bulls or steers

Help Support CattleToday:

A

Anonymous

Which is best for weight gain in a bull calf? Make a steer of him or leave him a bull? I've been told at local sale barn, a bull calf will out grow and out weigh a steer in same time period. Also, the price of the bull would be lower at sale time, but his extra weight would make the difference. Is this true. Thanks for any help.



[email protected]
 
It pays to castrate. You don't take have to take anybody's word for it, including mine. Just sit in the sale and watch. The buyers dock bull calves because they will be cut at the feedlot anyway and won't gain during recovery. While they are still with their mother, bull calves do not gain enough faster than steers to offset the lower price. If you're selling at or near weaning it can make $35 to $55 per head difference. Again, watch and see for yourself.

Craig-TX
 
Compare your sale barn prices in newspaper, etc. Bulls in Texas sale barns seem to range between about .35 and .55 cents a pound while steers seem to range between about .90 and 1.25 a pound. When you do the math, that will be your answer.

[email protected]
 
> Compare your sale barn prices in
> newspaper, etc. Bulls in Texas
> sale barns seem to range between
> about .35 and .55 cents a pound
> while steers seem to range between
> about .90 and 1.25 a pound. When
> you do the math, that will be your
> answer.

Well, your conclusion is right but your example is way off. The 35 and 55 cent figures you mentioned are for fully mature bulls, not for young uncastrated male bovines that would be going into a backgrounding and/or feedlot program. The price spead for castrated versus "intact" male bovines is not anywhere near as severe as in your example. I do believe Craig is right, in that uncut calves grow somethat faster than castrated ones, but not enough to make up for the price differential at the barn.
 

Latest posts

Top