We keep Shetlands - we have 31 at the moment - and 17 of those are going to beef over the next few years.
Shetland steers will over-winter outside - provided they have some shelter from the extremes of the weather. For the past 2 years we've kept our older (1year+) steers outside. The weather has not been too bad - not too cold, not thick snow etc.
Our younger calves and the breeding cows and heifers have open access to our cattle shed - but most of the time they choose to stay outside.
Poaching of the ground around hay-rings and water troughs can be a problem - our ground is fairly boggy being next to a grouse moor, and the ground does get churned even by our Shetlands.
Feed - our Shetlands get hay over-winter. The adults eat about 5 large round bales each, that's feeding from end Nov to end May.
Grazing -we have 47 acres, with 26 set aside for haymaking and the rest left for grazing. The cattle are let into the hay fields after harvest, and get to graze on the aftermath. For our numbers, the amount of grass & hay we produce is about right & we don't buy in any feed.
Slaughter costs - up here( NE Scotland) - are around £105 for UTM. Our local abattoir doesn't do butchery, so we have a local butcher process for us - this costs around £400. Seems expensive, but they do an excellent job, and they're one of the few butchers around that will hang for 3 weeks. Also they have an existing mail-order business, so can send our beef boxes via their courier. This makes it possible for us to sell outwith the local area.
Cost of weaned steer - for a Shetland around £350-400
Meat - a well grown, well butchered Shetland will give about 180kgs of meat in the freezer.
If you're going to eat that yourself you'll need a very large chest freezer or 2 - plus the space to keep them. Note if you're going to keep your freezers in an outbuilding they need to be rated for that.
Hope this gives an indication of costs - please ask if you have any questions.
Sue