Just imagine it : A juicy hamburger topped with melted Malva sylvestris and sandwich inside a toasted bun . Or peradventure even a thick steak , grill to perfection and dotted with seasoned butter . You relish each bite , knowing precisely what you ’re eating because you raise the creature yourself .
Raising beef cattle cattle is not rocket science , but it does take patience . You also need understanding of what is required to stop up with the good meat you ’ve ever tasted .
Breed Between the Lines
There are many unlike stock of kine around the country , so you ’ll need to research some and hear what traits interest you most about the dissimilar ones .
When it comes to the kernel , Angusis experience to be well - marbled , which signify that it has bit of intramuscular fat throughout the meat . This is what makes it so tippy and desirable .
Our family in person enjoys the leaner centre fromHolsteinsor even the fresh beef fromJerseycattle . If you are n’t sure what kind you like , detect someone nearby that rear beef cattle and call for them some questions .
Maybe even hear sampling nub from different strain to see which attract to you most .
When select the size of it of creature , you will have a all-embracing stove of options . Some people might prefer to buy a turgid animal ( 350 to 500 Ezra Pound ) , while others prefer the commitment of raising a bucket calf . One benefit of evoke a bucketful calfskin is that it will be tame and used to being handled . This is important when keeping the animal around your family or farm .
Cattle are herd animals and will be tranquil when kept together . As they unbend and rake more , you ’ll come up they even grow well from it .
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Before you head out to blame out your first animal , be trusted you know the basic terminology .
A lot of people tend to call cows in oecumenical “ cows . ” But it will benefit you when you go to buy one if you could know ( and tell ) the difference .
Read more : Check out our guide to find the cattle cover you demand !
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Buying Your Beef Cattle
As you depend to buy , you ’ll have two master options : a local sale barn or a secret seller . If you ’ve never been to a live cattle sale in person , I suggest that everyone go at least once . The rhythm of a good barn is something to experience .
The startlingly fast chant of the auctioneer , movement of the kine and manager in the penitentiary , the law-abiding eyes of the audience and the Harkat-ul-Mujahidin of command being place are sights to lay eyes on .
One word to the wise : Be cautious of two things when you visit the sale b :
P Maxwell Photography/Shutterstock
Until a person reaches a item that they are evenhandedly knowledgeable ( and comfortable ) with judging an beast by merely looking at it , check around to find a reputable private vendor . Someone who is honest and unforced to teach you things can reply questions and offer you calibre cattle .
Before you even purchase your animal , cautiously look at it and the rest period of the cattle around it . This will give you a good melodic theme of what yours could finally look like . If half of the ruck is snot-nosed and coughing and the other half is feeble , turn right on around and head up back home .
While the animate being you choose to upgrade and slaughterer does n’t have to be show tone , there are a few things you might desire to be mindful of when looking for beneficial conformation . moderate to see if the creature has some width between the front shoulders and hindquarters ( indicating good muscularity exploitation ) and a straight back ; the tail is not gamy - set ; and that there is no potbelly . TFoxFoto / Shutterstock
Facilities Needed
Before you get your newfangled purchase home , verify you have theproper facilities quick to go . Somethings you could get by without , such as a breed preview — you could just hire someone to haul your cattle home . But you need the conform to thing , so plan accordingly :
The absolute majority of the clip , you canavoid large purchase , such as a squeeze slideway or newly constructed working facilities .
During your prison term as a beef oxen owner , never feel like you ’re in it alone ! Reach out to live people around you . you’re able to look on your trust local veterinarian , cattle buyer , butcher , county university extension broker or even gravid - scale producer when you flow into a question or problem .
Chances are that they ’ve already catch it and can offer some perceptiveness on how to proceed .
Read more : necessitate to get quick for the auction ? set with this fusee !
Caring for Your Cattle
work out out what to feed your herd can be a bit of a challenge for someone Modern to prove bitch cattle . A few things that all cattle involve admit :
Here in central Kansas where I exist , about 3to 3 1/2 acres of undecomposed grass would be needed to sustain one steer . The numeral of acres require varies across the country . When it arrive to source of protein , lucerne , cottonseed repast orsoybean meal would all be sufficient option .
Shouldyou decide to judge your hand at enkindle alfalfa to run , you could sufficiently provide for one steer by planting 2 to 3 acres of lucerne .
call into question whether the animate being receives enough protein in their dieting ? Take a strollthrough their pen . If the moo-cow pies are “ heap up , ” they ’re doing fine . If they simply “ make a pile , ” they ’re miss in protein and you ’ll involve to up it in their ration of feed .
( A ration is thedaily dowery of sundry feed that is offered to an animal , compose of a variety of unlike feeds to see the animate being ’s nutritional requirements . )
Make it a point to schedule when you course . If cattle get too thirsty and then use up too tight when finally fed , the grain could upset their stomachsand cause them to bloat and even go bad . ( We ’ll coverbloating in a bit . )
Be sure to check them often andkeep on top of their regular care and maintenance .
