The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Cattle => Topic started by: Ash Field Farm on July 20, 2008, 01:53:43 pm
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hi
i have said when i first became a member of the accidental smallholder that i was intrested in breeding some of my own cattle to slaughter weigh the sell some of the meat to cover cost and keep the rest , well in the past few months i have made some intresting resaults in doing wat i want to do i have contacted a local farmer who specialises in breeding the aberdeen angus breed they have been breeding them since 1902 and still have some of the original blood lines they are all pedagree he has been such a help i told him wat iam after and we have had a number of meets and chats i have my eye on 3 cows (aged between 3 years and 8 ) and he has said when iam ready i can have them for a good price and he will give me the year old hefier calf as well which is the calf of one of the cows i have choosen we also said that wen i ready to take them all 3 of the cows will be in calf again so i will end up with 7 if all goes well he has been a good send anytime i have questions i can ring him and he gves free advice when i get the money together to buy them iam trying to work out the live and dead carcus weights now from what i understand from the farmer himslef a bullock @ 2 1/2 years old would reach a weight of 700kg aprox but i would be greatfull if anyone else had any idea of what weigh of meat i would be looking at for this particular breed being a chef i have contacts that i can obviousely sell in to resturants my excess so i have been trying to work out how much i would get fro each beast i think the price at the moment mrket price is 255 pence per kg wouldany one have any idea on how much and wat weights also how much grazing would i need just to be sure i have enough sorry for all the questions iam just excited lol all any and all advice is welcome :cow:
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well done
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I don't know if a previous post "How much meat on a beef steer" will help you. I am still dreaming at the moment about Highland cattle. :cow: They are quite slow growing so slightly different from what you will have. Rosemary has a pig and string method for estimating the weight of pigs so you can calculate the amount of meat - I can't see that working for cows though :-X :-X :-X Good luck with the cows I know how you feel. I am saving to buy two highlands, can't wait. Let us know how you get on. I would be very interested in your experiences. :)
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There were Highland cattle for sale in the Scottish Farmer this week - a cow with a heifer calf at foot and a heifer ( can't remember if in calf or not). I have also thrownout the paper but maybe if you phone the paper or look on line it might be there. They were in Argyll.
Also, there is a sale of rare and traditional breeds at Lanark on 13th August. Entries close 1st August so the catalogure will be available shortly thereafter.
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I would think that at 30 months the weight of a live beast would be no more than 500kg indeed much larger it would more likely put on fat not lean muscle. As a rule of thumb grass fed cattle will kill out at 55%. House fed cattle about 60% ie. approx 300kg bone in weight of carcass.
Regarding selling to restaurants etc I think you would need to consider continuity of supply and also most chefs will only want specific cuts.
If you would like any other info feel free to ask as I was a livestock buyer for 10 years and sold meat to restaurants and other foodservice outlets during that time.