Totally New At This, Looking For Help Raising Cattle

[Lon]

:lol2: :lol2: well if i offended you by assuming some of your questions were dumb and therefor you were someone playing around on here i do say sorry. you stay on here long enough you will figure out not all threads are honest questions and some things you said were pretty unbelievable and worded in a way that did sound like someone messing around. like said get some thick skin. heck i aint been on here very long and if ya look up a thread on corriente cattle you will see good old doc harrison referanced me personally cause we have different viewpoints on well lets say putting money in and getting started ya sure didnt see me get offended. and i am sure one day i will referance him in regards to something and i am sure he will not get offended or at least personally hurt over it. and i am even willing to bet if i sent him a pm he would go out of his way to find me an answer to my question thats just how it is on here. poeple gonna see things different and say what they think. like someone said unless you perfected the online upercut than nothing ya can do just smile and move on partner. besides no on called you a liar we just said that it is starting to look like this thread was put up to pull our chain. there is a big difference between a prank and a liar in my book cause i dont lie myself but i sure aint above pulling someones chain as i get a kick out of it. let me ask you what you do for a living? cause i am sure i could ask you some questions about that and be sincere and they would sound so dumb that you couldnt help but wander if someone pullin your chain cause here on the internet you wont know me from adam. :cowboy:

 

[Lon]

I'm not niave enough to not believe that some people do that stuff. But I don't have the time to play those stupid games. If anyone thinks that I went to the trouble of registering, waiting for the approval of my application and my first few posts, and then spent a few weeks discussing all of this just so I could jerk some stranger's chain well then I feel badly for them. One look at all the helpful info shared here shows me what boards like this are supposed to be about.

Looks to me like you have a choice. Take one set of advice like 3way and others have said and take the time and effort to get your facilities in place and maybe find a mentor and maybe in 6-12 months buy a couple of calves, or just go ahead and buy them now, cobble together a halfhearted effort and fail/succeed. Or you could do nothing but just stay here and whine some more.

Personally I hope you take the first course of action and succeed. Looks like the ball is in your court.

yup yup and i do believe most of us that assumed you were playing a joke were also the ones who gave you some honest to goodness advise. good with the bad parnter. i as well hope if your sincere about wanting to do this not just cause you want to save some money on beef but because you like to work with your hands have no time off and truly just enjoy the lifestyle ya go ahead and get some cavles once you have everything in order. but if its just to save some money there are better ways to do so cause loving it is what makes it worthwhile ortherwise your just asking for another job you dont need. cause if ya aint got the time for a online prank ya sure wont have time for cattle.

 

[dieselbeef]

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh

 

[DaveinMaryland]

OK OK I'll admit to over reacting. It's just that honesty is a hot button for me and whenever my integrity is questioned I react. To be honest I have no idea why anyone would bother to go to so much trouble messing with folks here but at my age I should know that nothing should surprise me.

As for this whole shootin' match to be honest the main motivator was to save money and to have beef that has not been injected with Red Dye #2. But at the same time I was just telling my wife how I need to simplify my life. Living on in a farmouse built in 1900 with lots of upkeep inside and out has taken up my weekends. Don't get me wrong, I love doing chores, but I've pretty much determined that this little "hobby", at least at this point in time, just isn't the way to go.

 

[Suzie Q]

It just seems a little bit more than naive that's all. We can only go on what you have posted as we haven't met you in person.

The one thing you are going to need and in bucket loads is horse sense. Or in laymans terms common sense. Absolutely no offence is meant, but that is not something you can learn over the internet. As said by more than one person, you need to go and find someone, and get experience in person and hopefully before you have cattle out on your 40 mph road.

People have been killed by hitting a cow on the road.

 

[Gators Rule]

Most of all don't forget the liabilities that go with owning cattle, you go off for a week they get out and some mom and a minivan full of kids hit ole Belle, you are in for a good time.

I'm a State Farm agent in Florida, and I pay about 2 of these claims per year. Some are lucky, and some are not so lucky. Anyone who raises cattle, and doesn't carry farm liability to cover their livestock aren't using their noggins....OR simply are ignorant (not intending for it to mean stupid) to the facts that occur all across the country.

By the way, I look forward to reading this board each evening. Always trying to learn...

David

 

[dieselbeef]

once ya got em out there and secured the fence it aint too bad...startups a pita tho. hav a cpl..youll do okay...just go on out and do it..i got 80 mph traffic on both sides of my property..i also got liabiliy ins

 

[DaveinMaryland]

Wife was not on board with this idea in the first place. When she finds out that some of my questions were so stupid that I was called a fraud on a message board she is going to laugh her ass off at me.

 

[terra8186]

<As for this whole shootin' match to be honest the main motivator was to save money and to have beef that has not been injected with Red Dye #2.>

You won't save much if any money raising 2 beefs. I am not doing much different than you were planning. I have the following expenses, straw, hay, grain, trailer upkeep, manure spreader upkeep, fence upkeep, water well pump upkeep, shelter upkeep, and purchasing the calves. If I didn't grow most of my own corn, then I would lose money. I do it because I like the meat. I like the cattle. I like the free fertilizer for growing more corn.

 

[backhoeboogie]

<As for this whole shootin' match to be honest the main motivator was to save money and to have beef that has not been injected with Red Dye #2.>

You won't save much if any money raising 2 beefs. I am not doing much different than you were planning. I have the following expenses, straw, hay, grain, trailer upkeep, manure spreader upkeep, fence upkeep, water well pump upkeep, shelter upkeep, and purchasing the calves. If I didn't grow most of my own corn, then I would lose money. I do it because I like the meat. I like the cattle. I like the free fertilizer for growing more corn.

