Finishing out a beef

[Steve Banks]

I always sell my feeders at weaning time, however I've been thinking of finishing out my own beef. This I have never done.
Just wondering: How long it takes, how much feed, what weight do you take them to, what mix of feed, etc. I've been told that a finished beef usually is a 1,000# plus when finished.
I have black angus cattle.

 

[Gale Seddon]

Steve, I hope I'm not the only person to answer this (and you will hope so too). I can't advise you much on HOW to finish him. We keep a steer for ourselves from our small herd of Dexters. While I'll confess to finding it difficult when the "big day" comes to go to the processor (I'm the one who feeds), there is something to be said for actually raising your own beef, especially when you see the meat prices at the grocery store! And the flavor is FAR superior to what's at the store. Our steer is pastured with the cows, gets some grain, hay, minerals, etc. I don't like the idea of penning an animal up by himself and shoving corn at him. Personally, I try to make his life as normal as it can be, even if it's shorter. I'm the first to admit that I'm a wuss.

 

[mnmtranching]

I think if you raise cattle, the only way to go is, for sure! Put one in the freezer.

Free choice, good quality hay. Start with a pound or 2, then work up to 15-20 pounds a day 13% corn base feed. With vitamins and mineral. Best is 14-18 months of age and weighing 13-14 hundred pounds. Make you some real good eating. 8)

 

[grannysoo]

It's going to be the best meat that you have ever eaten.

Don't try to finish one alone. You would not want to be left that way and he doesn't either. We always keep a minimum of 2 that are being prepared for the butcher.

Plenty of water, plenty of grass / hay, free choice minerals. Sweet feed in moderation......

You can fatten one up quick if you want to give it all of the sweet feed that it can stand, but you're going to end up with fatty meat. Take it slow and steady and you'll get meat with great marbling without all of the fat. That's what makes it really great.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

It will cost "about" $300-350 in grain.
There are many methods of feeding one out. If you "grass" feed, it will take quite a lot longer, they taste a little different and you will have yellow fat.
If you start a weaned calf out right and feed it corn base feed, you can finish one by 14-18 months of age. Weight depends on the quality of your calf. Anywhere from 1000# to 1300#.
I, personnally, prefer grain fed beef.
I would NOT use sweet feed. Once you offer a calf sweet feed, it's hard to ever get them to eat anything else. Plus, if there's much molasses in the feed, it gets pretty "stiff" in the cold weather (for scooping). I would feed straight whole shell corn with a protein pellet so that the ration is about 13%. You start out at 1% of their body weight/hd/day. You can increase their feed every 7 days, as long as they clean it up. Best to feed them twice a day. With plenty of fresh water & good grass hay. Slowly decrease the pellets. By the time they are about 800#, they shouldn't need any protein suppliment, just the shell corn.
You feed them until they have a good layer of fat on the outside. Their brisket, tail head & flank will get "full". They will have a "jiggly" look to them when they move around.
And, yes, they will perform better if you feed out two - one for yourself & sell one freezer trade.

 

[I luv herfrds]

We normally keep back anywhere from 2-3 steer calves a year. Since we eat alot of beef we normally butcher every 6 months. we also sell the extra beef to friends and family.
Our two steers that just went to the butcher shop were 697# and 667# hanging weight. They were both two and a half years old.
We let them out to pasture all summer and fall, but when the grass is gone we bring them in and feed them oat and grass hay and also feed them ground barley. They also have free choice mineral and salt.
Alot of people butcher at around 16 months.

 

[somn]

We normally keep back anywhere from 2-3 steer calves a year. Since we eat alot of beef we normally butcher every 6 months. we also sell the extra beef to friends and family.
Our two steers that just went to the butcher shop were 697# and 667# hanging weight. They were both two and a half years old.
We let them out to pasture all summer and fall, but when the grass is gone we bring them in and feed them oat and grass hay and also feed them ground barley. They also have free choice mineral and salt.
Alot of people butcher at around 16 months.

Have any of your friends ever expressed concern about OTM ?

 

[Hippie Rancher]

What is OTM?

 

[Susie David]

We have been feeding our production steers nothing but alfalfa and pasture with a cracked corn suppliment of two to four pounds per day when the temps drop below about 10 degrees just to keep them from using body reserve to stay warm.
We sell lean beef and haven't had any complaints about tenderness.
The fat is yellow and the taste is a bit stronger or beefy but we have a good customer education program and the folks keep ordering and reffering their friends.
We like to slaughter at 18 months or when we feel that the animal is ready...did hold a nice angus back last fall and fed over winter....the only complaint that we ever have had...
the steaks were to big. He hung at 880# and the t-bones were the size of dinner plates...but tasty!
Our usual carcass weighs around 700# and we let our customers know that cows are like people...some are just plain bigger and some are just fatter than others.
If you are not real sure I'd go with the advise on grain finishing...can't go wrong there...try grass finishing when you want to experiment with flavor....no sense in having 460# of beef that you don't like.
Just my two bits worth...aasked for or not...Dave Mc
P.S. we cut short ribs to help reduce the fat content in our ground beef and besides I was raised on them.

 

[somn]

What is OTM?

Over Thirty Months.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

What is OTM?

Over Thirty Months.

Thanks.

 

[I luv herfrds]

Nope.
We do not use hormone implants or antibiotics, unless needed then they are told.
Now why would they be concerned about them being over thirty months? BSE, maybe?
We have a waiting list for our beef and we take pride in that fact and the fact that the same people come back year after year wanting our beef.

 

[somn]

Nope.
We do not use hormone implants or antibiotics, unless needed then they are told.
Now why would they be concerned about them being over thirty months? BSE, maybe?
We have a waiting list for our beef and we take pride in that fact and the fact that the same people come back year after year wanting our beef.

