Knowing specifically what the many feed additives can do and how and when to feed them can make a highly competitive business more profitable for beef, dairy, and sheep men.

The target chart quickly and briefly tells you which additives do what.
All the additives listed here are sanctioned for use by the Food and Drug Administration of the federal government.
All comments concerning effectiveness and use of drugs have been carefully reviewed by a veterinary medical officer with Aj.

This article assumes that the rations you are feeding your beef, dairy cattle, and sheep are adequately balanced with protein, vitamins, and minerals.

The drug's chemical name is listed, since most states require feed processors to use this name instead of the trade name on the feed tag.
In some instances, the trade name is shown in parentheses following the chemical name.
This indicates that this drug is being marketed under one trade name only or state regulatory organizations have approved its use on the feed tag.

Here's your feed additive guide for ruminants:

drug's chemical name:

Oxytetracycline hydrochloride (Terramycin) what it does:

Increases rate of gain and improves feed efficiency, aids in the prevention or treatment (depending on level fed) of the early stages of shipping fever, prevents or treats bacterial diarrhea, and aids in reducing incidence of bloat and liver abscesses.
Milk production may be increased by the anti-infective properties of this drug.
How to feed: beef cattle (finishing ration)

-- To increase rate of gain and improve feed efficiency, feed 75 milligrams per head in daily supplement.
Calves

-- To increase rate of gain and improve feed efficiency, feed 10 to 25 grams per ton of complete feed.
As an aid in the prevention of bacterial diarrhea (scours), feed 50 grams per ton of complete feed.
For the treatment of bacterial scours, feed 100-200 grams.
For prevention or treatment of bacterial scours, feed 0.1 to 5 milligrams per pound of body weight daily.
Beef and dairy

-- As an aid in reducing incidence and severity of bloat, provide 75 milligrams of oxytetracycline hydrochloride per animal daily.
To reduce incidence of liver abscesses, supply 75 milligrams of oxytetracycline activity per head daily.
To prevent or treat bacterial diarrhea, furnish 0.1 to 5 milligrams per pound of body weight daily.
For the prevention or treatment of the early stages of shipping fever complex, increase feeding level to 0.5 to 2 grams per head per day.
For the best results, feed this level to cattle 3 to 5 days preceding shipment and/or 3 to 5 days following their arrival in your feed lot.
For treatment of shipping fever, this level should be fed at the onset of the disease symptoms until symptoms disappear.
Sheep

-- To increase rate of gain and improve feed efficiency, feed 10 to 20 grams per ton.
As an aid in the prevention of bacterial diarrhea (scours), feed 50 grams per ton.

Drug's chemical name:

Chlortetracycline (Aureomycin) what it does:

Increases gains, improves feed efficiency, and reduces losses from bacterial infections listed under "How To Feed" section.
Milk production may be increased by the anti-infective properties of this drug.
How to feed: beef

-- Not less than 70 milligrams of Aureomycin per head daily to aid in the prevention of liver abscesses in feed-lot beef cattle.
Prevention of bacterial pneumonia, shipping fever, as an aid in reduction of losses due to respiratory infections (infectious rhinotracheitis -- shipping fever complex).
Feed at level of 70 milligrams per head per day.
Treatment of the above diseases: 350 milligrams per head per day for 30 days only.
For prevention of these diseases during periods of stress such as shipping, excessive handling, vaccination, extreme weather conditions: 350 milligrams per head per day for 30 days only.
As an aid in reducing bacterial diarrhea and preventing foot rot, feed not less than 0.1 milligram per pound of body weight daily.
To aid in the prevention of anaplasmosis, feed not less than 0.5 milligram per pound of body weight daily.
Dairy

-- For calves, feed not less than 50 grams of Aureomycin per ton complete feed as an aid in preventing bacterial diarrhea and foot rot.
For cows, feed providing an intake of 0.1 milligram of Aureomycin per pound of body weight daily aids in the reduction of bacterial diarrhea, in the prevention of foot rot, and in the reduction of losses due to respiratory infection (infectious rhinotracheitis -- shipping fever complex).
Sheep

-- As an aid in reducing losses due to enterotoxemia (overeating disease), feed a complete ration containing not less than 20 and not more than 50 grams of Aureomycin per ton.
To reduce vibrionic abortion in breeding sheep, feed 80 milligrams per head daily.

Drug's chemical name:

Dynafac.
What it does:

An aid in getting cattle and sheep on full feed, in improving feed conversion and growth, in reducing bloat and founder, and in controlling scours.
How to feed: beef and dairy calves

-- 0.2 gram Dynafac per head daily (1 gram of premix per head daily) for promoting growth, feed conversion, bloom, and full feed earlier.
Feeder cattle

-- Dynafac in a complete ration or 0.3 to 0.4 gram per head per day (200 grams of premix per ton complete ration or equivalent.
Animals consuming 20 pounds feed daily receive 2 grams Dynafac).
Aids in minimizing the occurrence of feed-lot bloat due to high consumption of concentrates.
Sheep and lambs

-- 1.0 gram premix per head per day for promoting growth, feed conversion, and getting lambs on full feed earlier.

Drug's chemical name:

Diethylstilbestrol.
What it does:

Increases rate of gain and improves feed efficiency.
How to feed: beef cattle

-- 10 milligrams of diethylstilbestrol per head daily.
This may be incorporated in complete feeds at the level of 0.4 milligram of diethylstilbestrol per pound of ration -- assuming animal consumes about 25 pounds daily.
The drug is also incorporated in supplements.
These are to be fed at a rate to provide 10 milligrams DES per head daily.
The recommended 10-milligram daily intake level should be maintained.
It may be incorporated into cattle creep feeds in levels from 1.0 to 1.5 milligrams of diethylstilbestrol per pound of feed.
Sheep fattening rations

-- The recommended level for sheep is 2 milligrams daily, and this level should be maintained.
Include supplement containing 0.4 to 2 milligrams per pound to provide 2 milligrams per head per day.
Caution:

Discontinue medication 48 hours before slaughter.

