butcher the 6-7 year old

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Jack-IA

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Was wondering what you all do that raise beef. I was thinking getting bred cow,let it breed 4 orr 5 times ,then butcher.and start again if there is a heifer in the group. Is the original heifer to old to make good eating or ?? appreciate any tios what is beeing done. This is just for family use. Or after your done do you sell it to someone else or can you breed them longer?
thanks
 
A 6-7 year old will be far better than anything you can get in a supermarket if you feed it out before slaughter.
 
Bama":19m7xndh said:
A 6-7 year old will be far better than anything you can get in a supermarket if you feed it out before slaughter.

Anything? There are supermarkets who sell CHB and CAB and several other premium branded products. I've had some of these, and they were pretty good.

Having said this, I've never had better than my own butcher calves, but they were not over 12-16 months
 
Well maybe I should say it will be better than MOST supermarket beef. Granted I have had some great tasting supermarket beef. Pound for pound I think you would come out better with one of your own.
 
Jack,IMHO, it needs be ta corn the cow 90-110 days before ya be butcherin, but then some folks on the board like beef off a the grass, never tried that myself. I be fearin havin 700 lbs o meat I dont be likin ta eat :(

george
 
George, saw your fear of grass fed beef and just had to reply. I had the same fear for years then last year went to a neighbors for dinner and had some of the best beef I'd ever ate. I asked them how long they had grained if for cause it was so nice and tender. They then informed me I had just eaten my first grass only fed beef and they had just seasoned it with a bit of salt and pepper!

I got brave and had a grass fed only steer done in February. It's great. I really think the slaughter process plays a huge role in any beef ya' get. I did cheat a bit and gave my steer less than a pound of cracked corn a day just to keep him comming up near the house so it would be easy for the custom slaughter guy to shoot him without having to chase him around a pasture.

We had a guy come out and shoot the steer and then field dress it out here on the farm. No stress on the animal at all. He never knew what hit him (.223 in the head). Cut right away at the neck to bleed out and then lifted on a hoist on the guys truck and taken out to the woods for dressing. He then hauled it to the custom packing place. Picked it up nicley packed about 2 weeks later. The guy that came out to do ours only charged $40. If I was to figure gas and time hauling the steer in myself it would have cost at least that.

J
 
Jack-IA":1vbk4aao said:
Was wondering what you all do that raise beef. I was thinking getting bred cow,let it breed 4 orr 5 times ,then butcher.and start again if there is a heifer in the group. Is the original heifer to old to make good eating or ?? appreciate any tios what is beeing done. This is just for family use. Or after your done do you sell it to someone else or can you breed them longer?
thanks

So you're going to wait 5-6 years between butchering? That's how I read it. Do yourself a favor, get a steer or heifer either one and either feed it or turn it out on grass until it gets to 700-800lbs and butcher it. Then get another and start all over as soon as you butcher this one.
 
No I was thinking getting a calf a year and then feeding the calf out till slaughter.Just did not know how long I can do this and what to do with the breeder cow.But according to answers I can just keep breeding it and getting a calf a year.and in the end I guess I can buthcer the breeder and make hamburger.
thanks
 
Jack-IA":97xx166f said:
No I was thinking getting a calf a year and then feeding the calf out till slaughter.Just did not know how long I can do this and what to do with the breeder cow.But according to answers I can just keep breeding it and getting a calf a year.and in the end I guess I can buthcer the breeder and make hamburger.
thanks

Yep that will work. The biggest problem I see is family getting attached to it. I know where there is a 2000 pound steer that was supposed to be butchered at 800 pounds. He is now about 6-7 years old. They couldn't do it after raising him.
 
Jack-IA":3jw8fs7d said:
Was wondering what you all do that raise beef. I was thinking getting bred cow,let it breed 4 orr 5 times ,then butcher.and start again if there is a heifer in the group. Is the original heifer to old to make good eating or ?? appreciate any tios what is beeing done. This is just for family use. Or after your done do you sell it to someone else or can you breed them longer?
thanks

Jack;
I recommend eating the calves. You should be able to get about 10 calves out of a cow. She will be about 12 years old by then. Some cows will produce longer. When the cow gets about 10 to 12 years old, sell her as a bred cow and by a new bred heifer. After eating the calves you will not enjoy eating the cow. I would not plan on butchering the cow.
 
I would say it depends on the cow. If she's a good cow and doesn't get dragged down too much from having a calf on her, the meat will probably be okay. If she's some scrawny, poor doer then the meat will probably be tough. We raise grass fed beef and I've had a few cows come in that age that were open, and as long as they come off the pasture in decent shape, the meat is good. I've also had a couple that got dragged down a bit during the summer feeding calves and those are only fit for hamburger. Good Luck.
 
thanks
We just butchered the 2 steers we raised and they are good!.In looking for replacements it is almost less expensive to buy a cow and calf than 2 steers in the 500 # range.So thinking it may be best to go this route as less money to begin with .Tho do not know what it would cost to feed a cow yr round. Figure any heifers we will keep one and breed it when time comes so we will have two calves a year to feed out.
thanks again
 
I sell my heifers and cows, and slaughter the steers when they are about 18 mo. old. Good cows are worth to much to waste making into hamburger.
 
If you like the taste of beef, that 6-7 year old cow will make the best tasting burger you've ever had!

dun
 
dun":161elaou said:
If you like the taste of beef, that 6-7 year old cow will make the best tasting burger you've ever had!

dun

Agree whole heartedly. We slaughterd an older cow a couple of times due to hoof/lamness problems & were so surprised at the taste of the burger. Also we slaughter grass fed heifers at around 30-36 months for ours & friends consumption. They bring less as feeder calves so the steers go to the sale barn & we hold on to a few non-replacements as freezer meat. The older 30+ month animal has better taste than the younger ones (18-24 months) while still not sacrificing much in the way of tenderness. Angus of course.
 
TnWI":2pqfuc23 said:
I sell my heifers and cows, and slaughter the steers when they are about 18 mo. old. Good cows are worth to much to waste making into hamburger.

Eating a good cow is eating all your profits.
What else is a steer good for? Beef...Its whats for dinner.
 
Government regulations have steped in around here at least. We have a custom slaughter guy come out to start the process here on the farm. If the cow is over 30 mos. old he has to completley bone it on the farm. I did not ask the price difference between that and just the field dressing but it sounded like it would be quite a bit more than the $40 he charges now.

From what he told me Missouri has tried at least once now to shut down businesses like his.

J
 
EIEIO":1lbtmlvm said:
Government regulations have steped in around here at least. We have a custom slaughter guy come out to start the process here on the farm. If the cow is over 30 mos. old he has to completley bone it on the farm. I did not ask the price difference between that and just the field dressing but it sounded like it would be quite a bit more than the $40 he charges now.

From what he told me Missouri has tried at least once now to shut down businesses like his.

J

Same here - my last one was 28+ months old & I needed to show with some documetation that she was infact that age or the cost for slaughter would be double as I recall. So I will have to keep an eye on the age & send them there before the 30 month cut-off point. Give up a little growth but think it the better plan.
 

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