Author Topic: Cows for beginners?? (Read 3303 times)

Imafluffybunny · « **on:** March 23, 2015, 09:25:05 pm »

I would like to raise a couple of cows for meat, we already raise free range pigs, sheep, chickens and have horses.
What you recommend doing it, is it financially worth it? What breed is good for beginners but have nice meat?

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #1 on:** March 23, 2015, 09:32:42 pm »

It sounds like you are wanting beef cattle rather than cows. (Cow means a breeding cow.)

What are you thinking? Buying in weaned animals and taking them to fat? Or buying calves and taking them all the way through?

In general, native breeds are easier to handle than continentals - though there are of course exceptions both ways.

Probably one of the easiest types to procure and manage would be Angus x or Hereford x out of dairy cows. You can probably buy these at any stage, so perhaps get weaned animals for your first foray?

sokel may come on and tell you his experiences with Jersey bullocks from the local dairy farm; he sold the meat and I think he did find it worthwhile.

Imafluffybunny · « **Reply #2 on:** March 23, 2015, 09:47:12 pm »

Sorry yes, beef cattle... Was thinking buying weaned but open to ideas, we have a lot of belties around us but I want something that isn't too fiesty!!

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #3 on:** March 23, 2015, 10:46:44 pm »

Well, dairy-bred beef cross calves are likely to be more tame than weaned sucklers. The former will have been reared on bottles or buckets of milk, taught to eat cake and straw, and should be well-handled. The latter will have run outside with their mothers and will have had minimal human interaction.

Some dairy farms rear some of their own beef cross calves to weaning and then sell them in the weaned calf or store ring. Others sell them at a few weeks old to other producers, some of whom may sell some of these animals on at ages from 6-12 months.

If you can, go and watch the trade at your local mart a few times. In Carlisle the two sales are called 'Weaned calves' and 'Store cattle'. It's not a totally clear distinction - some weaned suckler calves may be sold in 'Weaned calves', and some dairy-bred bucket-reared animals may be sold in the store ring. You can sometimes tell a lot about how tame, or otherwise, they are, from how the seller behaves in the ring with them

Talk to the sellers before the sale as they settle their beasts in the pens, talk to the auctioneers about what you are looking for - they will be able to tell you which producers sell the kind of animal you are seeking.