I can't go along with you here and have to respectfully disagree. All it takes is one trip to the meat market to get the quality of steak you get when you raise your own. Pay their prices and compare.

My water well pump has to be kept up whether I have cows or not. If it wasn't, there wouldn't be water for the house. I have never used a manure spreader and never intend to.

There's an old one out in the pasture that I have had to move out of the way from time to time. It came with the place. I never saw my dad use one and never saw Grandaddy use one. I see your use of it as a personal choice.

Figure $800 for the steer. $400 for feed. $200 for hay (I don't have to use it). $20 for water if you want. $50 for fuel transports. $20 for meds. Approximately $1500 ? $300 for processing puts you at $1800. Divide the pounds of meat yield by that. That is what you are paying per pound for high quality steak, roast, hamburger from ONE animal etc. You are not going to get that quality from any grocery store and it will be cheaper.

My costs are way under that $1800 price. I feed out some every year.

 

[Caustic Burno]

<As for this whole shootin' match to be honest the main motivator was to save money and to have beef that has not been injected with Red Dye #2.>

You won't save much if any money raising 2 beefs. I am not doing much different than you were planning. I have the following expenses, straw, hay, grain, trailer upkeep, manure spreader upkeep, fence upkeep, water well pump upkeep, shelter upkeep, and purchasing the calves. If I didn't grow most of my own corn, then I would lose money. I do it because I like the meat. I like the cattle. I like the free fertilizer for growing more corn.

I can't go along with you here and have to respectfully disagree. All it takes is one trip to the meat market to get the quality of steak you get when you raise your own. Pay their prices and compare.

My water well pump has to be kept up whether I have cows or not. If it wasn't, there wouldn't be water for the house. I have never used a manure spreader and never intend to.

There's an old one out in the pasture that I have had to move out of the way from time to time. It came with the place. I never saw my dad use one and never saw Grandaddy use one. I see your use of it as a personal choice.

Figure $800 for the steer. $400 for feed. $200 for hay (I don't have to use it). $20 for water if you want. $50 for fuel transports. $20 for meds. Approximately $1500 ? $300 for processing puts you at $1800. Divide the pounds of meat yield by that. That is what you are paying per pound for high quality steak, roast, hamburger from ONE animal etc. You are not going to get that quality from any grocery store and it will be cheaper.

My costs are way under that $1800 price. I feed out some every year.

Boogie you left off one thing find a reputable slaughter house.

 

[DaveinMaryland]

A local told me that if your steer is only grass fed all the meat will end up tasting like liver. Is that true? She recommended feeding it corn for the last few months.

As for the math I'm not sure about it being a losing proposition either. A friend gave me this idea and she said it ended up costing 2.50/pound when everything was done. And she is in dry, western Colorado where she needed to buy feed. My field is full of rich grass (septic field is part of it) so I can't see spending that much on feed. On top of that with a garden hose I can get plenty of water from my home well.

But the real kicker is the retrieval of the loose animal and the inability to vacation.

 

[dieselbeef]

loose animals isnt as likely as you seem to think of for some reason unless yer just not gonna do fencewerk..or theyre in a really small pasture...mine have never been loose outside my property n the 15 yrs i been doin this..internally yes...

i only finish my cattle on grass..i sell every one i can grow at 1k/lbs for 3$/lb hanging weight...grass or grain is a choice..we prefer it now that we know how to grow it..others dont..and spend the time and money to finsh other ways..

 

[chippie]

Ditto diesel beef. If you have good fences and keep the gates closed, the chances of one getting out are slim (unless you get a wild crazy idiot). As far as loosing your vacation time. If you are only gone for several days or a week, surely you could find someone to keep an eye on things. Besides, depending on the age and size of the animal, you may only need to finish it out for 6 months or so. You would have a break in between steers.

If it is something that you would like to do, go for it.

 

[backhoeboogie]

A local told me that if your steer is only grass fed all the meat will end up tasting like liver. Is that true?

There's all different kinds of grasses.

A whole lot of things can make a difference. This not cut and dried situation although some people figure it is. For instance, your property may have limitations on what it can grow. Someone ten miles away can have other limitations and your problems don't exist on their property. Your climate there in Maryland affords you opportunities I don't have in my climate as far as breeds go etc.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Boogie you left off one thing find a reputable slaughter house.

You're right. And i don't know how I forgot that since I got burned once really bad; I got someone's old cow and they got my steer. Never went back there again.

The place I have been using for the last dozen years or so is good.

 

[Anonymous]

I can't believe you all are still talking about this.he's either gonna do it or he isn't.....there isn't that much to raising quality beef. Sure there can be problems, but most of the time its easy. Easier than a dang horde and look how many people raise horses on sand lots

 

[TobyBenoit]

"A local told me that if your steer is only grass fed all the meat will end up tasting like liver. Is that true?"


Nope! Some folks I know and myself included find grass fed and finished beef to taste far better than feed lot beef. Our pastures are of mixed forage, but mostly tifton and pensacola grasses.

 

[Ruark]

On top of that with a garden hose I can get plenty of water from my home well.

Just curious... how do you intend to keep them watered when your water hose freezes solid?

 

[chippie]

On top of that with a garden hose I can get plenty of water from my home well.

Just curious... how do you intend to keep them watered when your water hose freezes solid?

I would imagine that the steer would be in the freezer. If I understood correctly, he is going to finish one to butcher. He isn't raising cattle year 'round.