[plt102]

Hiya,
So it started with a couple of chooks, then piggies, then sheep. Our next step is cattle.
We are looking to move somewhere with a bit more land and I was wondering if a one acre paddock would be OK for a couple of Dexters. We would have a total of about 8 acres so could rotate with the sheep. Are there any other small breeds you could recommend for a novice. We would be looking to get calves and raise them for beef for our own use. How old would they have to be before they would taste the best?

[Rosemary]

Have a look at our cattle articles on the main website.

Of course, I would recommend Shetlands, because that's what we have and we love them. You need to allow about an acre per cow plus another acre per cow if you are plannng to make your own forage. Our paddocks are about 1.25 - 2 acres each - we just have to move them regularly. Rotating them with sheep is ideal - cattle on first to eat off the long grass (assumng we GET any grass this year ) then sheep to nibble it down. It helps to reduce the worm burden as internal worms are species specific (not fluke though).

And it's surprising how the herd expands. We bought two 7 month old heifers in October 2010, we bought a bullock in 2011 (aged 6 months); our heifers had a calf each in summer 2012 ( a heifer and a bullock) and we've just bought a young bull. So we're up to six. The two cows are in calf, due mid June, so that will be eight, then Henry goes August at about 28 months. So that's seven beasts. The two cows and the heifer born 2012 go to the bull in August, so that's potentially another three in summer 2014. And so on 

Most folk have Shetland bullocks slaughtered before 30 months, when the regulations get more challenging. It costs the same to have a big bullock slaughtered as a wee one, so you might as well let it grow as big as possible. Shetland beef is wonderful - but I suspect (although I hate to say it) any traditional breed raised on grass will taste pretty good.

If you don't have lots of land, think about winter housing - even the little Shetlands make a bit of a mess of the ground if it's wet.

[domsmith]

Everyone should keep a cow or two!

I will speak up for dexters. i love them. they are hardy, milky, easy calving, and the beef is out of the world. we keep non short dexters which are the bigger ones. we cross them to the Angus but the pure bred ones give great results.
they have great temprements, can be milked by hand and showed.

but no matter what the breed, just get some cows!


On a small scale it might be worth buying in your winter fodder rather than worrying about making it. it will free up your acres for grazing. we do that with 45 cows its like someone gvae me an extra 30 acres in the summer. we contract a neighbour to make us and deliver the silage. he thinks its great to!

good luck

dominic

[lachlanandmarcus]

The other thing to bear in mind is logistics for TB testing etc, our place is very linear with no yard and our cows weren't halter trained and no cattle byres or crush. Which was ok ish until senior cow got mastitis, trying to stuff dry cow tubes up a teat of a very sore,not very halter trained cow can be tough without some setup if you are on your own ! ( not impossible  and i did it but a lot more challenging than tipping up a sheep!)

[plt102]

Excellent. The place we are looking at buying has stables and 2 barns so bringing them in over winter would be fine. So we could potentially get 2 weaned bullocks and keep them for 2 years till they go off and if we get on well, could maybe get a couple of heffers instead to look at having some calves. Will read up on it. V excited. How much am I looking to pay for a Dexter or Shetland bullock or heffer?

[Rosemary]

Expect to pay about £450 - £500 for a Shetland bullock.

We haven't taken any to finish yet, but another breeder killed a bullock at 28 months and got 168kg of meat. We're planning to sell beef boxes (no horse  ) at around £10/kg so we're hoping o make a cash surplus for reinvestment.

[domsmith]

You might struggle to get young bullock that need 2 years of finishing. we sell our bullocks at 18 months ish they then need another summer to fatten. to sell any younger wont give me the best part of the income i need for them.
if i sold a wee calf for a £100 its a long time to keep a cow (its mother) and only get £100. so we sell when they are woth 3-400 quid.

dominic

[twizzel]

You might struggle to get young bullock that need 2 years of finishing. we sell our bullocks at 18 months ish they then need another summer to fatten. to sell any younger wont give me the best part of the income i need for them.
if i sold a wee calf for a £100 its a long time to keep a cow (its mother) and only get £100. so we sell when they are woth 3-400 quid.

dominic

You could get a more commercial breed just weaned, in the stores ring at market. However they will inevitably cost more to buy and keep as they are bigger than Dexters or Shetlands.

[Rosemary]

You could get a more commercial breed just weaned, in the stores ring at market. However they will inevitably cost more to buy and keep as they are bigger than Dexters or Shetlands.

And they might not "do" on forage alone unlike the Dexter or the Shetland