kickinbull
Well-known member
We sell baby beef age 7-9 months of age straight off the cow. Our customers love the amount and the tenderness but comment that the meat is too lean. Is there something we can do to remedy?
Too lean beef
- Thread starter kickinbull
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BC
Well-known member
Creep feed the calves with grain not 14% creep feed. Realize that any calves you take to the sale barn will be discounted because feeders want to put the additional fat on and they can do it cheaper than you can.
Dsth
Well-known member
Do you creep feed them? If not, that would be my first change. I creep feed with calf starter at about a month of age and switch to corn once they start eating good. I have no problem with calves being too lean and appear to have plenty of fat on them.
Travlr
Well-known member
Genetics... It all begins with genetics. It's probably going to be difficult to find any semen from a bull that lays on fat at six months because everything is geared to feedlot beef finished at 1300 pounds, but the genetics is out there. You might consider going for a year old and 8/900 pounds.
Use a Wagyu bull?
MurraysMutts
Well-known member
From what I understand, veal calves are best milk fed ONLY.
No grass or feed.
No grass or feed.
start them on creep feed as soon as they can put their head in it !
Most of our calves are in the creep feeder the first week.
Most of our calves are in the creep feeder the first week.
kickinbull
Well-known member
Thanks for replying. The calves are on their moms and grass only.
farmerjan
Well-known member
True veal is just milk fed and they are iron anemic.... hence the "white" color of the meat. When I raised them in Conn. after I got divorced and before I moved to VA, I would feed up to a 5 gallon bucket of milk/milk replacer, each feeding, 2-3 times a day. All they would drink without getting scoury. They were bedded with straw which has little nutrition but it did add bulk to their diet. Any grain or hay would cause the meat to get "rose pink". I did not raise them in crates, they were free in a 12x20 area under the barn.... I had customers on a wait list... I raised holstein bull calves I got off the dairy I was milking on; This was in 1979-80 and I got $3.00 / lb..... LIVE WEIGHT.... for them..... They usually were 250-300 lbs when they would leave.... I only raised 3-4 at a time and they were usually 12-15 weeks old when they left. But there was alot of milk in them and didn't make much after all was said and done... and milk replacer was about $30-35 a 50 lb. bag...
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