Archive for the ‘Show Chow’ Category

2022 Young County Jr. Livestock Show

Monday, January 3rd, 2022

The 2022 Young County Jr. Livestock Show kicks off  Wednesday, January 12, through Saturday, January 15, 2022,  in the Main Arena of the Young County Arena.The 2022 Young County Jr. Livestock Show kicks off  Wednesday, January 12, 2022, and runs through Saturday, January 15, 2022,  in the Main Arena of the Young County Arena. Come out and show your support for our local kids at this great event.

Before you head to the arena, stop by J&N Feed and Seed for Sullivan Show Supplies, show feeds by Lindner, Moorman, Honor Show Chow, shavings, and more. Let our experts help you raise a winner in the ring this show season. Good luck to everyone showing this year!

LocationYoung County Arena – 120 Barclay Blvd. Graham, TX

Date: Wednesday, January 12th  through Saturday, January 15, 2022

Click here for the 2022 Young County Jr. Livestock Show Schedule of Events.

Click here for driving directions to Young County Arena.

Show Pig Feed Programs

Monday, September 13th, 2021

Take a look at Purina’s Show Pig Feed Programs to be successful in the show ring. Shop J&N Feed, your certified purina dealer for Honor Show Chow.Take a look at Purina’s Show Pig Feed Programs to be successful in the show ring. Training a pig to eat can seem silly. They should come by this habit naturally, shouldn’t they? The answer is yes, for the most part. It is the pig’s natural behavior that must be changed in order to reach its full genetic potential. This is why determining the proper feeding program will allow your pig to look its best on show day.

Show pig self-feeding behavior 

The average show pig will consume 11 to 13 meals per day when offered feed from a self-feeder. Typically, self-feeding pigs will consume these meals during daylight hours. Pigs are diurnal (most active during daylight hours). Researchers have found that continuous lighting does not affect total feed intake per day.

Factors that influence intake patterns of self-feeding pigs include:

  • Number of pigs per feeder
  • Total space per pig
  • Availability/form of water

These factors will not influence the quantity of feed consumed per day unless feeder access is impacted. That is if there are too many pigs per feeder space or too many pigs in a given pen space. If that is the circumstance, pigs will demonstrate nocturnal feeding patterns. This means that they will rise during the night to consume a sufficient amount of feed to meet their energy requirements. Of course, other factors come into play during self-feeding, such as social order, speed of consumption, and timid and/or aggressive eaters.

Additionally, the social order of pigs dictates which pig(s) will be dominant at the feeder. You will see that dominant pigs are the more aggressive eaters. For example, if you were to hand-feed six pigs in the same pen you would find that a number of them will eat aggressively, while subordinates will eat timidly. This behavior will directly affect their growth rate. Competition at the feeder not only speeds up the time it takes to eat a meal, it can also influence the quantity consumed as well.

Water and eating habits 

Water intake is incredibly important to the health of your pig and is directly related to feed consumption. If you find that your show pig is not meeting its daily feed requirements, your first instinct should be to assess its water source. Pigs should always have access to water that is clean, fresh, and abundant. Feeding pigs without providing an adequate amount of water or providing low-quality water will always result in an unsatisfactory outcome. Water is also useful in getting pigs to eat faster and larger meals. Adding enough water to a pig’s meal to produce a paste-like consistency will increase the speed at which a meal is consumed. By providing enough water from a clean source, you can help ensure that your pig will consume enough feed.

Show pig feeding methods

In order to train your show pigs to consume the desired amount of feed in only two meals per day, your effort must be to overcome their natural instincts and eating habits/behaviors. Three feeding methods are most commonly used in preparing a pig for show:

  1. Self-feeding: the pig decides when and how much to eat per day
  2. Hand-fed: the owner decides when and how much the pig will eat per day.
    • Two meals per day; morning and evening
  3. Combination self-feeding/hand feeding: the pig is generally fed through a self-feeder until it reaches 100 to 150 pounds and is then hand-fed until show time

It is crucial that when limiting growth rate that your pig is already trained to consume two, 10-minute meals per day. If not, it can be frustrating to get pigs to consume the amount and type of feed products that you want them to consume.

