# Raising a calf for beef



## james13 (Nov 8, 2016)

I would like to raise a calf most likely a steer for the first time starting in the spring of 2017. My goal would be to butcher in the late fall of that same year. Any tips on what age I should get my calf, what to feed, a good butchering weight for tender meat but I do not want a massive steer. Really looking for any advice so I can have a smooth efficient process. Thank you!


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

I would suggest a weaned steer and NOT buying a bottle calf, for several reasons. Bottle feeding is expensive and can be tricky, also your steer won't really be big enough to slaughter the same year. Compared with just outright spending the money for a weaner or feeder, bottle babies will cost you a whole lot more and have a lot more health problems to show for all of your painstaking efforts. Ask me how I know....LOL!

If you can find a calf that is 8 months to a year, you would have a reasonably sized beef the same fall. Honestly I think that raising for only 6 months or so isn't enough time for a full sized beef, cattle need much more time to grow out than, say, hogs. Figure on 16-18 months from birth to slaughter and purchase accordingly.

The type or breed is up to you. Even dairy steers are edible and IMO very tasty. If just raising for family meat, I wouldn't worry so much about good genetics or finishing capabilities.

Feed is also up to you. Grass fed is all the rage, but it takes longer to get the weight up to slaughter size. Grass fed can have a gamey taste sometimes too, for lack of a better term. My personal preference is to grain 'em at finish when you're trying to stack the weight on. High quality hay or pasture should be the bulk of your steer's diet, whatever you decide.

Hope this helps.


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

Good advice by Shannon...Topside


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## bobp (Mar 4, 2014)

Wife and I hit the sale last Friday, 6-700# bull calves were bringing 80,85-95 which is dirt cheap.... 
I'm thinking of buying two, and cutting them in the trailer...Then give em 90 days of good hay, grass and then grain feed split into twice daily feedings..


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## james13 (Nov 8, 2016)

ShannonR said:


> I would suggest a weaned steer and NOT buying a bottle calf, for several reasons. Bottle feeding is expensive and can be tricky, also your steer won't really be big enough to slaughter the same year. Compared with just outright spending the money for a weaner or feeder, bottle babies will cost you a whole lot more and have a lot more health problems to show for all of your painstaking efforts. Ask me how I know....LOL!
> 
> If you can find a calf that is 8 months to a year, you would have a reasonably sized beef the same fall. Honestly I think that raising for only 6 months or so isn't enough time for a full sized beef, cattle need much more time to grow out than, say, hogs. Figure on 16-18 months from birth to slaughter and purchase accordingly.
> 
> ...


Great info and thank you! So if i decide to purchase a weened steer that I could have butchered in the late fall just months after purchasing what age, PRICE and weight would I be looking for and what is a good target weight. I am sorry for all the questions I am just a 17 year old that just started farming! LOL!


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

james13 said:


> Great info and thank you! So if i decide to purchase a weened steer that I could have butchered in the late fall just months after purchasing what age, PRICE and weight would I be looking for and what is a good target weight. I am sorry for all the questions I am just a 17 year old that just started farming! LOL!


I admire your enthusiasm, for sure.

How many months are you planning on feeding your beef out? If finishing for 6-7 months, I would look for a steer that is maybe 8 or 10 months old. 

Your weight will vary quite a bit by breed, but look for a 700+ lb animal at 10 months if going for a beef breed. 800 lbs or more would be more reasonable.

Don't overlook dairy breeds as a possibility either, I don't know what your finances look like but they can be had much cheaper than beef steers for the most part.

Price is going to vary quite a bit by region. My suggestion would be to look up the going feeder steer prices at your nearest livestock auction and use that number as a base to work off of. 

Target weight and weight gain, if you can help me out with what you have planning to feed, I could give you a better guess. But have a look at this as a reference:
https://ask.extension.org/questions/202874


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

ShannonR said:


> If you can find a calf that is 8 months to a year, you would have a reasonably sized beef the same fall. Honestly I think that raising for only 6 months or so isn't enough time for a full sized beef, cattle need much more time to grow out than, say, hogs. Figure on 16-18 months from birth to slaughter and purchase accordingly.


Excellent advice. Slaughtering a year old beef is a waste of potential, IMHO.
They really put on weight/size and QUALITY of meat at about 18 months. I prefer mine 2 years old, personally.


