new to raising cattle

[allischalmers1984]

ok here's the deal. My grandpa passed away this fall leaving his cattle here and i have no clue if im doing things right. There are 13 head and id guess there weight to be around 900lbs im feeding 300lbs of a mix of ground ear corn and shelled corn with protein mixed in. I need to know how long it will take to reach 1200lbs. Thanks for any help or advice.

 

[cypressfarms]

What are your trying to do with the cattle, why 1,200? Are you raising them to butcher or are these just young cattle that you want to get to a certain weight?

If your raising them to butcher, and you don't know how to take care of them (as you stated), then I would go ahead and butcher them now. There really isn't that much difference between 900 and 1,200 pounds.

 

[allischalmers1984]

wouldnt they be worth more at 1200lbs or even more weight than that. Trying to get them fattened up to sell as fat cattle

 

[CattleHand]

wouldnt they be worth more at 1200lbs or even more weight than that. Trying to get them fattened up to sell as fat cattle

Not necessarily. As kill cows they can get docked for being too fat. The buyers want something that they can fatten up on their own dime in a feed lot rather than buy an overweight cow from you. So there is an ideal weight for your investimate in grain where your gain diminishes.

I believe cypress could be right. A 900 lb cow is a good sized kill cow at the sale barn if you are just trying to liquidate them.

 

[allischalmers1984]

so if we buy more cattle and want to sell as fat cattle. What weight should we buy them at? And 900lbs is the ideal weight to be sold to the packing plant?

 

[Isomade]

wouldnt they be worth more at 1200lbs or even more weight than that. Trying to get them fattened up to sell as fat cattle

Not necessarily. As kill cows they can get docked for being too fat. The buyers want something that they can fatten up on their own dime in a feed lot rather than buy an overweight cow from you. So there is an ideal weight for your investimate in grain where your gain diminishes.

I believe cypress could be right. A 900 lb cow is a good sized kill cow at the sale barn if you are just trying to liquidate them.

I agree with both the above. Go ahead and sell. :nod:

 

[CattleHand]

so if we buy more cattle and want to sell as fat cattle. What weight should we buy them at? And 900lbs is the ideal weight to be sold to the packing plant?

Someone else will have more information than me. But I don't understand why you'd want to sell cows, and then buy more cows just to fatten. I've only been around cow/calf but what you are trying to do sounds to me like stocker calves where you'd want to buy 3 & 4 wt heifers and steers and fatten to 6 wt or so. I've never heard of anyone buying cows just to fatten them and sell them back as kill cows. Maybe its possible, but someone else would have to explain it because I do not know how that could work.

 

[cypressfarms]

so if we buy more cattle and want to sell as fat cattle. What weight should we buy them at? And 900lbs is the ideal weight to be sold to the packing plant?

You need to bring these cattle to the stockyard. Chances are they will be bought by a slaughter house operation, or a middle man on their behalf. If you had calves, they would be bought by a feedlot operation, or middle man (order buyer). With calves,( I'm talking 300 to 600 or 700 pounds) the feedlot will grow them out and sell them to be processed when they are heavier/more mature. Don't get confused with fat and heavy. A fat cow is a cow that is mature and will not gain any more weight. A calf is a young animal that still has growing to do - as in become heavier. The ideal weight to sell depends on the producer. I'm a cow/calfer, which means I keep moma cows, and sell their calves each year. I usually sell somewhere around 400 to 500 pound calves, but that will depend on many variables like price, condition of the moma, age, etc.

If you don't know anything about cattle, I would not recommend buying more cattle. The price is very high now, but it will come down. It takes a very skilled person to be able to buy calves or cows and make money on them (as in re sell them later for a profit); it is not a niche for the faint of heart!

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Sale barn cattle prices go DOWN as weight and age goes UP. With "fat" cattle, there is a lot of slaughter waste (excess fat, e.g.). For example, we see 300-400 lb calves selling $1.20 to 1.30 a lb live weight if they are top quality. 700 to 800 lb calves frequently $1.00 a lb or lower. Old cows .50 to .75 a pound live weight. Bottom end cattle as "canner and cutter" class can go as low as .35 cents a pound (some less).

