🐄Steers: raising and housing

Raising a steer is a nine-to-ten-month job. The steer does not care if it is snowing, if it is your birthday, or if you have a test tomorrow. It needs to be fed twice a day, every day, at the same times. That responsibility is a big part of what 4-H is teaching you, and it is also what makes a steer gain well and stay calm.

Heads up: A steer can weigh 1,300 pounds by fair time. Always have an adult around when you are working with it, and never get in a spot where you could be pinned against a fence or wall.

Your daily routine

Morning (same time every day)

• Check that the steer is up, alert, and acting normal.
• Check water. Scrub the trough if it is slimy.
• Feed grain and hay.
• Clean manure out of the shed and feeding area.
• Look at eyes, nose, feet, and manure for anything odd.

Evening

• Feed again.
• Refill water.
• Spend 10 to 20 minutes brushing, tying, or leading. This is training time, and it keeps the steer calm.
• Write down anything you fed, spent, or noticed in your record book.

At the fair, morning feeding and stall cleaning must be done by 9 AM, so get in the habit of early mornings at home.

Feeding

Feed is the biggest cost of a steer project and the thing that decides whether you make weight. Most families use a bagged or bulk show steer feed from a feed store. Follow the tag on the feed, and ask your club leader or the feed store for help building a plan.

Rough feeding plan

Stage	Steer weight	Grain per day (approx.)	Protein in grain	Hay
Starting (first 2–3 weeks)	600–800 lb	Start at 4–5 lb, add ~1 lb every 2–3 days	13–14%	Free choice good grass hay
Growing	800–1,000 lb	15–20 lb	13–14%	4–6 lb
Finishing	1,000 lb to fair	22–28 lb	12%	3–5 lb

These are starting points. Adjust based on how the steer looks and gains.

Bringing a steer onto grain safely

Going from mostly hay to a lot of grain too fast causes acidosis (a sour, upset rumen) and bloat. Both can kill a steer.

1. Start with all the hay it wants and only a few pounds of grain.
2. Increase grain about one pound every two or three days.
3. If the manure gets loose or the steer stops eating, back off for a few days and go slower.
4. Never let the steer miss a feeding and then get a big meal. Consistency is what keeps the rumen happy.

The basics that never change

• Clean water always. A steer drinks 10 to 15 gallons a day, and more in summer heat. No water means no gain.
• Good grass hay. Clean, green, no dust or mold. Alfalfa is fine in small amounts but too much can cause bloat.
• Free-choice mineral made for cattle, in a covered feeder.
• Feed twice a day at the same times. Cattle are creatures of habit.
• Split the grain into two equal feedings.

Weigh once a month

Use a livestock scale if you can find one (your club, a feed store, or a friend may have one). If not, a weight tape around the heart girth gives a rough number. Write the weight down, figure out your average daily gain, and compare it to your target. If you are falling behind, add grain slowly. If you are getting ahead of the 1,400 pay weight, back off a little and add hay.

Health basics

Talk to a veterinarian early in your project, ideally right after you buy. Common things to watch for:

• Vaccinations: ask the breeder what the calf has had, and have your vet fill in the gaps (respiratory and clostridial vaccines are typical).
• Deworming: usually at purchase and again in spring.
• Pinkeye: weepy, cloudy eyes, often in fly season. Treat early.
• Foot rot: limping with a swollen, smelly foot. Common in mud.
• Bloat: a swollen left side, the steer is uncomfortable and may not eat. This is an emergency.
• Acidosis: off feed, loose gray manure, after a grain overload.
• Heat stress: heavy panting and drooling in summer. Provide shade, water, and a fan or a sprinkle.
• Lice in winter: rubbing and hair loss. Treat with a pour-on.
• Hardware disease: from swallowing wire or nails. Keep the pen clean of scraps.
• Flies: fly control keeps the steer comfortable and helps prevent pinkeye.

Rule: Every medicine has a withdrawal time on the label. That is how long you must wait before the animal can be sold for meat. The Wholesome Meat Act applies at our fair. Follow every label exactly, write down every treatment, and tell your vet the fair date. If a carcass tests positive for drug residue, the buyer gets their money back and you get nothing.

