Which One

Help Support CattleToday:

matt69

Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2008
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Hello,

I am new around here and wanting to feed out a cow to butcher for my family. I have a little over an acre of pasture that is irrigated for the cow to be on. The pasture is shared with a couple of mini donkeys.

I want to buy from a private seller rather than a sale barn. I have seen three cows that I really like.

The first is a piedmontese bull-calf. He is 450-500lbs. Like the idea of a low fat, cholesterol, calorie beef. I bought a couple steaks from the guy and the meet is very good. How much would it cost to castrate him at this point. I would assume he would have to be cut and not banded.

The second is a Charlois (sp?). She is about 350 pounds. Very good looking calf. I know being a female it will take a little longer to finish her out, but will meet quality be as good?

The third is a red Limosine. The owner missed a nut when he was banded. Does not show any bull attitude. He is about 600lbs and there is another calf that is about 400lbs.

I am not really worried about cost, I want quality meet when I am finished. Which of the three would you choose?

Matt
 
Matt a cow is a female that has had a calf

Your looking at calves, feeders, stockers, bulls, steers, heifers.

What have they priced them at to you I guess any of them would taste ok if you feed them right.

You should have any bull calf you buy castrated.

I can't spell to good my self but meet is meat.
 
I no what one i would pick. Red Limousin i raise them and i eat them great meat, its lean tender and juicie. and will yeild more red meat pound for pound than the orthers. Limousin is known world wide as the carcass breed.
 
Red Bull Breeder":1x13958i said:
I no what one i would pick. Red Limo
will yeild more red meat pound for pound than the orthers
usin i raise them and i eat them great meat, its lean tender and juicie. and . Limousin is known world wide as the carcass breed.


Is there any data to back up your statement?
 
That's a "tough" :) question because in most breeds you'll find individuals and bloodlines that produce marbled/tender beef and those that don't. Are they crossbreds or straight Limi, Char and Piedmontese? Me, I'd go with the heifer. They tend to marble better than steers. The bulls aren't very big, so not being casterated might not affect their ability to marble yet, but bulls do tend to marble less than steers.

'Course I like marbled beef. Double muscled breeds like the Piedmontese tend to be tender, but not much marbling. You had a sample of the meat and liked it.
 
Red Bull Breeder":2a5w67og said:
I no what one i would pick. Red Limousin i raise them and i eat them great meat, its lean tender and juicie. and will yeild more red meat pound for pound than the orthers. Limousin is known world wide as the carcass breed.

RB...we have a freezer full of that good limousin beef as well and I have to say "it is out of this world". I've never owned one and really know nothing about them but can recommend it highly.
 
Thanks for the help so far. I am certainly a beginner, so excuse me if I don't use the proper cattle terms. What do you call a weined female calf?

The Limo and Charlois are priced at $1.20/pound. That seems to be the going rate in the Phoenix area.

The Piedmontese is about 500lbs and is priced at $650 for the animal. Again, seems like that is the going rate for Pieds in the area.

It sounds like I will be happy with any of them. The Charlois will marble well, but grow slower. The Limo still has one nut, is this a problem? The Pied needs to be castrated, what kind of cost is there with this? I am not comfortable doing that myself.

Thanks
Matt
 
We don't know how any of them will marble. But heifers do tend to marble better than steers, steers better than bulls. Heifers also gain at a slower rate than steers....generally.

When a female bovine is born, she's a heifer. After she has a calf, she's a cow. A bull is a bull from the day he hits the ground until he dies, unless he's castrated and becomes a steer. Check with your local vets and get charges for castration. Or ask the owners of the animals to get it done for you before deliver/pick up. That would be my choice. It's stressful on a calf to be castrated :shock: and they need time to recover. Also be sure they've been vaccinated. Vaccinations are not antibiotics and they may keep him/her alive and healthy while you're growing him out.
 
Thanks Frankie, I appreciate the vocab lesson and info. I am leaning toward the limo. The guy has several to choose from. If I can get some pictures of them I will post them up.

Matt
 
Alot of the choice I'd make would be off price. I dont know about you guys but alot of stuff tends to just taste the same to me and it will depend more on how you feed them. Limo would be my prefered breed and thats what we eat. A 450lb bull calf wouldnt be too old to cut and its not hard to cut them so any local boy may be willing to do it to make a buck.
 
If I were finishing one animal, I'd go with the heifer. They may not convert as well as a steer, but I've always found them to finish better - marbling, etc. Never liked finishing a bull for meat and handling reasons.
 
I'd buy the char heifer. For the reasons listed above.

However you can probably buy heavier cattle for less per pound and maybe have some better choices, an Angus cross of some kind, of course in Az black may not be the best idea, but if you want carcass Quality(Marbling) stay British or British cross.

No offense Red Bull Breeder, but I'd rather feed out
A british cross. Gelbvieh/Anything British, being my top choice
 
I think I may have tracked down a limi heifer that is about 500lbs. I thank you guys a ton for all the information. I worked my way through college on a quarter horse ranch in Oregon and have been going to Kansas for the past 16 summers to work on my uncle's wheat/hay farm. I am a country boy at heart that has a little over an acre in the city to get my farming fix on :cboy: .

Thanks
Matt
 

Latest posts

Top