pushing” with simply overfeeding.

Then wait.

Watch for the point where that long, green growth phase begins turning into shape, width, body, and maturity.

Don't panic because the flank hasn't dropped yet.

Don't try to force a later-maturing calf onto an earlier-maturing timeline.

And don't change a good program simply because you're tired of waiting for the result.

When the calf changes gears, change with him.

Until then?

Keep feeding.

Keep watching.

Keep taking pictures.

And have some patience.

The calf isn't running late just because you're tired of waiting.

What's your favorite part of feeding cattle and why? Let us know in the comments below.