Four years of work at the University of Missouri showed creep feeding increased the weaning weight of spring calves by 57 pounds and fall calves by 74 pounds. Expect to use from 700 to 1,000 pounds of feed for each 100 pounds of additional weaning weight. When pastures are good, the increased weight from creep feeding is not put on as efficiently as you might expect for such a young animal. The calf substitutes creep feed for grass. Also, much of the additional gain is fat when the calves are creep fed on good pasture.
Fat gain requires more feed than growth gain.
If 900 pounds of feed are needed for each 100 pounds of extra weaning weight and the feed costs 6 cents a pound, the cost of the feed for the weight increase is 54 cents a pound. The cost of additional gain often is near the selling price for feeders. This is why you need a high price per pound for the heavier creep-fed calves to make creep feeding pay. A wide variety of ingredients can be used successfully in full-fed creep rations. Table 1 gives specifications for several creep ration options.