Hand-feeding versus limit feeding show pigs

It is important to note that hand feeding is very different from limit feeding. When a show pig is hand fed, then the exhibitor or pig’s owner determining how much feed to place in a feeder (of any type) per day. Limit feeding is giving the pig less than it wants to eat per day (usually somewhat less than 90% of what normal feed intake).If you give a 100 lb. show pig 4 lbs. of feed in the morning, there is feed remaining in the feeder that evening, and you give it an additional 2 to 4 lbs.; you are not limit feeding. The pig is determining how much it will eat per day, which is considered self-feeding. If you are feeding in this manner and attempt to include Powerfill show feed supplement as a topdress, your show pig will more than likely reject it. The pig should clean up each meal in 10 minutes or less. As a result it becomes much easier to introduce topdress, Powerfill, beet pulp, and other supplements. HIGH OCTANE® Powerfill™ is very different in taste and texture when compared to pelleted showpig feeds. Powerfill contains ground beet pulp which causes it to be a bit gritty. Pig owners sometimes feel that their pigs do not like Powerfill. However, a distaste for this product usually occurs when a pig has been taken off of full feed and introduced to HIGH OCTANE® Powerfill™ on a “cold turkey” basis. Naturally, a pig will refuse to eat when HIGH OCTANE® Powerfill™ is introduced in this manner.

Training your show pig

It is much easier if you train the pig to eat at an early age (or lighter weight). If you wait until the pig is heavier (over 200 lbs.) and older, training will be a challenge. The end goal is to feed that pig what you want, not what it wants. Of course, it is a challenge to introduce a new feeding program to your show pig at times. Instead of giving your pig the choice to eat how much and what kind of feed (or topdress) it likes, give it one choice and allow it to eat or be hungry. For example, if you decide to transition a pig from self-feeding to limit feeding with HIGH OCTANE® Powerfill™ in the diet (along with pellets), you will want to follow these steps:

  1. Remove the self-feeders and replace with hanging feeders
  2. Remove the feeder 10 – 12 hours prior to the first hand-fed meal
  3. Reduce the initial meal to a half serving – Ex: if you want to feed 2 pounds per feeding, offer 1 pound at this meal
  4. Give the show pig 10 minutes to eat, and then remove any remaining feed
  5. Repeat step four for the second feeding – Note: meals should be 10 – 12 hours apart at the same time(s) each day
  6. When the pig consumes all of the feed offered, increase the next feeding to a full meal
  7. If the pig is eating slowly, hand or limit feed another pig in close proximity. This will help to get the first pig to increase the speed of intake

Note: you want the second pig to make the first pig eat faster, but not have access to it’s feed. Make sure there is a barrier between the pigs, but one that they can see through

This technique is critical. To help fulfill the genetic potential of your show pig you may need to tweak the diet several times in a short period. If you see that a pig is in need of muscle, cover, rib shape or fill, you must be able to control what the pig takes in. At times, these dietary changes must be done daily until you have the pig headed in the direction you desire. If the pig constantly balks at what you are attempting to feed, it cannot look the best on show day. Keep in mind that the pig’s appearance as it steps into the show ring is of vital importance. Getting the pig to peak physical appearance depends upon what it eats and how it eats. You have a great deal of influence over what the pig looks like as it is being judged. You should train the pig to respond to your direction in the show ring, as well as training the pig on how to eat. Stop by J&N Feed and Seed and talk to us about your show pig feeding program. As your certified Purina Dealer, we carry the full line of Honor Show Chow feeds. Let us help you raise a winner.

Source: Dr. Kevin Burgoon, Ph.D.
Senior Nutritionist, HONOR® Show Technical Solutions

10 Daily Tips for Your Show Cattle

Thursday, February 6th, 2020

10 Daily Tips for Your Show CattleWhen you want to be successful at sports, you don’t just show up for games and expect to win.
You attend team practices, you practice at home and you follow the game plan outlined by the coach. The same concept applies to showing cattle. You prepare for the ‘game’ through daily animal care, grooming and seeking guidance from the pros or a ‘coach.’ You follow that game plan right up until show day.