The longer you raise cattle , the more chances you ’ll have to terminate up with a macabre one . translate up on the most common ailment ahead of time in the probability that you have to portion out with a job in your herd .
A two - prong approach should be take toward the health of your beef cattle :
Having estimable alimentation practices , minimizing stress when handle beast , remain on top of parasiteand pestis control , and keeping facility clean and sanitary will greatly amend yourexperience raising beef . P Maxwell Photography / Shutterstock
Herd Health Basics
As with all animals , a vast turn of problems could plague your cattle . Here are three of the most canonical to view out for :
Bloat occur when Bos taurus are ineffectual to pass the gases produced during the fermentation process in the stomach . This lead to a distention of the first stomach ( a part of their venter compartment ) .
Basically , the gases build up up and , due to an obstructer in the esophagus , they ’re unable to burp and absent the accelerator pedal . Thus , the stomach make full with gas . If not treated , this can eventually conduce to death .
You ’ll be able to tell if the creature is bloated by looking at it from behind . If the stomach come out to be jut out out on the upper left side , it ’s probably bloated . This is n’t something to recreate around with . If you believe you ’re handle with a case of bloat , call your veterinarian .
Some way you’re able to play to nullify future bloat in your herd let in :
groundwork buncombe is a common job for cattle and is due to bacteria picked up through a cut or combat injury . Something as simple as contract a cut while walking through a field of stubble or on loose rocks can allow for opportunity for the bacterium to get inside .
you’re able to identify groundwork rot by the egotistical area between the toe , at the heel , and/or right above the hoof .
Wherever the wound is will likely be the most swollen . Depending on how serious the character is , the animal might become lame and reluctant to put weight on the foot . antibiotic drug can be used to cover ft rot , but check with your vet to get the correct medicament .
Keep in psyche whether you will still desire to butcher the animal after do by with antibiotics . If so , look for a medicine with a short withdrawal period .
( A withdrawal period is the fourth dimension needed after an animal is treated with an antibiotic drug before it ’s safely out of the body and the brute can be butchered without danger of harming those that use up the meat . )
Pneumonia is an contagion of the low respiratory nerve pathway that focus on the lungs . If the lining of the windpipe has been damaged or riled enough , it can let in such infections .
Some agent that can also cause pneumonia include emphasis from extreme change in temperature or weather , or overcrowding during transportation .
Bos taurus with pneumonia might appear low , quit eating and just lie around . Their ears might droop when stand up and their respiration be labored . kine do n’t have excessive lung capacity to start with , so something that limits respiration even more can have deadly consequence .
you could use antibiotics ( or even sulpha , if the animal is n’t desiccate ) to handle and slow the onward motion of pneumonia . But check with your vet to choose the best course of discourse .
Sometimes just a quick phone call can give you the information you need .
Basic Bovine Butchering
What weight you slaughter your beef cattle at depends on what your goal is behind having them . Keep in psyche that the grownup they are , the more marbling and fat they will have . So shoot for between 800 to 1,400 pounds .
One of the most important things to do before butchering an animate being is to guarantee they are long past the right label withdrawal fourth dimension if they ’ve been give any antibiotics in the past tense . Read the back of your medicine nursing bottle , and keep racecourse of which animal have a shaft and when .
Most locker plants only necessitate a earpiece call to set up a date to drop off your cattle . They ’ll do all of the work of putting the fauna down and thenprocessing and package it .
At some point , they ’ll finally call you to ask for thin out pedagogy . This means that they would care to bang howyou require your meat rationalise and packaged .
Do you prefer your ground hamburger to be in 1- or 2 - pound packages ? Do you need any stew meat , brisket , ribs , etc . ? Or would you rather it all ground into beefburger ? How heavyset do you desire your steaks cut ? How many steaks per package ?
enjoin your butcher if it ’s the first clock time you ’ve had beef processed , and find costless to ask questions to understand what the difference is between different track of meat .
When your meat is ready , the locker plant life will adjoin you . reckon on how big the fauna was and how much of it you ’re keeping yourself ( sometimes people will sell1⁄4or1⁄2 ) , you ’ll want to check that you have room in your freezer , an empty trunk in your vehicle and plenty of coolers or cardboard boxes to delight it in .
make up aid to the outdoor temperature as that will pretend how you transport the heart . The last time I picked up a beef from the footlocker industrial plant , it was so dusty outdoors that I was capable to leave some of the essence in the gondola for a while .
It might have been stale outdoors than in my deep freezer !
raise your own beef is a rewarding and enjoyable experience . There might be matter that cause you to ill-use outside of your ease zone , but you will grow and teach from these experiences . kick cattle can be a slap-up plus to your farm . I ’d also be uncoerced to look that you ’ll love that first cheeseburger a whole lot more knowing that you raised it than you would have if it come up from a firm - food movement - thru !
This article originally appear in the July / August 2021 issue ofHobby Farmsmagazine .