IMO, don't spend $$ to put money in buyer's pocket only to get seriously docked at sale barn for an animal that weighs too much.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Man, I'm totally on the opposite train of thought.
By this persons fist post, I "assumed" he was talking feedlot steers/heifers, that Grandpa was finishing out for harvest (butchered for freezer beef). If he has the feed, why would he get rid of the cattle?

So, going on that assumption - and I'm going to "assume" the 300# you are feeding is a daily ration to the 13 head. That equals about 23# of mixed feed. I'm not good enough to translate that intake to pounds of gain daily. I would "assume" they will gain 2-3#/hd/day. Going on the high side (which is a pretty normal rate of gain for quality steers) would be 100 days to finish.
Are you feeding any hay along with this ration? Are they easily cleaning up what you feed? Do you feed them once or twice a day? Are you buying the ground ear corn or have the equipment to grind your own? Are you buying the shell corn?
By feeding twice a day, you have less chance of getting them sick and can usually get them to eat more daily. The more they eat, the quicker they will finish.

 

[allischalmers1984]

yes we feed hay with the corn and the feed bunk is always empty in the morning and night. I grind our feed we have both shell and ear corn on the farm. Iv got one other question. What would you think the cattle would bring at auction. They all weigh alittle over 900lbs. I was told about $1100 a head does that sound right?

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I'm not a good one to give prices of market cattle. But, it will depend on your area. If you call a local sale barn, they will tell you what the current market is (tell them type, weight, condition). Or, if you want real help, I would contact your local Cooperative Extension Office. So, where are you?

 

[tmlonghorns]

Some really good advice here about when to sell. Hard for some folks to graps but a full grown cow does not mean that you maximized your profit.

 

[cypressfarms]

Some really good advice here about when to sell. Hard for some folks to graps but a full grown cow does not mean that you maximized your profit.

I'm thinking a full grown cow means you've lost money; unless that cow drops you a calf every 365.

 

[kenny thomas]

I think he might be in an area (there are several of them in the east) where steers or heifers are fed at the farm just like in a feedlot and sold at a stockyard as fats (finished cattle) to be sent to the packers.
If you are feeding for this market the calves will probably have to be 1200 lb to grade in the fat market.

 

[allischalmers1984]

we are from iowa. And around here the cows are all farm fed then sold as fat cattle. Is there good money in this? Or what do i need to do different to make a profit?

 

[kenny thomas]

The first thing to know is what your costs of production is. Then you can decide if you are going to make a profit.

 

[Kingfisher]

yes we feed hay with the corn and the feed bunk is always empty in the morning and night. I grind our feed we have both shell and ear corn on the farm. Iv got one other question. What would you think the cattle would bring at auction. They all weigh alittle over 900lbs. I was told about $1100 a head does that sound right?

What kind of cows do you have? Do you have any pictures of your stock? Thanks in advance.

 

[Kingfisher]

I think he might be in an area (there are several of them in the east) where steers or heifers are fed at the farm just like in a feedlot and sold at a stockyard as fats (finished cattle) to be sent to the packers.
If you are feeding for this market the calves will probably have to be 1200 lb to grade in the fat market.

Hi Kenny! He might want to talk to the fellows at his sale barn. It seems every market has it's own twist.

 

[Jalopy]

If you have the grain and the time I guess you should continue feeding them out. You are currently feeding about 2.5% of their body weight in concentrated energy (i.e. 300#/13hd of 900# calves) as they grow you will need to increase the pounds in a proprtional fashion such as at 13/hd of 1000 # calves should get 350# per day. Or you can check to see what 900# calves are bringing at feeder cattle sales such as at Lamoni, Tama, Or Bloomfield, Iowa and let some one else worry about them. There are no guarantees in which is the best way to maximize profits it will only be an educated guess at best. If you keep them there is always weather, death risk and market movements to contend with, however if you sell them you know what you got for them but you will not know what you could have made or lost by keeping them. Good luck!