If Rumensin is included, less salt is needed. It will take 30 percent or more salt to limit a protein supplement to 1 pound daily consumption. Use plain salt instead of trace mineralized salt to prevent overfeeding of some minerals. Tallow or other fat can be substituted for salt to control intake. If cattle are hand-fed supplements, the time of day that the supplement is fed appears to affect the amount of forage that the cattle will consume.
Cattle have intensive grazing peaks at dawn and dusk, with most grazing occurring in daylight hours.
Feeding supplements in the middle of the day will be less disruptive on normal grazing activity and will cause cattle to eat more forage than if supplements are fed early in the morning. Implants, ionophores, antibiotics Growth implants will increase the daily gain of steers fed supplements on pasture by 12 to 15 percent and increase total gain by 20 to 30 pounds in a 130-day pasture period. A second implant of Ralgro at mid season increased the total pasture gain of steers by 9.5 pounds in a summary of 11 Missouri farm trials. Rumensin or Bovatec fed at 150 to 200 mg per head daily in grain or protein supplements has increased the gain of steers and heifers on pasture by approximately 0.15 to 0.20 pounds per head daily. In a summary of nine trials, Rumensin or Bovatec increased the average daily gain of stockers on pasture by 0.12 pounds when the ionophores were fed in free-choice mineral mixes or molasses blocks.