# Finishing with corn?



## nchobbyfarm (Apr 10, 2011)

Does anyone pen up your freezer bound cow and finish out by feeding corn, hay and plenty of water? If so, what size pen? How long do you keep them penned? How much corn per day for a 800 pounder? I have a chance to buy 1/2 of this cow. She has been on a pasture eating what ever comes up. Not knowing exactly what has grown in the pasture, I was figuring the cracked corn would hopefully insure a good flavor in the meat and the limited movement would let the muscles relax. Thanks for your advice.


----------



## CIW (Oct 2, 2007)

We always add some rolled barley along with the roll corn. It seems to sweeten up the meat with less fat than pure corn.


----------



## collegeboundgal (Jul 17, 2005)

I would let her eat pasture along with the feed. seems like it would be kinder for the cow.


----------



## myersfarm (Dec 24, 2004)

Old farmers us to put them in the barn and feed them there ...but mostly because that was the only place to hold them...just did not have places fenced off like we do now

I have a program 
tell me what your going to feed or what ingredients you have to feed 
what kind of hay 
what size starting 
and what size you want to butcher
and I can tell you how many days and how much to feed of each ingredient


----------



## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

The reasons for putting the freezer bound steer in the barn are that it is hard to grain one in a herd and not the rest. Plus, you don't need the cattle exercising away all those expensive corn calories. We butcher in late fall, so pasture isn&#8217;t really providing anything. Plan to feed corn for 6 weeks minimum. Make sure the Slaughter Facility can accept the steer when you will be ready, plan ahead. You don&#8217;t want to grain for 6 weeks and then find out the Slaughter Facility has a 6 week backlog.


----------



## G. Seddon (May 16, 2005)

haypoint said:


> Make sure the Slaughter Facility can accept the steer when you will be ready, plan ahead. You donât want to grain for 6 weeks and then find out the Slaughter Facility has a 6 week backlog.


Good point!

The only time I fed a lot of corn to a Dexter steer, I did not like the taste of the meat; it simply had too much fat. I haven't fed corn since. 

Since then, when we keep a steer for our freezer, he gets 12% textured, unmedicated grain daily (the one we are getting ready to process in a few weeks receives about 3# a day) hay, loose minerals, and pasture. He is not confined to a small space; he is pastured with other cattle and readily comes in for his grain everyday. With a small herd, this is fairly easy for me to do.

I wish I were a vegetarian. Even though our steers are not named or pampered in any way and even though I know from the start that a particular animal is destined for the freezer, it is difficult not to establish a 'relationship' with them; they are friendly and good natured through no effort on my part and I absolutely hate loading them up for the drive to the processor.


----------



## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

G. Seddon said:


> I wish I were a vegetarian. Even though our steers are not named or pampered in any way and even though I know from the start that a particular animal is destined for the freezer, it is difficult not to establish a 'relationship' with them; they are friendly and good natured through no effort on my part and I absolutely hate loading them up for the drive to the processor.


I`m with ya on this one, I get a softer heart every day for the animals, I hate the last ride to the butcher also. > Thanks Marc


----------



## G. Seddon (May 16, 2005)

Marc, thanks. I know a beef steer's life is fairly short, and I believe it should be as good as possible.

Edited to add: For some reason, taking them to process gets more difficult as I grow older.


----------



## nchobbyfarm (Apr 10, 2011)

Do to outside circumstances, my neighbor is losing the pasture. The word pasture is used loosely. It is mostly weeds, some light woods, and very little annual rye grass. I have access to any type feed from Tractor Supply or a local feed mill. The hay is last years 3rd cut of Bermuda. We have only 6 weeks (the 2nd week after Easter) to vacate the property. My goal now is to get what weight I can and try to add flavor. Thanks for the help.


----------



## myersfarm (Dec 24, 2004)

#####
---------> Ingred. <----------------------------% Fed (As Fed Basis Ingred.
NE(g) $/Ton Name	Rtn 1	
$280.00	******	GroRation####	25.00% of mix 
$320.00	******	Corn########25.00% of mix 
$50.00	******	BmdHay	###50.00% of mix 






