Thinking of starting lot of questions

[hyp7]

Hello every first post so here goes.
Would like to start out with 2 cattle for freezer beef.
whats better hefier or steer?
What weight should I start with? I was thinking around 300 to 700. But dont know. I was told to stay away from smaller bucket calves (get sick easy, scours,die easy). But I can get a real good looking 150 lb to 250 lb for around $200 a head.
I have a good pen built and barn. I have a million questions so this is just the first couple.
thanks for all the help.

 

[IluvABbeef]

Hello every first post so here goes.
Would like to start out with 2 cattle for freezer beef.
whats better hefier or steer?
What weight should I start with? I was thinking around 300 to 700. But dont know. I was told to stay away from smaller bucket calves (get sick easy, scours,die easy). But I can get a real good looking 150 lb to 250 lb for around $200 a head.
I have a good pen built and barn. I have a million questions so this is just the first couple.
thanks for all the help.

Start out with a couple steers of any breed you want - crossbred or straight-bred. Get them at 500 lbs, you don't have to worry about bucket feeding them, just feed them up with good hay and grain. Just so long as you make sure that they're vaccinated for black leg, BRD, BVD, etc.

 

[MikeC]

Hello every first post so here goes.
Would like to start out with 2 cattle for freezer beef.
whats better hefier or steer?
What weight should I start with? I was thinking around 300 to 700. But dont know. I was told to stay away from smaller bucket calves (get sick easy, scours,die easy). But I can get a real good looking 150 lb to 250 lb for around $200 a head.
I have a good pen built and barn. I have a million questions so this is just the first couple.
thanks for all the help.

The bigger the better up to around 700-900.

Heifers and steers both make good freezer beef.

You might try one big one and one small one unless you have the freezer space for two at the same time?

 

[TheBullLady]

I'd start larger as well.. especially on your first one. The older they are the more healthy they tend to be. And it won't take so long to finish it out.

 

[rouxshortorn]

I agree with larger steer's, less to worry about and will give you an idea what it takes to raise a couple beef critters and if you really like it. Good luck and happy farming.

 

[grannysoo]

And..... read and study the questions and answers here. You can find lots of knowledge to help you along the way.

Good luck.

 

[rc]

Is there a processor nearby and how and what will you load them in to haul? It sounds like you'll be paying around $1.33 per lb. for the weight you mentioned, you should be able to get something larger for the same if not less per pound and freeze it much quicker. You'll enjoy the meat.

 

[Jogeephus]

I know I'm gonna catch some flack for this, but try a heifer. Can buy it cheaper and it will be easy to finish and will dress out surprisingly well.

 

[hyp7]

Thanks for all the replies, I have a small time rancher who has been helping me a little. He has a stock trailer and the packing plant is only 10 miles away. I really have no preferance on wether steer or heifer. Which one has a better temprement?
So here is a few more questions.
Does it help to keep the cattle more comfortable as in nice shelter to stay warmer during winter? My thought is animal will use less energy. Just a thought.
My main thougt is to feed out 2 beef, keep one for my freezer then sell the other to recoop some of my cost.
What kind of profit if any do you get filling out a 600# to butcher weight? Would you make any more money selling at sale barn or to private people or friends?
One more question weight brake down .
Live weight -(live animal)- On the hoof-(still live animal right?)
-hanging weight (dead with bones and guts, hide)
-packaged (packaged ready to eat.
is this right?
Well thanks for all the help. I have been doing alot of reading
Will have more questions later.
thanks gene

 

[Jogeephus]

I don't know what kind of weather you have there, but a cow generates heat from eating. So to a point, cold will stimulate their appetites. Somebody from up north will have to give details where the point of diminishing returns is since we don't have that cold of weather here.

Private treaty is your best bet if you are going to finish them out. I sell on hoof weight aka live weight. Profit you make is going to depend on how much your feed bill is going to be. You could lose money is you are not careful. Cows can eat all you can afford to feed them and some.

 

[Hitch]

I agree with those that suggest starting out with heavier stock as much of the risk factors of early debelopment have passed. Plus, you may get a better visual, and intuitive, sense how they may shape up come market time. I believe, overall, going with steers give you a better shot at optimal conversion of feed to muscle/meat gain. Which breed to use may be indicated by what the dominant breed is in your area. Some markets are notional about what breed is "best" and animal science may not be part of their thinking. Think about the possibility of a nitche market that sometimes only smaller operators are better suited for. Otherwise healthy beef don't need a lot of elaborate shelter if they have had time to acclimate to the coming winter weather. Keep them dry and offer them protection from the wind. A simple, covered, three sided shelter may work for you. The opening faces away from prevailing winter winds in your area (probably south). Make sure they have plenty of fresh water available. Cattle are herd animals (not a news flash) and I think you will see better gains, and so forth, if you start with two. I think the animals are more content with buddies and gain better as well. Think about starting out with 3. Two beeves in a freezer is a lot of beef to eat in a year or so. Your goal could be 1 for the freezer, 1 sale to help cover expenses, and the third sale to hopefully boost profit margin - or a buffer against possibility of loss of one of the others. It may be possible to get good beef, and a little pocket money, using dairy steers. Not as handsome as some beef breeds but a Holstein steer tastes good and you end up with a reasonable amount of freezer beef. You will almost certainly be starting with the extra time to market and work/risk of starting with young calves if you go for dairy calves - bull calves that need to be castrated. If you do go for dairy steers be extra watchful as, even as steers, dairy breeds should not be trusted to behave themselves. Beef breeds, as a general rule (genetics), tend to be docile/gentle by nature. Good luck. Don't forget vacinations.