feeding out calves

[Anonymous]

i have a similar question as does jessica.

i have someone wanting me to feed out a couple of calves. i have never fed out any, so i am asking for those of you with expericence with this to help me out here.

i want to have good quality beef, but have many questions..

like..

steer or heifer?

some say feed corn and cottonseed meal mix, others say it doesnt matter. all my life i have heard the phrase "corn fed beef".. what feed is best? is wheat good?

what breed? how does a charlois cross do? or a hereford?

i think the size wanted here is to take a 500# calf and feed it out for about 100 days.. if i had to guess, i would think the calf would weight in the range of 700# by then. is this an ideal butchering size?

i know personal perferences come into play, but i dont have one yet and any help i could get will be greatly appreciated..

thanks

gene



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[Anonymous]

> i have a similar question as does
> jessica.

> i have someone wanting me to feed
> out a couple of calves. i have
> never fed out any, so i am asking
> for those of you with expericence
> with this to help me out here.

> i want to have good quality beef,
> but have many questions..

> like..

> steer or heifer?

> some say feed corn and cottonseed
> meal mix, others say it doesnt
> matter. all my life i have heard
> the phrase "corn fed
> beef".. what feed is best? is
> wheat good?

> what breed? how does a charlois
> cross do? or a hereford?

> i think the size wanted here is to
> take a 500# calf and feed it out
> for about 100 days.. if i had to
> guess, i would think the calf
> would weight in the range of 700#
> by then. is this an ideal
> butchering size?

> i know personal perferences come
> into play, but i dont have one yet
> and any help i could get will be
> greatly appreciated..

> thanks

> gene

Gene, You have some very valid questions. Sometimes it is better to field these questions to the experts, i.e... a book. Raising Beef Cattle by Heather Thomas is a great book for beginner or experienced livestock person.

More directly to some of your questions- Do you have pasture available? Calves under 750 pounds do better on pasture and will gain just as fast, on grass- with salt and mineral supplementation.

At 750 - 850 pounds, or towards winter, you would drylot that animal and start it on feed. Corn is usually the most used grain because of cost involved, i.e.... it provides cheaper gains.

Wheat can be hard on beef cattle, although some folks do feed it.

Steers will gain faster and finish heavier than heifers.

Crossbred cattle tend to outperform straightbreds. Some breeds are known for certain traits, i.e... Hereford- ranging or foraging ability, while others are known for different traits, i.e... Angus- better marbling ability. So, it depends on what you are shooting for.

An ideal slaughter weight again depends on the animal. If it has a large frame and you want to have a good amount of fat (choice), it would finish at 1300 pounds, a smaller framed animal would finish at a lighter weight- 900 pounds. Depends on the animal.

I guess I would drop by Barnes and Nobles and check out their supply of beef production books.

Monty

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[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

best book I've found is my father's copy of Morrison's "Feeds and Feeding" which is an OLD college text but is the most complete thing I have ever found and give pages and paged of feed values for every thing imaginable as well as sample rations. Guys right about having to decide what you want to end up with before you start, but I think that 100 days of feeding is going to hold you to a moderate framed animal so that you can put a little fat cover on the carcass so it will age properly

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[Anonymous]

The Book is time tested for feed values. What, Exactly do you mean by "putting on fat so it will age?" That's a curious statement to me.

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[Anonymous]

> Hi Ed, I was told that a thin covering of fat on a carcass will make it age more evenly while it hangs..

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[Anonymous]

Technically, a covering of fat will keep the carcass from drying out too much, thus you can age for a longer time period. The processer will trim it all off later.

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