How much to feed Dexter beef calfs?

[tamraclove]

OK - I'm sure this is out there somewhere, but I must not be using the right search terms.

I am interested in getting into a few beef cattle, for personal meat. We are about to fence 3-4 acres, and I'm looking at Dexters. Ideally, I'd get a cow with calf this year, then hopefully get a bull next year and raise my own calves after that.

My question is about growing the calf. I know that you really have to fatten them up on corn if you want them to finish early and heavy, but that's not really our goal. I'm happy to give them 24 - 30 months and let them grow on grass and hay. I've been running cost analysis on everything we'd need to know before starting a small cattle venture (fencing, shelter, feed) and the feed cost of feeding a calf to 12 months is really high!! Of course, the back of the calf feed bag says to feed until 12 months, but I want to know how long the calf needs the extra nutrients from feed, and when they will be perfectly fine on just pasture and hay.

Of course, good pasture, good hay in winter and mineral block will be available.

If anyone could help me out, either with hard data or what has been successful for you, I would really appreciate it!!

We are in Central Kentucky, USDA zone 6. Usually hot humid summers, winter almost never reaching 0, hovering around 20-30 most of the time with spikes into the 60s!

Thanks!
Carrie

 

[goodhors]

Well one advantage with the Dexters is that steers are READY before reaching 2yrs old!
I probably wouldn't be giving a lot in added feed to a calf nursing his mother, or even after
weaning age of 5-6 months. Good hay, some grain, should have a castrated Dexter
calf gaining very well as he grows towards a processing size. My goal weight would be
about 700 pounds, first because even the MATURE Dexters are just NOT THAT LARGE. Feeding
him longer than that size, is not going to give you "that much more" in meat returns for the
cost of the feed.

I saw a LOVELY 3/4 Dexter/1/4 Jersey steer, well fleshed out, ready for the freezer, at 14 months
of age. He got a daily helping of grain, excellent hay, had been grazed during the summer
months. I believe he would have placed very well in a Market Steer class, he just was
at peak condition for processing. In fact his freezer date was the next week, according to
owner who gave me all this information. Some grain is helpful to get fat in the meat, but he sure
doesn't need huge amounts.

My Dexter heifer about doubled her size in 5 months, after worming a couple times, on just grazing
and some treats so she came when called. Went from about 300# to about 600# in that time.
Literal HANDFULL of grain in her stall for locking her up at night. No telling what earlier worming
would have done for her, in size gains. She was wormed after I got her, so the gains increased
from there onward. She PREFERRED grassy hay over the mostly alfalfa when given a choice. Nice,
since the grass stuff was cheaper! Didn't need much daily, since she left some on the ground, it
told me she was FULL, didn't need more hay. No free choice hay here, she probably got a 1/3 of
a small bale daily, all she wanted or cleaned up pretty well. It is VERY easy to get Dexters overfat,
they are such easy keepers, use even plain grass very efficiently to gain weight with. You don't
want an obese cow, she will have trouble getting bred and delivering a calf.

And you want to KEEP IN MIND, that feed companies are in the business of selling FEED. If they
can get you to PAY for their feed, they make MONEY. So recommendations of quantities to feed
will need you to consider the source, before jumping into their program. Buying feed is ONE WAY
to raise a calf for the freezer, but NOT the only way!!

Going with a simpler program, calf on the cow, some small grain servings after weaning, keeping him
handled and friendly, should help get him off to a real good start in gaining weight. Castrate early
if possible, so weight gain is all into meat instead of hormones of a bull. You can evaluate his progress
as the year goes along, make feeding modifications as needed. You are raising beef so you know where
it came from, how it was fed, hoping to SAVE cash on the cost of meat instead of store purchasing. Buying
calf food for a year or two is NOT going to save you money! Grazing will save cash over purchased feed
as the main foodstuff, if pastures are in good shape, kept mowed to produce more NEW grass for the
cattle thru the season (if your location gets regular rain). Don't mow in drought times. Tall, dried up
grasses are not very nutritional, or what cattle will CHOOSE to mostly eat, they want new, younger green stuff.

Again, I believe that a Dexter calf will reach processing weight, 700# or so, in a much shorter time than
2 years, or even 18 months. They just are not big cows, don't take as long to fill out for eating them.

 

[tamraclove]

Well, DH has decided that it's just too much of an investment this year. Hopefully I can get him to let me put up the run-in shelter this fall, and maybe be ready for cattle next spring.

thanks!

 

[boothcreek]

We butcher our dexters at 15-18 months old(butcher at christmas, thats generally the age range that falls into), they are usually around 700lbs live weight. So they end up hanging weight between 300-370lbs depending on body type of the steer(the longer legged dairy body type end up lighter).

We dont grain finish really, a cup or 2 every few days to train them to go into the killing pen but thats it. We finish with really good alfalfa Hay since we like to butcher ours just before christmas(gives the butcher something to do during the "after- holiday and hunting-season" lull beginning of January). So from late October til December they are on alfalfa hay.
Dexters are easy keepers, on the very little grain ours get and only alfalfa hay twice a day(no free choice here either, about 3 flakes of a small square bale per cow twice a day) they have as good white fat cover and marbleing as most of those -7 week grain finished- large breed beef hanging at the butchers. During the summer when pasture is available they get no grain unless we want them to go into a certain pen or want something from them like milking(and rarely even then, the girls like the attention) or deworming. Of course if you want to butcher in the summer but want white fat you should add a bit of grain(our butcher says about 2-4 cups of oats/barley a day should be enough to change the colour without making them overly fat) each day to the diet since purely grass-fed beef fat is usually yellow.

Our bull calves get castrated right the day they were born, we are not in business of raising possible breeding bulls so why bother keeping them intact at all and then trying to catch and castrate later on when its so much easier early(at least for a one man operation like me, easier to wrestle with at 60lbs then a couple hundred - I tried - lasso and hogtying an animal that is pure muscle and twice your own weight is HARD! ).

 

[Elm Tree acres]

Are you set on Dexter's - is it too late to consider Galloway ??????