[Muc]

I've just got back the meat from a two-year-old Charolais heifer and thought the information might be useful for other first-time cattle ranchers. The ratio of meat to live weight of animal was 50%:
4 no Eye of Round
3 no Silverside
13 no Chuck roll
7 no Topside
10 no Striploin
18 no Mince
12 no Diced beef
9 no Ribbed
5 no Fillet
9 no unlabelled weighing 3kg each approx.
Total 90 packets
Total weight 210lbs approx
The joints were of 4,5,6 lbs.

[HappyHippy]

Oh Muc - it's a little too handy  and making me even more determined to sort out my 10 acre field with the bad drainage in preparation  I can hear hubby's bones creaking as I type  

Can I ask a couple of questions (as someone who's only experience with beef cattle was as a child, 20 years ago) Why a heifer ? Is it better meat ? In my inexperience I would have thought it would make more sense to raise bullocks for meat and keep the heifers for breeding.
Also would this ratio of live to deadweight be the same for all breeds ? I do love Charolais, (had a calf called Ferdinand as a kid) but I've a real hankering for some big beefy Highlanders.
Would love to hear your thoughts.....
Karen

[Muc]

My neighbour - a real farmer - had Charolais heifers for sale and I was able to do a part-barter with him for two of them. I know nothing I am afraid of the merits or otherwise of breed and gender.
The two ladies grew big on my four-acre field with just a few beef nuts to make sure they had all their vitamins. The beauty of the arrangement for me was that my neighbour kept an eye on them, and on me.
I'll definitely do it again and try and get partners in the venture as this time around I had to let the local abattoir buy one of the animals from me giving me a very small profit.
I'm considering asking a charity if they would like the meat next year at cost price rather than letting the meat industry benefit.

[robert waddell]

i think 100kilos is a bit light to have taken it to 2 years unless the bones were made of lead was looking at some today and they killed out at 300+kilos could say more but will wait and see what you say

[Muc]

Woops, sorry lillian I forgot to say that this if for half the animal as I split the meat with a friend. The total amount of meat should be double the figures I quoted , that is 420lbs. I keep hopping between kilos and lbs and my head is spinning. The 'killing out weight' was 232 kilos according to the abattoir, and she was under two years, probably 20 months.

[robert waddell]

thats different

[Sylvia]

I'm thinking very seriously about getting a couple of male Jersey calves for meat. I know they don't make much as meat and the fat is yellow and so on but they will be free and after bottle feeding they can go on good grass and go to slaughter early. What do you think?

[Muc]

Well I'm definitely doing it again. Quite apart from the small cash profit and the meat, I really enjoyed my summer with these gentle animals. And, compared to pigs, they were so manageable.

The only panic I had was when they started making eyes at a neighbour's bull and one managed to get out of her field. There was lots of 'hup-hupping' and fixing up walls and last-minute fencing but I got to bond with the neighbouring farmers.

Moral: don't get any animal until you have sound fencing and all the necessary fittings in place.

[landroverroy]

Sylvia - if you're thinking of fattening Jersey bull calves, make sure you get them castrated unless you will only be keeping them for about a year. A Jersey bull is potentially one of the most dangerous bulls. As for the meat - it should be great. They are only not kept commercially because you don't get as much of the expensive cuts as other breeds, but they taste just as good.   

[Sylvia]

That's what I was thinking. I will definitely get them castrated, the only way to go for males