Well OTM to me would be a huge concern as a consumer. If I had the choice to buy an 15 month old steer for butcher compared to a steer 100% older at 30 months no question what I would buy why risk it. Are they aware that they are buying cattle of that old of an age?
Now as a feedlot owner who is in it for profit I would select genetics that would get atleast more than a 1.1# adg. Here in the feedlot a 30 month old steer was a negative on profit for 15 months of its life. Bad business. It might be different where grass is free and they can graze all year long. I've never seen free grass but many have made that claim. But my main concern was just the OTM as a member of the cattle industry I don't like to see the consumer mislead without the consumer we have nothing none of us. Maybe they don't mind eating high risk meat. That is why I asked if they were concerned with OTM.

 

[I luv herfrds]

None of them have expressed a concern and they know the age of the steer.
Now tell me why YOU are concerned about steers over the age of thirty months.
Since you do not know me or my cattle how can YOU make a claim that it is a high risk.
Look at the fact years ago steers were raised over the age of 3 years.
As a feed lot owner that is your business to raise a steer as quickly as possible for your profit. We did not start into raising these steers for profit, but to help out a friend who needed a break. It just progressed from there. So before you start throwing mud at us look at your own bull you are spouting to me. Yes I am ticked off at you now.

 

[somn]

None of them have expressed a concern and they know the age of the steer.
Now tell me why YOU are concerned about steers over the age of thirty months.
Since you do not know me or my cattle how can YOU make a claim that it is a high risk.
Look at the fact years ago steers were raised over the age of 3 years.
As a feed lot owner that is your business to raise a steer as quickly as possible for your profit. We did not start into raising these steers for profit, but to help out a friend who needed a break. It just progressed from there. So before you start throwing mud at us look at your own bull you are spouting to me. Yes I am ticked off at you now.

Well maybe you need to take a minute and read up about Cattle OTM. Call it throwing mud call it whatever. It is what it is. Cattle of that age carry a higher risk of BSE. There is a reason they stress the facts of OTM if you so chose to ignore the facts that is fine by me if you like meat from high risk animals by all meens continue your slaughtering of OTM cattle. I just wondered if your customers knew they were consuming meat from high risk animals. I just like playing it safe and I go with the younger more prime animals for my eating pleasure.

 

[I luv herfrds]

Whatever. You still have NOT answered my questions.
The people know and don't care about the age. All they care about is that the beef is tasty and tender.
You started this OTM so finish it. Spell it out in plain english what you do not like about it. After all I didn't ask for your opinion about our beef you just gave it.
You keep bringing up my customers and I keep telling you that they know and DO NOT CARE!
Personally I would rather eat my OTM beef then yours because I know what they have been given and fed.

 

[somn]

Whatever. You still have NOT answered my questions.
The people know and don't care about the age. All they care about is that the beef is tasty and tender.
You started this OTM so finish it. Spell it out in plain english what you do not like about it. After all I didn't ask for your opinion about our beef you just gave it.
You keep bringing up my customers and I keep telling you that they know and DO NOT CARE!
Personally I would rather eat my OTM beef then yours because I know what they have been given and fed.

Well I'm not sure how much better English it needs to be in for you to understand. OTM cattle carry a higher risk of BSE. You butcher OTM cattle and my concern was if your customers were aware of the age of the cattle and the risks associated with OTM cattle. As an individual who relies on the profit made from the cattle industry to live on I'm greatly concerned that the consumer is not mislead. Now people with 60 cows living in Montana obviously don't care about the continued success of the cattle industry. If you want to continue your practice of slaughtering OTM cattle knowing the increased risks associated with it fine by me. You sound alot like a different fella on here once that would have fought to the death with other board members before he would discontinue his practice of feeding Turkey manure containing mammalian protien to his cattle. Even though he was well aware of the hazards and laws against it. By the way CWD is also a prion disease I'm almost 100% certain that nobody fed those deer mammalian protien so obviously type of feed is not the only cause. The incubation period for BSE is 2 to 8 years you can redo the math if you would like but 30 months falls in that window. Both of our cattle could be infected with BSE the only difference is my cattle are younger than the 24 month incubation period and yours are not. Good luck with your OTM high risk cattle.

 

[I luv herfrds]

Don't care about the beef industry? What a bunch a whooie.
When was the last time you were in a major store and saw someone pull over 6 packages of packer beef out of their wifes shopping cart and return it to the shelf? Just 3 years ago I saw that happen. Had to ask that gentleman why. His response was because it was not a ranch raised beef. The rest of his remarks concerning store beef are not fit to repeat.
You do not like our OTM, big whoop.
Concern for our customers? I don't think so. I told you THREE times that they knew the age and still you kept bringing it up.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

By the way CWD is also a prion disease I'm almost 100% certain that nobody fed those deer mammalian protien so obviously type of feed is not the only cause.

Ruminants (deer are ruminants too) will certainly scavenge carcasses. So that IS a possibility for CWD. I don't have a pic of deer eating animal protein but I will bet my bottom dollar they do it too.

 

[somn]

By the way CWD is also a prion disease I'm almost 100% certain that nobody fed those deer mammalian protien so obviously type of feed is not the only cause.

Ruminants (deer are ruminants too) will certainly scavenge carcasses. So that IS a possibility for CWD. I don't have a pic of deer eating animal protein but I will bet my bottom dollar they do it too.

Thank you for making my point with a picture. Nobody ground that up and put it with the feed now did they. I don't think even a picture will help these people change the age that they slaughter. Incubation period of 2 to 8 years. That is why they stress OTM. I guess some people need to be killed by something high risk before they will agree it was high risk. Worst part is their stupidity kills them and it costs the rest of us money.