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Cattle Blaster
A 12% high energy ration with STEAM FLAKED grains and added cottonseed hulls. Fortified with vitamins A, D & E. Contains proteinates of zinc, manganese and copper. Also contains the Amaferm advantage to enhance rumen microbial function. Cattle Blaster is Umbarger's number one selling product. It is an easy to use high energy ration that will get show cattle ready with the correct degree of finish.

Breeder/Grower
A 12% developer ration with STEAM FLAKED grains and added cottonseed hulls. Fortified with vitamins A, D & E. Contains proteinates of zinc, manganese and copper. Also contains the Amaferm advantage to enhance rumen microbial function. Breeder Grower is one of the most versatile of the Umbarger Show Feeds. Used almost universally as a creep feed or starter feed for show cattle. Breeder Grower helps expand the gut so that down the road, the calf has the capacity to consume enough feed "to do the job".

Barley Base
A 11.5% high energy finishing ration with STEAM FLAKED grains and added cottonseed hulls. Fortified with vitamins A, D & E. Contains proteinates of zinc, manganese and copper. Also contains the Amaferm advantage to enhance rumen microbial function. Barley Base may be the most palatable feed in the Umbarger tool box. Use this product where there are consumption problems or as the finishing tool during the last sixty days or when the weather turns warm to even out the animal's condition.

Show Ready
An 11% high fiber ration with STEAM FLAKED grains. This show ration has over 15% cottonseed hulls added. Fortified with vitamins A, D & E. Contains proteinates of zinc, manganese and copper. Also contains the Amaferm advantage to enhance rumen microbial function.  Show Ready is a high fiber, low energy feed used to fill and grow show cattle.  This product can be used to hold a calf or to feed easy fleshing females and can be used to put a fresh natural fill to cattle on show day. 

Primer Plus 13%
Primer Plus 13% has twice as much Amaferm as the other Umbarger Beef Show Feeds. Lasalocid has been increased to aid in the prevention of Coccidiosis. Primer Plus 13% is an excellent product to use when preparing your animals for a sale. There is enough corn in it to put the needed bloom on sale calves and enough fiber to expand a calf's stomach and retain that full look. It should be fed post-weaning to sale time at a rate of 2% of body weight per head per day. The calves should then be switched to Breeder Grower. Primer Plus 13% works great when mixing calves from different herds and when calves are at different stages.

Beef Starter With Deccox
A 15% high energy ration with STEAM FLAKED grains and added cottonseed hulls. Fortified with high levels of vitamins and medicated with deccox for the prevention of coccidiosis. This ration is designed to be fed as a creep feed or receiving ration for those cattle under stress. Beef Starter should be fed for at least 28 days as a creep feed for calves on the cow or hand fed to weaned calved. After this period, calves should be converted to Breeder Grower.

Calf Starter 16% with Deccox
A 16% high energy ration with STEAM FLAKED grains and added cottonseed hulls. Fortified with high levels of vitamins and medicated with deccox for the prevention of coccidiosis. This ration is designed to be fed as a starter feed or receiving ration for those cattle under stress. Calf Starter should be fed for at least 28 days as a creep feed for calves on the cow or hand fed to weaned calved. After this period, calves should be converted to Dry-n-Fresh.

Dry-N-Fresh
Is a high energy high calorie ration.  It is used to get the most pounds of gain per day.  Used after Calf Starter and fed through until animal meets their desired finish and weight.

This is a guideline for you to use when choosing which of the seven Umbarger Show Rations you will use on a calf at any particular point in time. We have referred to these rations as “tools” for the Fitter, and they are just that. The old adage concerning “the eye of the master” really applies in evaluating a calf and its individual feed needs at any point in time. We will discuss each feed and its use, allowing you to outline a program that will meet your calf’s current and future needs.

Most people use Breeder/Grower as a starter feed on all calves when they are weaned in the fall. It is a very palatable feed and has enough fiber to get the calves going. It helps in expanding the “gut” so that down the road, the calf has the capacity to consume enough feed “to do the job”.

If you suspect a coccidiosis problem or have brought your calf (calves) in from a long distance, you should probably start them on Beef Start with Decox. It is a highly palatable, medicated feed to get calves eating and healthy as soon as possible. Beef Start with Decox should be fed for 28 days and then switch to Breeder/Grower.

Tip: Umbarger Show Rations are “complete feeds” and are to be fed as the sole grain ration along with grass hay. Free choice mineral and clean water should be made available at all times.

Tip: To move any calf to a higher energy level, you should reduce the amount of feed per feeding by 10% and work them back up to the new ration over a period of a week to ten days.

The next time to change feed, depends entirely on each calf. Many people use their average daily gains, growth (in inches), feed consumption and visual appraisal to evaluate their feeding program every 30 days. Once again, experience and the “eye” will help here more than anything. If the calf is growing and finishing OK, but is starting to “play” with his feed, a change in the ration will keep him going.