Bob May, Purina® Honor® Show Chow® Ambassador from Mineral Point, Wis., uses an intense and individualized game plan for each of his cattle.

“Success in the showring starts with the cattle’s conformation, but is achieved with consistent hard work and daily care to get the cattle where they need to be at the show,” says May.

The calf may be the star athlete, but even the best athletes don’t perform well without proper daily training, management and a supportive team behind them.

May suggests the following daily care tips to help take your show project to the next level:

1. Involve a veterinarian. Before an animal arrives at your farm, have a plan in place through your veterinarian for health and vaccination protocols. Ask the prior owner for a full health history on the animal, so you can have all of the animal’s health information at hand.

2. Earn the animal’s trust. A show calf needs to trust you, and trust comes in the form of working with the animal on a daily basis. It may be a long, slow process, but it’s one that’s essential to form a partnership with your project animal.

3. Have a consistent feeding routine. May suggests feeding individually at the same time each day. Cattle crave consistency, and when they are fed inconsistently they might also eat inconsistently. May also emphasizes that calves may eat better when they eat in a group setting. To make this possible, he will place individual calves in different runs nose-to-nose and feed them at the same time to mimic feeding in a group.

4. Monitor feed intake. Monitor what your animal is consuming at each feeding, and clean out old feed immediately. May has seen cases where new feed is simply dumped on top of old feed.

“You can quickly lose track of how much feed your calf is actually consuming,” explains May. “You think they are getting 15 pounds at night, and they are actually getting 18 because someone didn’t clean out the old feed from the morning.”

5. Ensure water availability and quality. Animals should have access to clean, cool water at all times. This basic animal care tip is sometimes overlooked, according to May.

“We clean our water tanks frequently,” May says. “Clean, cool water will keep cattle drinking and eating in those hot summer months when consumption usually drops off.”

6. Keep pens and cooler rooms clean. May mentions a good rule of thumb is if it smells or looks wet or dirty – clean it. A clean pen or cooler room will make grooming and daily care of the animal easier for both the animal and the exhibitor.

“If you don’t want to be in those pens or cooler rooms because of the smell, then the animal doesn’t want to be either,” he explains. “Cooler rooms do not equate to hair growth. Cleanliness is most important for hair growth.”

7. Learn the hair cycles. Hair grows in 90-day cycles, and this knowledge can help you determine what stage an animal’s hair will be in (or you want to be in) as you arrive at your show date. For example, for a show in August, May’s goal is to have all the old hair removed by the middle of May.

May doesn’t shear off any of his calves, but recognizes this is a standard practice for some breeds. Instead, he relies on a shedding comb to bust through and remove old hair. The shedding comb works best when hair is dirty and dusty, not wet or caked with manure.

8. Practice, practice, practice. May has his own children show their animals in competition at least twice before heading to their target show. This allows the animals and exhibitors to shake their ‘first-time jitters.’

“Specifically at the county fair level, it may be the first and only time both the kids and the cattle have seen the showring,” he explains. “And usually, that is not a good experience for the exhibitor or the animal.”

9. Find a hoof trimmer you can trust. May encourages all exhibitors to seek an expert in hoof care and recommends networking with other show enthusiasts to find a good trimmer in your area. Unlike clipping and fitting, there is little room for practice on hooves.

“Find a good hoof trimmer that will do a little trimming on the top, but does most of the work underneath the hoof,” he says. “A bad hoof trimming can result in disaster.”

10. Stick to the game plan. Have a management plan. Identify important dates before the show, and execute your plan daily.

“If you don’t focus on the management, other exhibitors will,” explains May. “And quite simply, if you don’t focus – those that do will beat you. They will be better prepared.”