Housing for the high desert

Navajo County (Holbrook, Snowflake, Taylor, and the surrounding area) sits around 5,000 to 6,500 feet. Your steer will face:

• Hot, intense sun in summer
• Strong wind, especially in spring
• Cold nights into April and May
• Monsoon rain in July and August, then mud
• Dust the rest of the time

A good setup handles all of that without being fancy.

Pen size

• At least 20 by 40 feet per steer for the main pen. Bigger is better, and the steer will stay cleaner.
• Plus a shade or loafing area it can get under any time.
• Plus room to tie out and work on the steer.

Fencing

Steers lean, rub, and push on fences every day. Light panels and T-posts alone will not hold up.

• Continuous pipe fencing or heavy cattle panels (the thick kind, not hog panels), 5 to 6 feet tall.
• Steel posts set in concrete at the corners and gates, and every 8 to 10 feet along the run.
• A gate wide enough for a truck or tractor to clean the pen (10 to 12 feet).
• No barbed wire in a show steer pen. It scars hides and injures animals.

The shade shed

A simple three-sided shed with a metal roof keeps your steer out of the sun, wind, and rain. A common size is 12 by 16 feet with a 9-to-10-foot eave. Here is a general plan. Have an adult run the project, and check with your local building department if you are not sure about permits.

Materials (for a 12x16 pole-style shed)

• 6 treated posts (6x6 or heavy 4x6), 12 to 14 feet long
• Concrete mix (2 to 3 bags per post)
• 2x6 or 2x8 lumber for headers and rafters
• 2x4 purlins
• Corrugated metal roofing sheets plus screws with rubber washers
• Metal siding or 2x6 boards for the back and side walls
• Gravel for the floor base
• Lag bolts, framing nails or screws, hurricane ties

Steps

1. Pick the spot. Put the shed on the highest, best-drained part of the pen. Face the open side away from the wind (our storms mostly come from the southwest and west) and away from the hot afternoon sun. Facing the opening northeast or east works well here.
2. Lay out the corners with stakes and string. Make it square by measuring the diagonals until they match.
3. Dig the post holes at least 3 feet deep. Set the posts in concrete, plumb them with a level, and brace them until the concrete cures.
4. Cut the posts so the front is 9 to 10 feet and the back is about 1 to 2 feet shorter for roof slope.
5. Bolt on the headers along the front and back, then set rafters every 24 inches with hurricane ties.
6. Screw purlins across the rafters every 24 inches.
7. Install the metal roof with the ridges running downhill, overlapping each sheet. Screw into every purlin.
8. Close in the back and sides with metal or boards. Leave a small gap at the top for air to move.
9. Spread 4 to 6 inches of gravel inside and pack it down. Add shavings or straw on top in cold weather.

Tie-out and blocking area

You will spend a lot of time with your steer tied up: brushing, washing, blowing, and training.

• A tie rail made of heavy pipe, set about 4 feet high, anchored in concrete. Never tie to a panel that can move or fall.
• A flat, well-drained spot where you can wash. Many families pour a small concrete pad or lay rubber mats.
• Shade over the tie area if possible. You will be there in July.

Feed and water

• A feed bunk or heavy rubber tub at about knee height for the steer (18 to 24 inches). Rubber tubs are cheap and do not break.
• A hay feeder off the ground so hay stays clean.
• A water trough with a float valve so it fills itself. A 100-gallon trough is plenty for one or two steers. Put it in the shade and where you can dump and scrub it.
• In winter, a tank heater or a daily ice check.

Mud, manure, and dust

• Scrape manure out of the shed and feeding area every day. Pile it away from the pen and the house.
• Build the pen so water drains away. Add gravel or road base to low spots before monsoon season.
• In dry months, a light sprinkle on the pen in the evening keeps dust out of your steer’s lungs and hair.
• Keep the area around the water trough from turning into a bog. Gravel helps.

Keep records as you go

Every bag of feed, every vet visit, every weight, and every hour you spend belongs in your record book. Do it weekly, not the night before the deadline. ZSuite makes this easy. See record books.

Tip: Take a photo of your steer on the first of every month from the same spot. You will see the change, it helps you judge condition, and it looks great in your record book.

If something goes wrong

If your steer dies, take a picture right away and contact your club leader and the NCJLC. With their written consent you may replace it, but the replacement must be in place no less than 75 days before fair check-in and meet the ownership rules. Details are on the paperwork and legal page.

Next up: learning to show your steer.