Drug's chemical name:

Hydroxazine hydrochloride.
What it does:

Improves growth rate and feed efficiency of fattening beef animals.
How to feed:

At the rate of 2-1/2 milligrams per head per day.

Drug's chemical name:

Iodinated casein.
What it does:

Drug elevates the metabolic rate of the cow.
Fed to dairy cattle to increase milk production and butterfat percentage.
How to feed:

1 to 1-1/2 grams per 100 pounds of body weight.
Caution:

Cows receiving drug may not be officially tested under breed registry testing programs.

Drug's chemical name:

Bacterial and fungal enzymes.
(These enzyme preparations appear on today's feed tags as fermentation extracts of Bacillus subtilis, Apergillus orzae, Niger, and Flavus.
) what it does:

Improves utilization of low-moisture corn (less than 14%).
How to feed:

Greatest benefits have been associated with feeding low-moisture corn in beef-feeding programs.
Several firms are merchandising enzyme preparation through feed manufacturers.

Drug's chemical name:

Ronnel.
What it does:
Effectively controls cattle grubs which damage hides and can reduce gains.
How to feed:

Drug is added to either a protein or mineral supplement for a period of 7 or 14 days.
Follow manufacturer's recommendation carefully.
Caution:

Do not feed to dairy cows and do not feed within 60 days of slaughter.

Drug's chemical name:

Methyl polysiloxanes.
What it does:

Aids in preventing foamy bloat.
How to feed:

For prevention of foamy bloat, feed at a rate of 0.5 to 2 milligrams per head per day in mineral or salt or feed.
For treatment of bloat, drug is fed at a higher level.

Drug's chemical name:

Phenothiazine.
What it does:

Reduces losses from stomach, hookworm, and nodular worms by interfering with reproduction of the female worm by reducing the number of eggs laid and essentially rendering all laid eggs sterile.
Also, aids in the control of horn flies by preventing them from hatching in the droppings.
How to feed:

Treat cattle with 10 grams per 100 pounds body weight with a maximum of 70 grams per animal.
Then, for the above parasites, feed continuously at these levels: Feeder cattle -- 2-5 grams of phenothiazine daily;
beef calves -- to 1.5 grams daily depending on weight of animal.
Treat lambs with 12 grams per head for lambs weighing up to 50 pounds;
treat lambs over 50 pounds and adults with 24 grams per animal.
For continuous control, feed 1 part phenothiazine to 9 parts minerals or salts.
To include in feed, add phenothiazine to supply 0.5 to 1 gram per sheep daily.
Caution:

Continuous administration is not recommended for lactating cows.
Following single-dose treatment, milk should be discarded for 4 days following treatment.

Drug's chemical name:

Procaine penicillin.
What it does:

Aids in reducing the incidence and severity of bloat in beef or dairy cattle on legume pasture.
How to feed:

Feed 75,000 units or 75 milligrams per head daily.

Drug's chemical name:

Sodium propionate.
What it does:

For the prevention or treatment of acetonemia (ketosis) in dairy cows.
How to feed:

For the prevention of acetonemia (ketosis) feed 1/4 pound per day beginning at calving and continuing for 6 weeks.
For the treatment of ketosis feed 1/4 to 1/2 pound per day for 10 days.

Drug's chemical name:

Sulfaquinoxaline.
What it does:

Helps control shipping dysentery and coccidiosis in lambs.
How to feed: lambs

-- feed at level for 2 or 3 days.

Drug's chemical name:

Dried rumen bacteria.
What it does:

Stimulates rumen activity.
How to feed:

Incorporated in commercially prepared feed at proper levels.

Drug's chemical name:

Calcium and sodium lactate.
What it does:

Prevents and treats acetonemia (ketosis) in dairy cows.
How to feed:

For prevention of ketosis, feed 1/4 pound per head daily for 6 weeks commencing at calving time.
For treatment of ketosis, feed 1/2 pound daily until symptoms disappear.
Then, feed preventive dose until 6 weeks after calving.

Drug's chemical name:

Promazine hydrochloride.
What it does:

A tranquilizer fed to cattle (other than lactating dairy cows) prior to their being subjected to stress conditions such as vaccinating, shipping, weaning calves, and excessive handling.
How to feed:

Not less than milligram but not more than 1.25 milligrams of additive per pound of body weight.
Caution:

Additive should not be fed 72 hours before animals are slaughtered.
There are three principal feed bunk types for dairy and beef cattle: (1) Fence-line bunks -- cattle eat from one side while feed is put in from the opposite side of the fence by self-unloading wagons;
(2) Mechanized bunks -- they sit within the feed lot, are filled by a mechanical conveyor above feeding surface;
(3) Special bunks -- as discussed here, they permit cattle to eat from all sides.
Feed is put in with an elevator.

Several materials or combinations of materials can be used to construct a satisfactory feed bunk.
The selection of materials depends on skills of available labor for installation, cost of materials available locally, and your own preference.
No one material is best for all situations.
Selecting bunks by economic comparison is usually an individual problem.

Fence-line feeding.

Animals eat only from one side, so the fence-line bunk must be twice as long as the mechanical bunk.
These bunks also serve as a fence, so part of the additional cost must be attributed to the fence.
Because of their location, on the edge of the feed lot, fence-line bunks are not in the way of mechanical manure removal.
Filling these bunks by the same self-unloading wagons used to fill silos spreads cost of the wagons over more time and operations.

All-weather roads must be provided next to the feeding floor so access will be possible all year.
This will be a problem in areas of heavy snowfall.