For more management tips join the online community of show enthusiasts at www.facebook.com/HonorShowChow or at www.twitter.com/HonorShowChow.

Article Attributed to Purina Animal Nutrition

Top 5 Showmanship Tips from the Experts

Tuesday, January 1st, 2019

The Head of a Cattle Champion Simmental Cow.Countless hours are spent preparing a project heifer or steer for show day. Early mornings and late nights are consumed washing, feeding, clipping and practicing. All of that work accumulates for ‘5 minutes of fame’ – the brief time when an animal walks into the ring and gets a chance to impress the judge. After a few laps around the ring, exhibitors get a chance to display their animal’s side profile, then animals are pulled in, placed and the class is over.

When all is said and done, exhibitors and their projects have only been in the ring for a few short minutes, even in large, competitive classes. How can exhibitors make the most of those few minutes, while the judge contemplates his or her decision? How can they make sure their animals are presented to perfection during that time, giving the judge the best look possible?

Honor® Show Chow® Ambassadors Dave Allan, Bob May and Kirk Stierwalt have had decades of combined show industry experience and all have had the opportunity to judge showmanship on a regular basis.

Now, they are sharing their top five showmanship tips based on their expertise and experience to help exhibitors and their projects excel in the ring:

1. Teach cattle manners.
“Cattle need to know the cues and fundamentals to be shown properly in the show ring,” says Stierwalt. “It’s hard to win, even if you have a good calf if you can’t get it set up.”

Practicing at home and in various environments is critical. The only way for an animal to learn cues and get comfortable showing is to practice. Practicing in variable environments – whether that be indoor or outdoor, individually or with a group, with background noise or without – can help prepare your animal for a situation they might encounter in the show ring.

2. Know your animal.
“Not all cattle are set up the same,” says Stierwalt. “You need to know what your calf looks like from a judge’s point-of-view to show them with the best result.”

For some exhibitors, it may come naturally to correct flaws with their project, while for others it may take some time to see what the judge sees in the show ring. While one animal may need its head held a bit higher, another might need it’s back touched down just a bit more. Practicing both on the halter and off, can help exhibitors identify flaws and learn how best to correct those flaws in the ring.

3. Walk into a staggered position.
One of Dave Allan’s top tips is learning how to walk your cattle into a staggered position to minimize show stick use for feet placement.

“Practice at home by taking the last several steps, switch hands while walking backward looking at the back feet, and walk them into staggered position,” says Allan. “By doing so, most of the time you’ll only have to move the left front foot. You’ll be set up quickly and avoid a lot of time spent on the unnecessary shuffling of the feet.”

Allan adds that learning the in’s and out’s of halter pressure will help when the need does arise to shuffle feet.

4. Set, and don’t forget.
Both Allan and May emphasize that while many parents tell their kids to watch the judge and smile, too often young exhibitors end up staring the judge down and disregarding presentation of their animal.

“Exhibitors spend months preparing for a show. To be competitive you need to watch your animal. First and foremost you need to get them set up, then look for the judge,” says May.

Allan adds, “You need to know where the judge is to correctly set your animal up and watch for cues to get pulled, but priority should be on making sure your animal is set up properly.”

5. Never be late. 
Whether the class is showmanship or the animal’s actual class, May advises exhibitors to always be on time. Be aware of how quickly classes are going, keep a close watch on the show ring as your class approaches and be ready to enter the ring once the previous class is in.

If a judge has to wait for late arrival or is already in the midst of placing the class, exhibitors late to the ring often won’t get the look they worked hard to receive.

An exhibitor may have a potential class-winning animal, but if not properly presented and fed, that animal may not rise to the top. Practicing and perfecting showmanship skills are critical for giving the judge the best look on show day, as is a high-quality plane of nutrition.

For more showing tips join the online community of show enthusiasts at www.facebook.com/HonorShowChow or at www.twitter.com/HonorShowChow.

