Choosing to butcher

[Bull Honky]

I am interested in hearing about people's choices when selecting their own cattle for butchering and why you choose what you do. For example, younger steers or bull calves, heifers, older cattle instead of selling them at the sale barn, bulls not in use, etc. Thank you for any responses.

 

[backhoeboogie]

I process my own steers. Since I have been using the same bull on all the cows, the bull is the same. The cow to use is the selection. I have my "choice" cows, based on experience, but some years they have heifers and I resort to a different cow. Since several of my friends, family and peers also get in on this, we often butcher several. If one works out really well, I remember which ones those are. If we get a bad steer, I don't use that cow again.

I am looking for steers that will finish well, all about the same age etc. When I make a run to the processor, I want to do it all in one shot. Hence, I don't want some ready and some not. I also want really good steak.

The "reason" I process my own is because I can't buy it anywhere (that I know of) that is as good as what I produce. I can buy a good cut of meat at the shops on occasions, but it is expensive. I don't know what went in to the animal. When I process my own, the whole thing is good.

I figure it costs me about $3 a pound. The animal I use has a net value and if I process him versus selling him, that is income out of the operation. So I don't figure him as "free". Then I add the feed bill and processing fees. It comes up about $3 a pound. You cannot buy the quality steaks I get anywhere for that price. You can get the hamburger for that, but not the premium roasts and steaks.

 

[msscamp]

I am interested in hearing about people's choices when selecting their own cattle for butchering and why you choose what you do. For example, younger steers or bull calves, heifers, older cattle instead of selling them at the sale barn, bulls not in use, etc. Thank you for any responses.

We've always ate our own - always steers, and butchered at about 18 months old or so. Some are finished on corn and some are finished on grass. Selection criteria is simple - sometimes they are selected because they are not as good as the other calves, and sometimes they are out of late calvers so are not as big as their herdmates. Generally speaking, older bulls do not make good butchering because they tend to be tougher. Usually killer bulls end up as hamburger.

 

[WORANCH]

Most of the time we butcher heifers . Steers bring more money , so we eat the cheep meat.

 

[randiliana]

Our choices are usually 2-3 year old heifers that failed to breed back, or that had some other reason to be culled. The last one has been hanging for 2 weeks now, just fat off the grazing (alfalfa pasture). She was a 2 year old that we pulled a 66 lb calf out of an then she didn't have enough milk to raise it. We drafted it onto a milk cow and put her on the alfalfa, 4 1/2 months on pasture and she was looking pretty tasty ;-) .