am I in over my head - RE: mini cow

[Bossroo]

One of my son's father in law ( a big time lawyer and a gentleman farmer) looked into purchasing some minicattle for his 17 acre farm. He was offered a "deal" on 4 cows and a bull. Results... bad deal... very little meat for the money and to get the most return for the investment, one has to find another " sucker" to take them off your hands. He now buys 3 400-500 lb Angus or Angus/ Herford calves to graze off the pastures. Then when they reach 900---1,000 pounds, he has them butchered and gives his staff of 13 lawyers and 2 secretaries steaks as Christmas presents. We ate some of those DELICOUS steaks at a BarBQ at his house 2 weeks ago.

 

[arabianequine]

I know where some angus are for $150 each and they are bottle babies....same price for boys and girls.

 

[chickenzoo]

If you get the correct type of mini they can be very nice, but of course I don't butcher them, they are too pricy here. They are sold more as an exotic pet. My 2 year old bull is very sweet, and my little bottle heifer is just a doll. i made the mistake and got a bull the first time from an unknown breeder - wild as weeds and shook my confidence for sure, they are great jumpers.
Mini Zebu

 

[Katy]

Quote:
Maybe, but I guess I was hoping that the same rules apply to cattle as to other livestock. Minis aren't as hard on pasture - whether over 1 year or a dozen - than the same - or even fewer - quantity of large livestock.

I was also hoping a mini would be easier to handle, for a first-time cattle owner.

I have been proven wrong on all accounts!

How much would you expect to pay for a full-sized beef calf? or a 15mo, 400lb mini steer?

In our area a 400 pound calf is bringing around $1.50 per pound. Around here there really is no market for the "toy" cattle so you'd be hard pressed to give them away.

 

[slackwater]

chickenzoo - love your zebu! i need to get one of those as a pet

I informed the seller last night that I had not yet been able to set up a butchering place (though i do have a processing place) and that I can't take him until then b/c bringing him home would be a disaster. He did not respond. My dad kinda jumped all over me b/c he really likes the seller (has dealt with him in various ways across the years), but my mom agreed that, if I can't feel comfortable taking him, it's not a good idea. I did find a processor that said he gets calls from local farmers wanting to sell their cattle, so he could take my name down and I would jsut pick up the end product. that might be more up my alley. I could probably do pork that way, too.

Anyway, waiting to see if the seller will respond. Yes, he castrated the steer for me - but the steer is also some sort of mixed-breed 18mo old who is otherwise useless from a breeding perspective, so I don't think it really hurts anything in the long run. Needed to be done anyway. It's not like I bought his prize-winning angus baby, had him castrate him, and then backed out on the sale.

but we shall see!

 

[spectrumranch]

Quote:
We raise alot of cattle. In Miniatures we have:
Lowline Angus
Herefords
Belted
Longhorns
Zebu
Dexter
Jersey
& crossbreeds

In full size cattle we have about 200 commercial brood cows- mostly angus, but also hereford, chaolais & crossbred.

Other full & medium size:
Longhorns
Watusi
Highlanders
Dutch Belts

We raise mini beef (lowline, belted, hereford) steers for butcher along with our full sized steers- ours feed out in about the same time as a full sized. But they eat less take up less room. They also yeild as good or better than our full sized in live wieght/meat ratio.

Alot of our customer's that don't have a large family prefer to buy half a mini steer over half a full size, so that the meat doesn't get old before it is used up.

And IMO for buying a full size and butchering it younger means it is not finished out and you have more waste and not as good of marbling for a really good steak!

 

[arabianequine]

Quote:
We raise alot of cattle. In Miniatures we have:
Lowline Angus
Herefords
Belted
Longhorns
Zebu
Dexter
Jersey
& crossbreeds

In full size cattle we have about 200 commercial brood cows- mostly angus, but also hereford, chaolais & crossbred.

Other full & medium size:
Longhorns
Watusi
Highlanders
Dutch Belts

We raise mini beef (lowline, belted, hereford) steers for butcher along with our full sized steers- ours feed out in about the same time as a full sized. But they eat less take up less room. They also yeild as good or better than our full sized in live wieght/meat ratio.

Alot of our customer's that don't have a large family prefer to buy half a mini steer over half a full size, so that the meat doesn't get old before it is used up.

And IMO for buying a full size and butchering it younger means it is not finished out and you have more waste and not as good of marbling for a really good steak!

"Alot of our customer's that don't have a large family prefer to buy half a mini steer over half a full size, so that the meat doesn't get old before it is used up."

This above statement from you kinda contradicts what you are saying but I would not know I have not raised minis.....just was my thinking on it. As far as being younger when you butcher a lot of calves are used for veal and pretty pricey meat.....I don't buy it or like it but some do.

How old would you butcher your cows to be mature? I think a year to 1 1/2 years is good. I heard the longer and older they get they get tough meat too. You can help it marble by feeding grains too like discussed earlier.

You can use a holstein or jersey bottle baby to raise for meat they are a dime a dozen around here. At the animal auction houses I heard they were $5 bucks each. I know people that just give the jersey bulls away for free. They have really good meat. I also heard costcos hamburger is holstein.

 

[spectrumranch]

Quote:
Not sure what contradict's?

We butchered 3 steers this spring- one lowline, one belted/lowline cross, one full size angus.

Each was about 19 to 20 months old. One the hook- they weighed lowline #600, belted #550, angus #800

We sell them by the halves, our neighbors wanted to buy half of the belted because it's just him and his wife; buying half of the full sized angus steer would have meant it would take them longer to eat it all and more freezer space to store it. But with the mini steer- they use it up faster, and they like that individual cuts are smaller.

Veal is whole different thing! not just younger steers.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Quote:
I'm pretty sure she meant that they use it before it gets old, as in freezer burnt, and not old as in a mature animal.

 

[High Roost Ranch]

I think you're making the right decision to pass on taking this steer home to raise out. I wouldn't give him more than 30 seconds to have been out of your electric fence, and that's being generous. Ours are always pushing each other through 6 strand barbed wire when they get to pushing each other around next to a fence line. Cows (my generic all gender term for cattle) have a freight train mentality when they get startled, pushed, or just plain bull headed (there is a reason that term is what it is). They'll go through whatever to get where ever they want to be. I worked at a stock yards for a while and one of the cows being sold was so worked up and crazed that when she came off the auction block, she busted through 5 different pens, tore down 4 heavy duty bull gates and went on a rampage throughout the sale barn property. Just in the last couple of months here, I've been chased by a cow who just calved, stuck between two bulls who decided that while I was walking out to feed was THE time they wanted to tussle with each other, nailed from behind by the psycho cow we have here, and hooked a glancing blow off the face (thank god) by one of the horned cows going for another one. I still enjoy them, but they deserve respect and they can be a lot of work. I can see why the seller may not be very pleased having to hold your steer or possibly loosing the sale, but perhaps you can offer to cover his time/expense for castrating the bull? I'm sure deep down though he can empathize with what your fears are. Cows and horses while alike in a lot of ways are different in that a horse won't generally run through you just because he can. You can't be afraid of cows or they'll make hoof tread out of you.