Article Attributed to Purina Animal Nutrition

10 Daily Tips For Show Cattle

Thursday, July 14th, 2016

show cattleRaising Show Cattle is a lot like sports. When you want to be successful at sports, you don’t just show up for games and expect to win. You attend team practices, you practice at home and you follow the game plan outlined by the coach. The same concept applies to showing cattle. You prepare for the ‘game’ through daily animal care, grooming and seeking guidance from the pros or a ‘coach.’ You follow that game plan right up until show day.

Bob May, Purina® Honor® Show Chow® Ambassador from Mineral Point, Wis., uses an intense and individualized game plan for each of his cattle.

“Success in the showring starts with the cattle’s conformation, but is achieved with consistent hard work and daily care to get the cattle where they need to be at the show,” says May.

The calf may be the star athlete, but even the best athletes don’t perform well without proper daily training, management and a supportive team behind them.

May suggests the following daily care tips to help take your show project to the next level:

1. Involve a veterinarian. Before an animal arrives at your farm, have a plan in place through your veterinarian for health and vaccination protocols. Ask the prior owner for a full health history on the animal, so you can have all of the animal’s health information at hand.

2. Earn the animal’s trust. A show calf needs to trust you, and trust comes in the form of working with the animal on a daily basis. It may be a long, slow process, but it’s one that’s essential to form a partnership with your project animal.

3. Have a consistent feeding routine. May suggests feeding individually at the same time each day. Cattle crave consistency, and when they are fed inconsistently they might also eat inconsistently. May also emphasizes that calves may eat better when they eat in a group setting. To make this possible, he will place individual calves in different runs nose-to-nose and feed them at the same time to mimic feeding in a group.

4. Monitor feed intake. Monitor what your animal is consuming at each feeding, and clean out old feed immediately. May has seen cases where new feed is simply dumped on top of old feed.

“You can quickly lose track of how much feed your calf is actually consuming,” explains May. “You think they are getting 15 pounds at night, and they are actually getting 18 because someone didn’t clean out the old feed from the morning.”

5. Ensure water availability and quality. Animals should have access to clean, cool water at all times. This basic animal care tip is sometimes overlooked, according to May.

“We clean our water tanks frequently,” May says. “Clean, cool water will keep cattle drinking and eating in those hot summer months when consumption usually drops off.”

6. Keep pens and cooler rooms clean. May mentions a good rule of thumb is if it smells or looks wet or dirty – clean it. A clean pen or cooler room will make grooming and daily care of the animal easier for both the animal and the exhibitor.

“If you don’t want to be in those pens or cooler rooms because of the smell, then the animal doesn’t want to be either,” he explains. “Cooler rooms do not equate to hair growth. Cleanliness is most important for hair growth.”

7. Learn the hair cycles. Hair grows in 90-day cycles, and this knowledge can help you determine what stage an animal’s hair will be in (or you want to be in) as you arrive at your show date. For example, for a show in August, May’s goal is to have all the old hair removed by the middle of May.

May doesn’t shear off any of his calves, but recognizes this is a standard practice for some breeds. Instead, he relies on a shedding comb to bust through and remove old hair. The shedding comb works best when hair is dirty and dusty, not wet or caked with manure.

8. Practice, practice, practice. May has his own children show their animals in competition at least twice before heading to their target show. This allows the animals and exhibitors to shake their ‘first-time jitters.’

“Specifically at the county fair level, it may be the first and only time both the kids and the cattle have seen the showring,” he explains. “And usually, that is not a good experience for the exhibitor or the animal.”

9. Find a hoof trimmer you can trust. May encourages all exhibitors to seek an expert in hoof care and recommends networking with other show enthusiasts to find a good trimmer in your area. Unlike clipping and fitting, there is little room for practice on hooves.

“Find a good hoof trimmer that will do a little trimming on the top, but does most of the work underneath the hoof,” he says. “A bad hoof trimming can result in disaster.”

10. Stick to the game plan. Have a management plan. Identify important dates before the show, and execute your plan daily.

“If you don’t focus on the management, other exhibitors will,” explains May. “And quite simply, if you don’t focus – those that do will beat you. They will be better prepared.”

