# raising, best breed, age etc etc etc etc



## manybirds (Aug 29, 2011)

So we would like to get a beef to market off at our local fair next year. What age do you slaughter at? Whats a good price to get one at? Would it be better to bottle raise a calf or to get a weened one? Where should I get it? I know auctions arn't a good place to get animals but since there so cheep maybe? I presume steers are best? How much to feed a beef a day? What breed? it would be nice to have something other than the bunches of solid black angus cattle there so preferably not them. I want something that's got a good personality as it will be handled much and will nead to behave. I'm probably forgetting something so if you want to mention anything else that would be good too.


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## manybirds (Aug 29, 2011)

anyone?


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## manybirds (Aug 29, 2011)

I'm dying for an answer


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## herfrds (Aug 29, 2011)

Most say to slaughter less then 30 months of age. Like 24 months. Some say less then that it just depends what you are looking for. Our current butcher steer will be 31 months old when he is butchered in October, but that is just us.

As for price talk to the breeder. We normally sell ours for market price. Just an example we sell our steers in the auction ring weight is 550# we get 
$1.10 a pound for them. we have steer at home that weights between 545# and 555# we would sell him for that $1.10 a pound.

get a weaned one. Less fuss and trouble.

As for the sale ring find out if there is any background on the animals. we provide birthdate and vaccines used and dates plus pour on info. Some guys will not provide that info.

steers or heifers. Some will spay their heifers for better gain and so they do not have to deal with them cycling. We like our steers.

Depends upon how you want to finish them. We feed ours grass hay, alafafa hay, barley hay (no beards) and ground barley. I am special feeding our butcher steer right now. He is getting a cob mix with molasses. the cob has corn, barley and oats in it. He is also getting ground barley and soy bean meal. He's with my milk cow so they are getting fed together at night.


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## herfrds (Aug 29, 2011)

I forgot I like our Herefords for their temperment. We ship the bad tempered ones. I know Royd will be stepping in here with his Galloways shortly. We tried cross breeding with a black angus one year, he got a nasty attitude and we shipped him.


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## manybirds (Aug 29, 2011)

Okay thanks! I figured you'de market at 1-1/12 years old though. So for raising 1-2 for market would it be worth it? I've always liked cows and we've had every animal under the sun so cows should be fun. gotta go! any others out there?


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## herfrds (Aug 29, 2011)

It should be worth it. It also depends upon the cost to process the steers too.

we just sold a steer last night at $1.86 hanging rail weight.


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## kstaven (Aug 29, 2011)

Price you have to pay for feed, how much grazing you have on your own property will be big factors on cost vs. end value.


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## manybirds (Aug 30, 2011)

I think if we get some we'll go to auction and get a year old and a weanling. IF we do what do you feed? do you feed grain? anything special? I would like purebreds but i think at the auction you take what you can get. It will/would/should be fun! hope it works out and i'll  post questions as i think of them. Hope they arn't sick if we do get them......... thanks for the advice!


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## 20kidsonhill (Aug 30, 2011)

manybirds said:
			
		

> I think if we get some we'll go to auction and get a year old and a weanling. IF we do what do you feed? do you feed grain? anything special? I would like purebreds but i think at the auction you take what you can get. It will/would/should be fun! hope it works out and i'll  post questions as i think of them. Hope they arn't sick if we do get them......... thanks for the advice!


Why not buy off a farm so you know what you are getting. Wouldn't have to be registered, could still be commercial, then the farmer can also give you advice.


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## manybirds (Aug 30, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> manybirds said:
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We have to decide yet but that is a good idea seeing as you don't know what they're going to get at auction but we're going to have to see what's what


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## herfrds (Aug 30, 2011)

We let ours graze the pastures. It is getting dry now so the steers have been getting two 5 gallon buckets of ground barley.
the steer I am feeding is getting cob with mollasses. The cob has corn, barley and oats in it. He's also getting some ground barley.

We feed our cattle barley hay, grass hay and alfafa hay. They also have salt blocks and feed choice mineral.


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## goodhors (Aug 30, 2011)

Strongly suggest you buy your animals from a farm setting, even if it cost you a few more dollars.

Animals coming thru an auction sale barn may get VERY sick on you, because they have exposed
to a LARGE variety of sicknesses.  The germs are on the walls and floors, floating in the air at the Sale.
  Young animals, newly weaned animals are extremely suseptible
to these sicknesses, get very sick.  Some do not survive combination of the illness, along with stress of new places,
being in new groups of cattle piled onto them.  Even getting the Vet out doesn't always work to save 
them.  So cheaper auction price was no savings at all if you lose the animal.