#	****************************************************************************************************************************** #
##### Sum of % Fed =	100.00 #####
##### Ration Cost, $/Ton =	175.00 #####
#####	ANALYSIS: %DM =	79.28 #####
#####	(Dry Basis) %Prot =	9.74 #####
##### %Ca =	0.32 #####
##### %P =	0.29 #####
##### % ADF =	26.24 #####
##### NE(m) =	77.28 #####
##### NE(g) =	44.47 #####
##### % Roughage =	72.56 #####
########	****************************************************************************************************************************** #
##### Ration Markup, $/Ton = #####
##### CNES, % Efficiency =	100 #####
##### Cattle Wt. @ Phase Start =	500 #####
##### Cattle Wt @ Phase End =	592 #####
##### DM Intake, lb/hd/d =	14.48 #####
########	****************************************************************************************************************************** #
#####	PHASE: Days =	42 #####
##### As Fed Intake, lb/hd/d =	18.27 #####
##### DM Intake, % BW =	2.65 #####
##### As Fed Intake, % BW =	3.35 #####
##### ADG =	2.18 #####
##### Dry F/G =	6.64 #####
##### Feed Cost/Cwt Gain =	73.27 #####
##### Total Cost/Cwt Gain =	73.27 #####
#####	****************************************************************************************************************************** #####


----------



## myersfarm (Dec 24, 2004)

If this is a GOOD STEER NOT A STUNTED ONE just saying if that is pasture he has been running on as you discribed

GROW ration need to be a good mix and 12% protien calf will start at 500 pounds and end in 42 days at 592 feeding 26.5 pounds of the mix incuding the hay cost of the gain he eats will cost you 73 cents so feed him ....every pound he gains will only cost 73 cents or if you figure it on HANGING weight it will cost $1.16


----------



## myersfarm (Dec 24, 2004)

he will need to be started gradually so that will affect background if you use same mix as the formula steer starts at 800 pounds in 42 days will weight 890 pounds and needs to be feed 25.20 pounds of mix

this only works if steer is wormed and was on feed before starting this ration..it will take a while for him to adjust to the ration

Impossible to figure if he has been starved in pasture with weeds and unwormed

really hard to keep a 800 pound steer gaining each day on just weed so i would figure he is stunted a little


----------



## nchobbyfarm (Apr 10, 2011)

Thanks for the advice. We have penned her and she is getting a gallon if cracked corn and a gallon of 12% sweet feed per day with all the hay and water she wants. We are increasing the feed slowly while watching her bowels for looseness. A local farmer came and looked at her. I missed her weight by about 300 pounds according to him. He says she is about 1100 pounds.


----------



## Gabriel (Dec 2, 2008)

nchobbyfarm said:


> I was figuring the cracked corn would hopefully insure a good flavor in the meat...


That's very much based on individual opinion. Most people who like grass fed don't like grain finished and vice versa. Since my opinion isn't relevant to your taste buds, I won't offer it. :grin:



> ...and the limited movement would let the muscles relax. Thanks for your advice.


That's not what will cause it to be tough, at least, not that particular method. Steady gains its entire life will ensure tenderness. Most people don't have the pasture or management to make that happen on pasture alone. I recommend _Grassfed to Finish_, by Allan Nation if you want to see the science behind good grass finishing.


----------



## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

We have always penned our butcher animals a couple of months and fed them hay, mineral and grain before butchering. I think it is a matter of personal choice, but we like the beef that has been fed that way.


----------



## sammyd (Mar 11, 2007)

when corn was 100 a ton we finished 2 on nothing but whole shell corn and tendrlean for the last 2 or 3 months. It was some very good beef.


----------



## SteveO (Apr 14, 2009)

If he is really 1100 lbs your not going to get much gain for your money spent. Maybe check on a processing date and just feed him till then.
How about a picture the people on the forum could confirm a weight and feed needs

Steve


----------



## happydog (May 7, 2008)

Can you get your cow some good quality hay?

Everybody says you have to "finish" a cow, but we just butchered our first steer and he was raised solely on pasture and hay. I was worried he'd be tough or taste funny, but he's honestly the best beef we've ever had. 

We'll be picking up our next calf next week. I won't waste one minute worrying about "finishing" him. (Now I can get back to worrying about "finishing" my daughter, lol.)

The other thing I feel really good about with him is we hired a guy to come shoot him in our pasture. There wasn't any loading him up and saying goodbye. We didn't have to think of him alone and afraid at a strange place, with strange people and smells. 

One second he had his head down eating, the next second he was gone. He died happy and frisky in the same pasture he'd grown up in. He was a sweet boy and we wanted him to die happy and painlessly, with no stress or fear. 

I highly, highly recommend that if you can find somebody to do it. It's not only great beef, we feel really good about how we did it.


----------

