Is he ready

[Double R Ranch]

Howdy yal,
Just got the photobucket thing working and am trying it out with this post. Hope it works.

I was wondering if this guy (if he shows up) Looks to be about freezer size.
He is 14 months old now and I am terrible with weights but maybe 800#. I want to start him on his last 180 days of graining.
What do you all think?

Thanks for the help.
Double R

P.S. He is a little bit bigger than that pic. but only a months worth of growth.

 

[warpaint]

IMO, he's ready. Really depends on what you want. I like to kill at about this size.

 

[lakading]

800# @ 14 months? He must have been drinking skim milk!

 

[mitchwi]

800# @ 14 months? He must have been drinking skim milk!

I agree very light, but I don't think it would take 180 days to fat...

 

[Bobg]

I run my longhorn cross calves as yearlings on grass and then feed for 90 to 120 days. Right now I have one that's ready to go when the local guy has room and he weighs right at 1200.

Bobg

 

[EIEIO]

If someone with better computer skills than I can get the specific link posted there is a site called http://www.askthemeatman.com and he has figures in there that gives a pretty good estimate on how much meat you will get off a specific size/weight animal. Not meaning this as a hijack but I know some have asked before how much they should expect in the freezer after bringing in a steer at a certain weight and thought it might be helpful especially if your someone that ever came home with not near as much meat as you figured your animal should have provided.

J

 

[Beef11]

Put him on feed, he sure does need the condition. What kind of ration are you puting him on for the last 180?

 

[Susie David]

He looks like he needs to grow up a bit...at 14 months he should be ~1000# plus. He should be getting 20# plus of good groceries a day at his size.
We slaughter at at least 1100# usually 18+ months depending on the animal. Be sure to start him on grain gradually, over graining could result in acidosis, not a nice condition.
Good luck....DMc

 

[donnaIL]

I dont think he is ready, looks like a young one to me...maybe 9-12 months and thin...you could butcher him and get maybe 200 lbs of meat...but if you turn him on pasture and then some feed in another 6-8 months you might get double...

just depends what you want...he will be tender hes young... kill him if hes a problem, depends if you want to feed someone.

donna

 

[Double R Ranch]

Wow so many good replies.
Ok. We noticed that he doesn't have very good growth. Trying to decide if it is from the mother or not. Waiting til this years calf droppes to see.
He is 14 months and fairly lean. He is on year round pasture with plenty of green grass and he is on a nightly custom beef fattener. Alfalfa with grain mix.
Just trying to decide when to throw in the towel on his growth.

Thanks for all the advise.
And loved the skim milk comment.

Double R

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

It appears that he has been getting just enough groceries to grow his frame. NOW, he needs to be pushed to grow meat & fat. As mentioned, he needs to GRADUALLY be increased in his feed. I would put him on straight whole corn. Start him out at 1% his body weight. Not sure if he would weigh 800# but you can easily start him at 8#/day. Everyweek you can increase it until he is eating at least 3% of his body weight. Don't increase unless he is cleaning up his feed. I would take him off of grass, at least the last 30 days. Be patient, it will take time to finish him.
Now, next time, I would suggest weaning your calf, than starting him on the 1% and increase to the 3% right from the start. You have essentially wasted 7 months time on him just "maintaining" and growing frame. By right, he should be ready (or close) for the freezer by 14 months old.

 

[orcow]

Turn him out on pasture and I would wait 60-90 days, then finish him on grain for about 60 days. The calfs dam should be looked at real hard. At weaning time that calf should weighed atleast 50% of the dams weight. I also understand we all feed cattle differently and so on. But dang if she does not produce better than that, send her to auction barn.

 

[Alan]

The only thing I would add to the prior post is to keep him wormed.

JMO,
Alan

 

[Double R Ranch]

This is him as of today.

Here is a picture of his mother. Looking at both of them they do in my opinion resemble eachother.

To answer previous questions,
He is wormed and vac. regularly. He is and has always been on pasture. He comes up at night for his grain but goes out after eating it.
Please keep up with the great posts and thanks to all who have replied for there great comments and questions.
Double R

 

[dun]

How have the cows previous calves done? We shipped one old girl this year that had alwasy had an upper 10% calf and this year bred to the same bull had a bottom 2% calf. At the backgrounders he was the poorest doing calf of the lot.

dun

 

[Roadapple]

susie david: I must be reading or not understandingwhen you say he should weigh 1000# plus at 14 mos.and needs 20# of feed to fatten, and assuming yours do weigh that at 14 mos. when you start him on 20# lbs. of feed, my question is. What is in your 20 lbs. of feedthat he only weighs 100 lbs. more four mos. later?

 

[Double R Ranch]

How have the cows previous calves done? We shipped one old girl this year that had alwasy had an upper 10% calf and this year bred to the same bull had a bottom 2% calf. At the backgrounders he was the poorest doing calf of the lot.

dun

He is this cows first calf with us. Bought her as a bred cow last season. She is due to calve soon to my own bull so we will have an idea from that. I just haven't had to deal with em not growing like they should.
Thanks

 

[dun]

How have the cows previous calves done? We shipped one old girl this year that had alwasy had an upper 10% calf and this year bred to the same bull had a bottom 2% calf. At the backgrounders he was the poorest doing calf of the lot.

dun

He is this cows first calf with us. Bought her as a bred cow last season. She is due to calve soon to my own bull so we will have an idea from that. I just haven't had to deal with em not growing like they should.
Thanks

Calves from unknown bulls even out of really superior cows is alwasy a crapshoot. We bought 2 cows that each had heifer calves at their side and sired by the same bull. The heifers grew to be really dandy appearing heifers. Their dams alwasy had the top calves when bred by us and produced daughters that were in the same category. The heifrs that came with the cows. although they looked just like their mothers, alwasy raised the poorest calves. The left after their second calves just didn;t grow as well as they should. The old cows stayed around for many years and continued to raise great calves. One of them went lame as a 10 year old and went to the slaughterhouse, the other is 15 this year and still going strong.

dun

 

[Double R Ranch]

Thanks Dun. As always great advice. We are going to see what happens with this years calf. If it is a bull calf we will keep it to eat and see if he does the same thing. If so she has to unlock the brakes on her wheels. ;-) The only reason that she hasn't gone yet is because it was an unknown bull.
As they say:
1st time shame on her
2nd time shame on me

Hope everyone is having a great season so far. Mine are holding on for bad weather I think. ;-)