We had the Vet out Monday.  Her next call was to a feeder farm, where 30 newly purchased auction 
animals out of 50 animals, were quite sick.  Not sure with what yet, but they were not getting better after getting
meds from the Farmer.  These were feeders, 500 pounds or so, not weaners.  Auctions are NOT 
clean places, many animals get sick after you get them home if you buy at the Sale Barns.  Vet is HOPING
that the other animals at the farm don't also get sick from the illness of sale animals.


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## manybirds (Aug 30, 2011)

goodhors said:
			
		

> Strongly suggest you buy your animals from a farm setting, even if it cost you a few more dollars.
> 
> Animals coming thru an auction sale barn may get VERY sick on you, because they have exposed
> to a LARGE variety of sicknesses.  The germs are on the walls and floors, floating in the air at the Sale.
> ...


I know about actions. Let me see if i can find a breeder in our area. We're not supposed to get them now but if we can get some more land in the next year or so we'll get one or two. We have a neighbor (directly across the road from ous and the only other house on our long gravel road) who has a big pasture they raise some dairy breed steers for meat up every year and have more than enough pasture but I dought they would let us keep a cow on there. We have another neighbor about a mile away who has herfords and they might would let us but that would be difficult with feeding hay in the winter because they would end up paying and in the winter we'de be using gas to drive down there. Hopefully the DNR will sell us a few more acress. We have  a pasture of our own but it has goats horses and sheep on it. How much grain in a day would you feed a single cow? any vaccines I should know about?


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## herfrds (Aug 31, 2011)

Start them out slow on grain. Like a half a coffee can. Then as they start to eat the grain slowly increase it every week until they are at a 5 gallon bucket a day.

We vaccinate with Bovi Shield Gold 5 and One Shot Ultra.
Had a different vaccine fail on us so we switched over to these.


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## WildRoseBeef (Aug 31, 2011)

manybirds said:
			
		

> So we would like to get a beef to market off at our local fair next year. What age do you slaughter at?


I would go more with the weight of an animal than age.  Usually the optimum slaughter weight for any beefer is between 18 and 24 months of age.  For home-grown beef the best weight we'd have ours slaughtered at was around 1200 lbs.  You can get a lot of meat from a 1200 lb steer, you know!



> Whats a good price to get one at?


Depends on the price for your area, the weight of the animal, health, etc.  You should see your local auction for current price listings so that you know what to expect when you are going out to buy a beefer, even if it ain't from an auction.  Remember that steers sell for more than heifers, and lighter cattle sell more than heavier ones.



> Would it be better to bottle raise a calf or to get a weened one?


Go for a weaner.  You will have less of a headache and worry when looking after a weaned calf versus a bottle-calf.  Bottle-calves are more prone to illness and scours than weaners are, and you have a higher chance of loosing a bottle calf than a weaned one.



> Where should I get it? I know auctions arn't a good place to get animals but since there so cheep maybe?


I'm going to go with the majority on here and say buy one via private treaty (in other words, on-farm).  Cheapness isn't all about where you buy them, it's more about what a person is willing to sell them for.  A calf will go cheap at an auction only because it appears thinner and less healthy than the other calves that went through the wrong.  Same thing applies to cows and bulls.  And of course, in America, any animal that isn't black WILL go cheaper than one that is.  This is a bit different here in Canada. 



> I presume steers are best?


There really isn't much difference if you go with a steer or a heifer.  A heifer will gain the same as a steer, eat as much as a steer, etc.  However, the differences have been found in the meat quality.  If I remember correctly, a study done on beef quality difference between steers and heifers showed that heifers tend to have slightly more external fat than steers do that needed to be cut away when they were slaughtered.  Steers tend to convert feed into beef a little more efficiently than heifers did, and they were also found to be slightly more leaner than heifers were in terms of marbling.  I believe it is for those reasons that steers are the more popular animal to use for beef.  So in your case, it would be a good idea to go with a steer for your freezer.



> How much to feed a beef a day?


That depends on what you feed it.  Generally a bovine will eat 2.5% of its body weight in dry matter ration per day.  This amount will differ depending on the moisture content of the feed or forage.   



> What breed? it would be nice to have something other than the bunches of solid black angus cattle there so preferably not them. I want something that's got a good personality as it will be handled much and will need to behave.


There are many breeds to that you can choose to have as a good beef steer.  I would stay away from Charolais, Limousin, Maine Anjou and Salers because all four are known to be a bit nervous and flighty to the point of being a little too aggressive.  Angus are not too great on temperament either, at least from the animals I've had to deal with.  Herefords, Shorthorns, Simmentals, Galloways, Red Polls and Speckle Park are a number of breeds I can think off-hand that may be ideal for you.  



> I'm probably forgetting something so if you want to mention anything else that would be good too.


Vaccinate according to what is necessary for your area.  Around here calves have to be vaccinated for IBR, Blackleg, BVD, BRD, PI3, etc.


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