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## james13 (Nov 8, 2016)

ShannonR said:


> I admire your enthusiasm, for sure.
> 
> How many months are you planning on feeding your beef out? If finishing for 6-7 months, I would look for a steer that is maybe 8 or 10 months old.
> 
> ...


Thank you again! And I plan on of course being grass fed in a little over an acre pasture. Along with grain and roughage, Alfalfa or hay of some sort. And if I do plan on going for a dairy breed, will meat quality being any less? I would only be feeding three people so it is not like we need a massive amount of meat.


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

Ok, on an acre of pasture (in my area at least) I would expect to be feeding hay as well, which it looks like you plan on doing already. An acre is a really good start for feeding though, depending on the forage on it. If you are feeding grain also, you could try to target a daily weight gain of maybe 2lbs. My numbers here might be a little ambitious, though.

Dairy steers, have their pros and cons. Pros, they are easily obtained (male calves have no place in a dairy!) and they tend to be cheaper than beef breeds. Cons, they can have an attitude problem (Jerseys are famous for this), and they have a higher bone to meat ratio. A butcher size dairy steer will give you somewhat less meat than a beef breed. How much less meat, I don't really know off the top of my head. Taste of dairy steers is extremely good, in my experience.

If you could find a dairy cross, that might give you the best of both worlds.

Good luck!


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## cooper101 (Sep 13, 2010)

Google for "rose veal." We raise dairy steers on pasture and feed grain also. I get weaned steers from our neighbors in May and slaughter in late fall. At 7 months they will hang about 400 pounds. The meat is phenomenal. Tender, with a lot of flavor, the ground veal makes great hamburgers and meat loaf. It's not common, but it might fit your situation. Dairy bull calf prices are dropping like a stone around here. I don't have the facilities for 1200 pound animals and don't really want to deal with them over the winter. It might be a good way for you to try it.


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## CIW (Oct 2, 2007)

I believe that there may be some misconceptions that have come to surface.
Commercial beef cattle today have been genetically designed to finish between 18 and 22 months, and weigh between 1100 and 1300 lbs at processing.
If you go much above or below those parameters your cost per pound to get it in the freezer goes up. Also the grade of the animal will be lower.
These calves won't even start to marble and finish until they are around 950 lbs. Before that, giving them any appreciable amount of a grain ration will only cause them to put on yellow organ fat. (Amount of organ fat is part of the grading indicators) Below the 950 they are still building structure (bone) to apply that muscle to, so the bone to muscle ratio will be greater at that time.
Up to 1100 to 1300 lb. range is when you get your marbling and any white fat capping of the muscle along the back and in the low hips. The meat quality is at its best at that time.
Another thing that happens when cattle are fed grain outside those parameters is that their feed conversion efficiency will be less. Meaning that your price per pound goes up.
If you purchase a good quality 750 lb. steer calf for say $950. That cost is solid. 
From that day on you can expect that calf to gain between 2.1 and 2.3 lbs per day to processing, if you give him the correct nutrition.
Correct nutrition at that stage is, a diet that is high in calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium along with lots of roughage. As time goes on you transition the calf a high protein diet for the last 110 to 120 days.
All that being said. Cattle will continue to grow throughout their lives and if left to age will become leaner and put on more muscle as well as bone structure. Also becoming less feed efficient. This in turn changes the consistency of the meat. Things like butchering brood cows also has effect on meat quality.
If the original poster doesn't want as much meat he might want to look into purchasing an open, solid mouthed cow and put her on feed for 90 to 100 days to change her over to white fat. She won't yield as well, but he also won't have as many $$$ in her either. And can get a satisfactory quality to the meat. Some folks say they prefer it.
There's a lot more that can be said about different breeds and timing to process.
You can figure out when you want to process and work back from there.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Some cattle do well on grain. Some do best on pasture. Either buy a calf to suit your feeding preferences, or change your feeding preferences to suit your calf. This will take a little homework on your part. My neighbor raises Holstein steers to butcher. Their diet consists of corn. Corn is cheaper than hay. These steers get real fat. Real fat means that a hanging carcass can have three inches of fat under the skin- I&#8217;ve seen them hanging.

Only you can decide the best way to feed the calf based on breed and how fat or lean you want. I buy quarter or half steers from a different neighbor who does not feed grain. The meat is lean and tasty. Of course, you have to know how to cook lean meat versus fat meat.


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