Steers!!

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watso059

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Sand Mountain, Alabama
I'm just curious how much better angus or brangus steers would do at the salebarn than the same calves that are not steers? Also, what is the cleanest and safest way to castrate?
 
watso059":3uuho6dj said:
I'm just curious how much better angus or brangus steers would do at the salebarn than the same calves that are not steers? Also, what is the cleanest and safest way to castrate?
I t will depend omn the barn. In areas where it's about all bulls the steers will sell for the same as bulls, and a set of real top bulls many times bring more than the steers. In areas where there are mostly steers and plenty of numbers the steers will outsell the bulls of comparable quality several $ Cwt.
 
Up here you can usually expect to be docked about 10 cents a pound for bull calves as opposed to same weight/quality/breed that are steers.

Take care.
 
I ain't far from you. On the most part its pretty much a wash. I sell at Northwest al. cattlesale and buy at the Moulton stockyard most of the time.
 
CattleAnnie":388qsl7n said:
Up here you can usually expect to be docked about 10 cents a pound for bull calves as opposed to same weight/quality/breed that are steers.

Take care.
That's the way it should be. But in the deep south they pay the same for steers as bulls because they are so few steers. The buyers can buy 5 steers and 95 bulls. Who wants to pay a premium for the steers when they don't have to. Then you have the city boys like houston cutter that thinks he is cutting a fat hog in the ass bragging about selling his bulls for the same price as steers. About all that sells in his area are bulls and the multiplyers are all thinking the same.
 
Well if that is the case then i wont spend my time trying to castrate my bull calfs. We did pretty well without it with the other 2 we ran through. I haven't seen very many steers at the sale we go to anyways, i was just wondering.
 
That 10 cents difference is what it runs here but the bigger they get the bigger the spread. At 350 pounds there is less than 10 cent difference. At 600 pounds it is probably 10 cents. At 900 pounds it is more like 20 cents and behond that the seller really takes a beating.
Dave
 
In this area there usually is a good couple cents difference between steer and bulls or even stags....no feedlot wants to have to deal with them. I have worked at a couple feedlots that have dealt with incoming bulls in a variety of ways. At one feedlot the bulls were banded once they arrived and then dealing with infectioned sacs, the illnesses that comes with this infection and then the cattle going off feed b/c they are sick. Or the feedlot where they knife them and then there is that much more employee time and effort going into doing that instead of other things. After having to deal with bulls and all the extra time they take in a feedlot it is no wonder that they pay less to have them.
 
I'd say we get about a 15 cent average dock for bull calves around here . Don't see em much though.
Just whack the bottom of the nut sack off and yank the nuts out the bottom and cut the cords. Use a gol durn good sharp knife and spray it down with iodine. If you got a handy farm dog he'll eat em for you and clean up the mess.We never have infections from cuttin bulls.

:) bif
 
In my neck of the woods there is usually no discount for bulls under 400lb, while bulls 600lb and up the discount is usually $.05+. As the weights get higher, the greater the discount. Between 400 & 600 lb it can vary between 0 &$.05 depending on volume, season, & demand. As others have mentioned, it depends upon the ratio of available steers vs bulls. Few calf producers around here work their calves before weaning. Most are weaned on the way to the sale barn and show up as bulls.

My preferred way of castration is the California bander. Works very well on calves over 250lb. Have used on 700lb+ bulls with no problems. IMO there would be no maximum size limit with this bander. I do give tetnus toxoid when banding. Will work on smaller calves. Just not as much room to work or material to work with on the peewee's. Little stress on me or calf, no blood, no infection, no mess or cleanup. Bands only cost $.85

JMO

Regards

Brock
 

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