Brac Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 I'm looking for a few beef critters to raise this year, anybody else on here doing it? Critters are harder to find than a non-farmer would think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 How about one Longhorn bull and a pair of Longhorn cows. LOL... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 I've raised a few in the past. Check in with some of the local dairies. Male calves don't fetch much there. Owners would be happy to get anything for their efforts instead of culling them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsaint Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 Funny you asked that, the Portland Press Herald had a posting this week about local dairy farmer auctioning all their animals off due to milk prices falling again. http://www.pressherald.com/news/Small-dairies-go-under-as-milk-prices-sink-again-.html?searchterm=dairy+farmers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 You will be able to have cow pie fights now. Just make sure you don't get a fresh one. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brac Posted May 26, 2012 Author Share Posted May 26, 2012 Sad to see so many family farms close up shop, the auction was a few weeks ago. I see there is a livestock auction once a week in Skow, don't know if I know enough to go by my self, but I do I a beef raising mentor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 Sad to see so many family farms close up shop, the auction was a few weeks ago. I see there is a livestock auction once a week in Skow, don't know if I know enough to go by my self, but I do I a beef raising mentor. The best thing to do is buy a young steer. Let it pasture over the warm months, and in about September start giving it grain. Depending on your steak desire, I like Angus for lean, black/white face for middle of road marbling, and poled hereford for most marbled. A black/white face is half hereford half angus. Buying cattle is like anything else. It is subjective. For me, it's a straight back and long back legs. If you have ever been to a state fair and looked at the livestock, you can see what the best of the best is. Here are a couple of what I would consider good candidates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panacea Engineering Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 Brac, Be careful....It will become a pet and you wont have the heart to butcher it, espicially if you have kids......BTDT.........! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brac Posted May 26, 2012 Author Share Posted May 26, 2012 I'll have to keep the wife away from it, unless it's mean and ugly. No Kids and I'm a heartless bastard (at least that's what I'm told) MG, I am being told different things about what age to butcher. I had thought to get something 4-8 months old now and butcher in the fall, but I am being told by some it should be 2 YO min when butchered. What are your thoughts on this. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted May 26, 2012 Moderators Share Posted May 26, 2012 Never tried cows before, raised a few hogs in the past and had no problem when it came time to butcher, which was done by us. Nothing taste better than animals you raise and feed yourself, you know what they ate and how they were taken care of which apparently makes a big difference because it has a much better taste. Now your talking, a straight back a long legs, I can picture it now.........oh your talking about cows, never mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juniper8 Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 If you can find them? Try raising some Scottish highland beef my neighbor had some and the are very hardy and highly prized for their meat. My other neighbors have regular types and they cant compare from what I have heard as far as taste and ease of raising. Plus they look very cool, and the queen keeps a private heard which some say it is the only beef she will eat? Now I am thinking I wish I ate beef........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 My farming neighbors raised hogs and chickens. One day while I was helping with the hay bailing when coming in to the house to eat some fantastic chow a little runt pet piglit ran up to me and bit down on my pant leg. I finnaly shook it off and one of the family brothers came up and with all his strength kicked that little bugger and he must have flown about 20 feet in the air before he hit the ground and then ran back after me to bite my pant leg again but by this time I was in the house. Another pig story. George Hawk, 5'10" tall and 5 feet wide, legend strong man of Twinsburg Ohio and Ohio State wrestling champ was going to butcher a 550 lb piggy but the knife bent. Moral of the story---never mess with a pig. PS: When George Hawk was playing football in high school the ball was handed off to him and he immeadiately broke the football. In those days nobody could aford to buy a new football so the team was really mad. PS: One day when I was about 6 years old I watched George hook up a three bottom plow to the tractor. He backed the tractor up about 3 feet away from the plow then got off the tractor and with his left hand pulled the plow three feet and put the pin in with his right hand to fasten it to the tractor. You have to be raised on a farm to know what I'm talking about. Moral---never mess with George Hawk. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peshewah Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 You might try a local sale "sale barn". Maybe go and set and watch a time or two, to see how it works. Some people I know buy the worst bunch of cow one has ever seen. Pasture them, fatten them up, let them calf and sell them. But for your own beef cattle you want to eat, those black and white face calves look healthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 I'll have to keep the wife away from it, unless it's mean and ugly. Let her feed it a couple times when it's on the grain. The love will pass the first time it rearranges her arm or leg with a head-butt. That, or around the 50th time cleaning the stall. [N] I had thought to get something 4-8 months old now and butcher in the fall, but I am being told by some it should be 2 YO min when butchered. What are your thoughts on this. 2 years on this end, but of course, that doesn't guarantee anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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