What to do for finish a Corriente

[lovinglife]

Hi, I am new here, and decided I may as well jump in. We purchased a couple corriente cattle for our freezer, they are pushing two I think, not real sure. What do I need to do to get them finished by fall. Now they are on 3 acres of pasture, hay and a coffee can of sweet mix each, mostly just because we like them to come up and talk to us....They have really gained this summer and filled out, however I know they most likely have a long way to go. We are new to the cow business and can use all the help we can get.

thanks
Michele

 

[jhm47]

I'm not at all familiar with the Corriente breed, other than having seen them used as roping steers. They cannot be much different than any other cattle, so I would suggest that you feed them as much corn as they can eat in 10 minutes. However, be sure to increase the corn s l o w l y to prevent acicosis. I would say that 4 lbs / head / day to start, and increase it by a half pound a day till they have finished it all in 10 minutes. Keep them on this (and hay free choice) till about a month before you butcher, and then increase the corn to what they will eat in 15 minutes. If they are 2 years old, they likely will be somewhat tough and gristly.

 

[glenolam]

We aren't raising Corriente, either; we've got Herefords - but I thought of a question that I couldn't resist asking....

If they are 2 years old, they likely will be somewhat tough and gristly.

Why is that? Should they allow the cows to age more or is it because the cows are too old?

lovinglife - are they steers or heifers?

 

[Ariel301]

We aren't raising Corriente, either; we've got Herefords - but I thought of a question that I couldn't resist asking....

If they are 2 years old, they likely will be somewhat tough and gristly.

Why is that? Should they allow the cows to age more or is it because the cows are too old?

lovinglife - are they steers or heifers?

We butchered an 18 month old Brahma/Angus heifer last year and it is the most tender beef I have ever had. She was also super fatty, so maybe that helped...or maybe it was just breed and Corriente are tougher?

Usually older animals get more tough. Most of the beef you buy in the grocery store will be under 2 years old. If you go much longer, or eat say, an intact bull...yes, the meat won't be as tender and may have a different taste.

 

[jhm47]

As cattle age, their meat gets progressively tougher. I like to butcher my freezer steers before they reach 15 months. We butchered a cow that had a dislocated hip last year. She was about 30 months old, had been in a feedlot eating the same diet as my butcher steers, and her steaks are tough. They taste fine, are well marbled, but they are a lot tougher than the steaks from the 14 month old steer that we butchered the same day.

The Simmental breed has now enacted an EPD category for tenderness. They take several offspring of various bulls to a certified lab and test the steaks for the amount of force it takes to shear them. It's called a shear test. It's amazing how much difference there is between sire groups. Of course, they are measuring tenderness for genetic purposes, not age.

 

[lovinglife]

They are steers, I know they are a very lean breed so I won't get the amount of meat from them as a regular beef breed. I did some research and there are farms that raise only corriente just for meat, they say they always wait until 2+ years old to butcher because the flavor is so good and still real tender. I will try to post pictures on Monday, I have to go out of town and won't be back until Sunday. We actually have three, one to sell, she is the oldest, the one closest to 2 I believe. The two steers are gaining a lot faster than she is, looks to be a gender thing, too bad people aren't like that!

It will be interesting to see how the meat is! Thanks for the advice!

 

[lovinglife]

Here are my critters, I really don't think we will get much meat off them, may have to try a different breed next year. Anyway, advice is always appreciated.

 

[lovinglife]

well that didn't work, try again, guess not, darn!

 

[WildRoseBeef]

What's going on with uploading your pictures? All I do is upload them on photobucket, copy the link (the one with the code on it) and paste it on here. Viola!

Hope you can figure out your issues...

 

[lovinglife]

ok, I will try photobucket, I have never had any reason to use it in the past.

http://s853.photobucket.com/albums/ab92/pmdicks/