Will a stag make good beef?

[mudfork]

It looks like one of my steers got an incomplete castration. He looks to be carrying one testicle high and tight. I noticed this lately as he is not developing like the other 9 steers. Any thoughts on what kind of beef he'll make? He weighed 516 on March 15, but is growing fast. I plan on butchering the whole lot in mid October.

[pdfangus]

depends mostly on age.....

If he is turned to meat early enough he will not only be fine he may indeed be superior.

I am feeding a bull calf right now for my freezer.

I started eating bulls a few years ago when I had one not do well at all at a state performance test. He did not qualify for the sale on performance and so I sent him to my processor as we needed some meat anyway. It was the best beef we had ever had.

now I feed a bull for the freezer. Leaner and faster growth and very tender and flavorful.

[mudfork]

What weight would you recommend? He should be around 16 to 18 months of age now. Probably weighs about 700 lb. He is solid black, but there is something in there besides angus. His ears hang a little low and have alot of hair coming out of inside of the earlobe. I'll be starting to pour the grain to them soon.

[Howdyjabo]

16 to 18 months old and 700 lbs
You have a bigger problem than someone not being able to count to two.

[pdfangus]

yeah....at 18 mos he ought to already be in the freezer.....
but not at 700 lbs .....
ought to have been twice that by now.

[mudfork]

I'll reserve the right to be wrong on the age and current weight. All I know for a fact is that he was 516 on March 15. He may be closer to 12 months old, and could weigh a bit more than 700. He has been grazing prime clover, orchard grass, kentucky bluegrass, etc. for a few months. I'm no seasoned old head, so I may be off a little. I'll add this after checking him out a little more today. If he is carrying a testicle, it's dang hard to see. I suspect him a stag mainly because of the vast difference between him and the other steers. He is developing heavily in the neck, and is a real brute through the shoulders and brisket. All in all, he is quite beautiful, bones all covered, wide and flat across the back, and very muscular. Keep in mind that I'm comparing him to steers that appear to be a different breed. None of the others have the droopy, long haired ears. To be honest, he looks like a cape buffalo when you look at him head on. All that said, I appreciate the comments as I decide what to do with him.

[ANAZAZI]

A bull makes good beef, no off flavours like a boar or a ram. Usually a little leaner meat than a steer.

Is it possible that your "stag" is just a simmenthal cross? It would explain the big hairy ears and the extra muscle...

[mudfork]

It could very well be possible. I hope that's the case.

[vclavin]

We only eat young bulls too, tender - got tenderness gene too,lol - more meat and less "bad" fat.
Ultrasound man said all his customers request young bulls as well.
Valerie

[dougstephvoor]

We just processed a 978 pound one testical stag, we banded him ourselves and I am not sure if he had a third or one slipped up.

He grew a little faster than the others we netted 564 lbs of meet not counting toung and liver etc.

We got rid of him as soon as he started acting agressive.

We have had six or seven processed steers, in the past, never a bull.

We have provided the meet to a few friends and relatives, all of us agree this is the best steaks we have ever had, we are calling the porter house meet marshmellos. The meet does not seam to have the marbelling, that others would have, which is understandable because he was not totally filled out in the brisket.

We feed hay and ground whole ear corn some oats and the last three weeks added protein suppliment kent 40-20 with urea. No hormones etc, he had never even been wormed.

I consider this one the best I have had.

[Red Bull Breeder]

Just eat a limi, lean and tender.

[mudfork]

Well, the son of gun had one testicle after all. He weighed 516 on March 15, and hit the scale today at 1212!! He hung at 691. Yall think he'll be tasty?

[dun]

Yup, he'll eat just fine.

[inbredredneck]

I hope he eats well, because he certainly did not yield well.

[greybeard]

Disclaimer--I'm not one to look a gift anything in the mouth, and I'm not really complaining, but since the subject of bull meat has come up, I'll tell you my experience with it.
I've eaten some really good young bull meat that was among the best I've ever eaten, but this year, I was given some ground beef, a Tbone, and a tenderized round steak by a friend of mine, from a 14 month old that was without a doubt, the worst I've ever put a fork to. It wasn't that it tasted bad--it just had no taste, and was dry as an old stick. The guy that gave it to me told me outright that it wasn't very good --claimed it was a case of "I guess none of those red cows don't make as good as my white cows", but that wasn't the case imo, and I tried to tell him why that one processed and ate so badly. (He and I are friends and he was taking a friendly jab at my beefmasters being mostly red and trying to compare his Charlais to them--that cow is the only red one he has) He would have nothing of my explanation at all but that's ok.

Out of a good Char bull and hereford/red angus cross cow (her 3rd or 4th calf) and should have been good beef, but I saw the calf born and weaned, so I know the why of it. A good looking calf, and at weaning (6-7 months) looked proportioned well, but really light for it's age. There was not an ounce of fat or marbling in the Tbone, no fat in the ground beef, and very very little fat on the round steak--anywhere. Way beyond lean.
Why?
Calf was conceived fall of 2010--not sure exactly when. Carried thru the winter, and the cow had very little to eat that winter tho she always was a good hustler--no supplemental feeding was given-it was just a rough winter for her.. By the time the calf hit the ground, we were in deep deep drought--how that cow made any milk is beyond me. I watched her, and the rest of that herd and they were all struggling, and it reamined the same thru last winter (because his hay guy sold his hay agreement out from under him for a higher price,). Early summer, he hauled some to the sale barn, and I thought that bull calf went too, but he took it up by his house and pen fed it with his milk cow for about 60 days and then had it slaughtered. Genetics aside, it's always been my thought that marbling and fat is set up early in the calf's life, and this one didn't have enough to eat the whole time, and taking into a feed lot after nearly starving the rest of the time just won't make up the difference--but he's still adamant that well..ya know how it goes.
Some folks just don't like constructive criticism.

Anyway, bull is just as good as steer or anything else imo, but ya can't expect to work miracles in the last few weeks.