Source: Bob May, Purina Animal Nutrition 

 

2016 Stock Show Dates

Sunday, January 3rd, 2016

2016 stock show

2016 Stock Show season is right around the corner!

The 2016 Stock Show season is going strong— Here are the dates locations of several major 2016 Stock Shows happening throughout Texas in 2016. Go to the links for each Stock Show to learn more about event schedules, entry forms, ticket information and more:

 

Ft Worth Stock Show and Rodeo: January 15 – February 6, 2016

San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo: February 11 – 28, 2016

Star of Texas (Austin Rodeo): March 12 – 26, 2016

Houston Stock Show & Rodeo: March 1 – 20, 2016

State Fair of Texas (Dallas): September 30 – October 23, 2016

Save the dates and make plans now to attend a stock show event near you— the 2016 Stock Shows are a must-do for you and your whole family!

If you’re showing this year, let J&N Feed and Seed get you ready for the big day. We’ve got show feeds by Lindner, Moorman & Honor Show Chow and supplies from Sullivan Show Supplies. We’ve also got shavings, blankets and everything else you need to win big in the ring! Let your friends at J&N Feed and Seed help you raise a winner this year.  And to all the exhibitors, GOOD LUCK!

Purina High Octane Ultra Full Is Here

Tuesday, October 13th, 2015

Purina High Octane Ultra FullPurina High Octane Ultra Full show supplement is now available at J&N Feed and Seed.  Ultra Full show supplement will help you achieve the desired results you need with your show project. High Octane® Ultra Full™ supplement is designed to help support fill in the lower body and flank areas through controlled, progressive expansion. Ultra Full™ supplement can be fed in combination and compliments our High Octane Depth Charge supplement. It’s proprietary ingredient blend enhances palatability to help stimulate feed intake and can be fed to all show livestock species.

Stop by J&N Feed and Seed for all your show feeds, supplements and supplies. Let us help you raise a winner this year!

Show Chow Success: Cuatro Schauer

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2012

Recent high school graduate Cuatro Schauer shattered records with his prize winning steer at the Fort Worth Stock Show in February.

Cuatro’s cash cow, Spider Monkey, was auctioned off during the Sale of Champions for an astounding $230,000, making it the highest price paid in the shows 116-year history and beating the previous record of $210,000 set in 2010.

Cuatro, a recent graduate of A.C. Jones High School in Beeville, Texas, has been showing steers for nine years, goats for about seven and just recently started showing lambs as well.

“My uncle raises show steers, and he got me into it,” Cuatro said. “He got me my first steer and after that I was sold.”

Showing seems like a natural hobby for Cuatro with the Schauer family background. “My family owns a Purina Feed store that my dad took over in 1994, but my grandpa has been selling feed since 1969,” Cuatro said.

Cuatro attends about ten big shows a year and 15 to 20 prospect shows. Even before his big win at the Fort Worth Stock Show in February, he had some big wins under his belt. Cuatro won the Grand Champion Youth Market Goat at the State Fair of Texas in 2011, Grand Champion Junior Market Steer during the 2011 Rodeo Austin, the Grand Champion Lamb at the 2009 State Fair of Texas and the Reserve Grand Champion steer and medium wool lamb in the San Angelo Stock Show.

In addition to Cuatro’s success, the combination of the people he meets and his competitive drive keep him coming back every year.

“I’ve met a bunch of my really close friends through showing. You’ve got a kind of bond. Someone you meet at a show knows what you do and why you do it,” Cuatro said. “I like showing because you get to see everyone at the shows that you meet, but I am very competitive,” Cuatro said.

Cuatro will be going to Texas A & M this fall to major in Animal Science, along with many of his show friends. Until then he will continue to fill his days taking care of his animals and showing. When he has down time, Cuatro also enjoys golfing, fishing and hunting.

Cuatro is a dedicated customer of Honor® Show Chow® products because of their proven consistency and the results.

“It is one less thing you have to worry about when you go to feed the barn everyday,” Cuatro said.