The last critical evaluation time for steers is about 60 days prior to show. If the calf has been growing OK and is targeted on weight (weighing 1125 lbs. plus), most people finish on Barley Base. The energy is comparable to Cattle Blaster, it is a little more palatable, has less internal metabolic heat and it will make the finish on the calf much firmer and more even, both desirable traits. The quanity to be fed here depends on the weight of the animal (need to be pushed or held?) and the degree of finish.

If you feel your steer is getting ready too soon and you want to hold him, feed him Show Ready at a rate of about 1 - 1 1/2% of body weight. The result should be a calf that is somewhat satisfied and maintaining condition.

Understanding your calf is probably the most important and hardest part in deciding what to feed your calf. There are no simple guidelines here.

The genetics of a particular calf can help you to determine which energy level to feed. Generally speaking,most all Maine Anjou cattle and the traditional British Breeds are easier keeping, more predisposed to fat kind of cattle. The Chianina and Continental Breeds tend to be a little taller, “harder doing”, kind of cattle. The hard part about this is that there are exceptions to the general rule on both sides of the equation.

That makes the individual calf’s phenotype critically important. The shorter statured, thicker kinds of cattle, will typically require lower energy, higher fiber rations (Breeder/Grower and Show Ready). Conversely, the taller, leaner kinds of cattle require more energy, lower fiber diets (Cattle Blaster and Barley Base).

When and how do I change rations? This is where the “eye of the master” really comes into play. If at all possible, weigh your calf on a regular basis (many people weigh every two weeks). The resulting data can be invaluable in helping determine how to feed an individual calf.

Generally, most calves are on Breeder/Grower until the first of December. At that point, most steers need to be switched to a higher energy ration (Cattle Blaster or Barley Base) to make sure they “get done” (achieve the right degree of finish). As a rule of thumb, these steers will weigh in the area of 650 to 775 pounds, eating 18 to 24 pounds of feed per day and gaining 3 to 3.5 pounds per day. This will keep their rumans working and consequently, keep their bowels firmer.

The next time to change feed, depends entirely on each calf. Many people use their average daily gains, growth (in inches), feed consumption and visual appraisal to evaluate their feeding program every 30 days. Once again, experience and the “eye” will help here more than anything. If the calf is growing and finishing OK, but is starting to “play” with his feed, a change in the ration will keep him going.

The last critical evaluation time for steers is about 60 days prior to show. If the calf has been growing OK and is targeted on weight (weighing 1125 lbs. plus) , most people finish on Barley Base. The energy is comparable to Cattle Blaster, it is a little more palatable, has less internal metabolic heat and it will make the finish on the calf much firmer and more even, both desirable traits. The quanity to be fed here depends on the weight of the animal (need to be pushed or held?) and the degree of finish.

If you feel your steer is getting ready too soon and you want to hold him, feed him Show Ready at a rate of about 1 - 1 1/2% of body weight. The result should be a calf that is somewhat satisfied and maintaining condition.

Many Heifers can stay on Breeder/Grower. They will grow well and usually maintain enough body condition on this ration. A few of the really easy doing, shorter statured heifers may need to be moved to Show Ready to keep them from getting too fat. Conversely, a few of the taller, harder doing kind of heifers may need to go on a higher energy ration (Cattle Blaster or Barley Base) in order to have any degree of condition and to reach their genetic potential.

Heifers should be fed almost exclusively on body condition. It is important to remember that more show heifers are ruined, as a cow, because they are fed to be too fat. Most heifers will maintain adequate body condition on Breeder/Grower. Many of today’s cattle will even get too fat on Breeder/Grower. These heifers should be switched to Show Ready. A few of the more extreme types of heifers will need more energy to carry any degree of finish, Barley Base is the ration of choice to help finish those kinds of heifers.

Show Ready is the highest fiber, lowest energy feed in our tool box. Not only is it used to keep heifers from getting too fat and holding steers from getting “done” too soon, but as a method to “fill” at a show. The full look at a show is most desirable. About a week before any show, start to blend Show Ready in any ration so that by the time they get to the show, the calf is consuming between 1/2 to 3/4 of their ration as Show Ready. The morning of the show literally let them eat their fill of Show Ready. About one hour before the class, let the calf drink about a bucket of water. The resulting effect of the water on the steam flaked oats and cottonseed hulls is a natural fill that will stay with the calf for two to three hours. Switch the calf back to their normal ration over the next four to six days.

Remember these are general guidelines based on the observation of several thousands calves fed on the Umbarger program. Umbarger feed is here to support you as you push your calf to reach its genetic potential with the primary goal to produce winners in the show ring.