Why Rate of Gain Matters:

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make is feeding by feel instead of by numbers. They'll tell me, "He's eating great, He's looking better, I think he's growing." But they don't actually know. That's where rate of gain changes everything. It tells you how your animal is using your feed. In other words, it's the measure of how the animal is converting its feed to energy, to weight, to muscle and so on. In my opinion, it's one of the most important numbers you can understand as a stockman. It can save you lots of money knowing if you need to adjust your nutrition to get better conversion. An animal is much easier to predict if you know how much it's gaining for how much you're feeding.

How to Calculate it:

Knowing how to calculate your rate of gain is the first step in it becoming a valuable asset to your program. Here is the formula for rate of gain:

Rate of Gain = pounds animal has gained since last weight / days since last weight

Example: 20#/18 days = Rate of Gain 1.11#

Its a simple formula once you've used it enough. The usefulness of knowing this number and updating it regularly can be the difference between a nice lightweight and an expensive underweight. Let me tell you the story of two goats. Two full sibling wethers lived in the same pen. They ate the same feed, the same amount, at the same time every day, on the same schedule. They did not grow the same despite being on the exact same program. The difference wasn't in how they were managed. They lived the same way and ate the same ration, but their bodies simply used that feed differently. This is not something you can control, but it is something you can measure and use to your advantage. If you know how they are using the feed regularly you can adjust it to lean into their demands and not fight it. Let me show you some of the data on these two goats. Wether number 1 was eating 2.5# per day for 18 days and he gained 5 pounds, he had a rate of gain of .27# per day. This was a pretty decent gain for this goat. Now his brother in the same period of time eating 2.5# per day for 18 days and gained 2.5# and had a rate of gain of .13# per day. This is a good example of not using the nutrition your giving them properly. The point isn't that feeding siblings the same way is hopeless. It's that even animals with nearly identical genetics won't always respond the same way to the same feeding program. Feeding two animals the same way does not guarantee they'll grow the same way. If you want to throw feed and walk away every day of your project that's your prerogative but don't be surprised when your show rolls around and brings the consequences of not tracking your efforts.

What Poor Rate of Gain Might Mean:

Now what happened with wether number 2? Well as is the most logical reaction for any showman when they see an animal isn't gaining correctly, I took a few moments to panic, realized that didn't make the problem any better and then started looking at what might have caused it. I looked at everything. If there were any signs of him being sick or not feeling well. I throughly went over him for any signs of an injury, parasites, or even just a cold he seemed completely healthy. I checked the water, the bedding, the pen temperature all normal. The next thing I checked was the feed tag. I wanted to know if something in the feed was not agreeing with his growth phase or metabolism. I checked the protein content in the feed to see if it is to high and that might be why he wasn't gaining. I looked at the ingredients. After all of that I decided to give him three days with a extra eighth of a pound of feed. When I weighed him three days later he was not only gaining, he was gaining more then his brother. He stayed on that path for several weeks until we backed him off slightly. So what happened? He had hit a growth spurt and was putting more of his energy toward building frame than adding weight. The best thing I could've done was support his bodies growth until he came out of it to start putting on muscle. A lot of people get so caught up in keeping them perfect the whole time they forget to support what the body is naturally doing itself. Rate of gain doesn't just tell you how fast an animal is growing, it tells you when to start asking questions. If an animal's growth suddenly changes, don't immediately blame the feed. Think through everything that's changed: appetite, health, weather, stress, water intake, or the feed itself. The numbers aren't the answer; they're the clue that points you toward it.

Washrack Tip:

Don't ignore the ingredient list.

If the first ingredient is grain by-products instead of whole grains like corn, your protein source can vary from bag to bag. That inconsistency can show up in your rate of gain before you notice anything else.

What Good Rate of Gain Tells You:

Back to why keeping track of your ROG is so important, An animal is much easier to predict if you know how much it’s gaining for how much your feeding. Lots of dairies even keep track of this to a certain age in their heifers as a prediction point in milk production. Healthy, comfortable animals generally maintain a consistent rate of gain. I also recommend weighing your feed so you know exactly how much feed they’re using for that gain. If your feeding showstock, I encourage you to weigh feed daily and get a weight on your animals at least once a month if you can. Weekly is the best. Weekly gives you a snapshot into your animals body every week. If you know that they average a daily gain of .25# but this week they only gained .10# you know something is off and you can check accordingly. Did they not clean up feed one night, Have they been sick, has the temperature dropped? These are all things that might have taken you longer to figure out if you weren’t tracking rate of gain on your animal. A good rate of gain can give you the peace of mind that your animal is comfortable, healthy, growing well, and getting proper nutrition. Without all of these working together you wouldn't have a well growing animal.

Predicting Future Growth:

My favorite thing to track with rate of gain is the predicted growth of the animal. you can take the rate of gain and multiply it out over the number of days your feeding to figure out how big the animal will be when that time rolls around on the amount of feed you’re feeding.

Predicted Growth = Rate of gain x days left on feed

It tells you where you're likely to finish while you still have time to change the outcome. By predicting where your animal is likely to finish, you can make small adjustments early and give those changes time to work. That's much easier on both the animal and the showman than making a huge adjustment at the last minute.

Common Rate of Gain Mistakes:

Guessing feed instead of weighing it.

Waiting a month or more between weights.

Making huge feed changes after one bad week.

Ignoring water intake.

Forgetting weather changes affect growth.

Takeaway

Good stockmen don't guess.

They measure.

A $20 scale and five minutes each week can tell you more about your feeding program than any expensive supplement ever will.

How do you track rate of gain in your own barn? I'd love to hear what works for you. Reply to this newsletter or leave a comment below.