Butchering a heifer that has been on Accuration??

[Farmgirl]

We have a heifer that we were trying to get weight on and then breed her. We have decided to let her go for slaughter whether it be to the sale barn or sale her for freezer beef. She has been on Accuration for about 90 days now. Many will know, but for those who don't know Accuration has fish meal in it and stinks to high heaven. We wondered if it would make the meat taste bad or funny? Anyone have experience with this situation?

Thanks,
Farmgirl

 

[ROB]

farmgirl- i don't think the accuration would cause any negative effects to the meat. not exactly sure of the mix you are using, but typically it is mixed to limit an animal to about 6 lbs per day- which is what i would expect to be a maximum for someone maintaining condition on a heifer to be bred. my main concern would be - is the heifer really ready for butcher? 90 days on a limit fed ration wouldn't finish an animal that was expected to be grain finished. to eliminate your concerns about the fishmeal, you could switch her to a corn/protein ration that would be suitable for full feeding. if she's getting about 6 lbs/day now- start her out there and work her up slowly (1/2 lb per day) - until she can't consume all the feed. if she has grass available to her thats good, if not- give her hay. the hay doesn't need to be high quality- just something that will work her rumen. after she's up to full feed- keep her at that level for about a month. at that point if she looks visually finished butcher her, if not- feed her on out some more. i know that this will cost a little more than what you were planning, but there can be a lot of difference between a finished beef and a grain fed beef.

good luck
ROB

 

[TexasBred]

We have a heifer that we were trying to get weight on and then breed her. We have decided to let her go for slaughter whether it be to the sale barn or sale her for freezer beef. She has been on Accuration for about 90 days now. Many will know, but for those who don't know Accuration has fish meal in it and stinks to high heaven. We wondered if it would make the meat taste bad or funny? Anyone have experience with this situation?

Thanks,
Farmgirl

Actually it has "fish oil" in it. Probably won't hurt a thing but I tend to agree with ROB. I'd hate to end up with a freezer full of inedible beef. Would put her on a good ration with a high corn content along with good roughage. Accuration is very expensive so anything you feed would probalby be a money saver even with higher consumption. Heck a good heavy duty horse and mule feed is hard to beat.

 

[Farmgirl]

Thanks for the replies. The heifer has been on 10-12 pounds of Accuration. A little more than most thought. Any idea how long to finish her on a corn based ration? She is 14 months old.

Thanks,
Farmgirl

 

[ROB]

farmgirl-
not knowing any specifics like approx. weight and frame - i will take a guess that she's somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 lbs. and it will take about 45-60 days to finish her out nicely on full feed.

ROB

 

[MrBilly]

I don't know anything about fish in feed, but I do know that calves eating wild oinions and garlic do get a special flavor in the meat and animal meat scientists tell me it takes about 55 days off of the stuff for the taste to disappear. That would coincide with the above feeding schedule to get a good grain fed beef.

Good Luck.

Billy