I would be careful of how tame I got this steer. Taming him down will remove the natural fear of humans, negate the respect that comes from that, and can get you hurt. It is not my intent to patronize, but with your statement of this being your first steer I don't know if you've been around cattle or not, and felt it was definitely worth mentioning.
So is there any happy medium? I know when I gentle a mustang there is a middle state where they will tolerate people but still have a fear, and so are... hmm, hard to put this into words... Handleable but easy to move.
Yes, there is a happy medium - you want to aim for the middle stage where they are calm and easy to handle, but do not get in your face looking to play, will run over you, or are difficult to move with the herd because they are too tame. I hope that makes sense.
How do you handle a wild full grown steer? Is the only way to do it with chutes? I really hope no one rips into me for this question. I can find my answers elsewhere but I thought this would be a good place to learn too.
Very, very carefully! The wilder the animal, the more likely he/she is to try to jump, try to go through fences, run over you in a panic, and trying to handle them stresses them dramatically, thus opening the door for illness. Whether you need a chute or not depends on what you're doing. I personally tend to use a chute for most things requiring restraint because it gives me more control over the situation lessening the chances of the animal or myself getting hurt.
Speaking only for myself, a lot of times people jump into cattle ownership without doing their homework and knowing the basics, and the cattle suffer because of that. I don't like seeing animals suffer when it could have easily been prevented.
I hope I know enough to keep that from happening. I am gathering knowledge as fast as I can. Admittedly I need to get more on the ball, I've had a lot on my plate lately. I do have a few people to fall back on in case of emergency. My vet and the guy I'm buying the other calf from. He's a fountain of knowledge.
I think you're doing great! :) You might want to think about purchasing Heather Smith Thomas' book "Storeys Guide to Raising Beef Cattle". It's a good book that covers quite a few topics and will give you a pretty good basic foundation to build from. That being said, keep in mind that nobody knows everything there is to know about cattle and you will undoubtedly have situations/problems you will not be able to diagnose or know how to handle. I'm not trying to discourage you or be negative with that statement - it's simply a part of the cattle business - and if you have them you're going to lose them on occasion.
As far as the poor quality, conformation has little (if anything) to do with how an animal will taste on your plate.
So does breeding not have anything to do with the quality of the meat? And is conformation not related to good breeding? I really am showing my ignorance here. Back to the subject - how much does genetics affect taste? How much depends on management? I have someone (who may or may not know what she's talking about) telling me that if the breeding sucks the meat will be inedible. I would love to hear that that's not true.
Good conformation is a quality that is always hoped for from any mating, but it does not always happen. Conformation has no effect on the quality or taste of the meat, in my honest opinion. We sell the best steers and butcher those that don't make the cut, and it's some mighty fine beef! ;-) I think you can take any young animal, regardless of their breed, who their mother was bred to, or what they look like and turn out some good beef. Some breeds have the capability to finish on grass, and some don't. Feed your critter a good amount of corn for the last 60 days or so and I think you will be pleased. I believe your 'someone' is wrong.
I sincerely doubt that you will find any one who knows how to take care of cattle unless they have them or have had them at some point in their lives.
I am not one of those people yet, but someday will be.
Thanks again for the help!
