BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[LindaB220]

Brother tells me they are going to butcher a steer this fall and asked if we wanted or had freezer space for half of it.

The answer to the first part is absolutely and to the second, chest freezers will be on sale in about a month.

Half a beef is a lot for us but if butchered and wrapped corredtly, it should last two years without any freezer burn.

If anything goes off-flavor, I know a couple dogs with big appetites that can scarf down some hamburger.


We looked into getting Mangalitsa pigs but that's more in dad's line, both for the cost and places to

free-range them. We will get what we know... Landrace whites. They clean up easily and hit 200 pounds

quickly. I must have helped scald and scrape over 100 of em'!!

Yea, go daddy. That's what I need to get is, a chest freezer. Next month I'll be looking for it. But first I need to get the hardware cloth. I've been pushing it and now last night I lost my one and only Basque.pullet.

I'll be buying Walmart 3' high 1/2" for $58 for 50'. It's enough for what I need.

 

[RedRidge]

Ironically this is the third year in a row for these prices. We haven't had a price increase in anything but rabbit meat and eggs since 2012.

Really?  Cuz I swear it feels like it has just been in the last 3-4 months that the prices seem to have doubled at the store.  So makes me wonder who's raking in the big bucks since it isn't the cattle rancher.

Cattle and beef prices are up in general right now but unlike much of the country the previous two years we were unaffected by the drought here. So while our prices have remained constant many cattle farmers in the country are still recovering from the terrible effects of the drought. I know many cattle farmers who had to sell off large numbers of stock just to feed and water their remaining few. And trust me, they were sold at quite a loss. Now we are experiencing a shortage of beef as a result. The dramatic price increase was predicted a year ago. All cattle farmers knew it was coming. But many cannot cash in on it simply because they no longer have the numbers due to the big sell offs last year. It will take several years for the cattle numbers in the US to recover. Unlike other stock they simply don't recover as quickly.

Compare cattle and sheep...
I can produce 2 meat lambs per ewe in 10 months time. That's conception to slaughter weight. That's should be easily 4 every 2 years. A cow will only produce 1 a year AND it takes almost 3 years for that steer to get from conception to slaughter. Now yes... The cow is pregnant again during that steers growth. But she still produces only 1 a year and it still takes 2 full years to raise a steer from birth and you can raise 4 lambs in that period of time. So... Bottom line... cattle well not bounce back and increase their breeding numbers near as quickly as smaller livestock will. When I sell a lamb off cheap at weaning I loose $200. Wean I sell a steer off cheap at weaning I loose almost $2000

 

[bnjrob]

Cattle and beef prices are up in general right now but unlike much of the country the previous two years we were unaffected by the drought here. So while our prices have remained constant many cattle farmers in the country are still recovering from the terrible effects of the drought. I know many cattle farmers who had to sell off large numbers of stock just to feed and water their remaining few. And trust me, they were sold at quite a loss. Now we are experiencing a shortage of beef as a result. The dramatic price increase was predicted a year ago. All cattle farmers knew it was coming. But many cannot cash in on it simply because they no longer have the numbers due to the big sell offs last year. It will take several years for the cattle numbers in the US to recover. Unlike other stock they simply don't recover as quickly.

Compare cattle and sheep...
I can produce 2 meat lambs per ewe in 10 months time. That's conception to slaughter weight. That's should be easily 4 every 2 years. A cow will only produce 1 a year AND it takes almost 3 years for that steer to get from conception to slaughter. Now yes... The cow is pregnant again during that steers growth. But she still produces only 1 a year and it still takes 2 full years to raise a steer from birth and you can raise 4 lambs in that period of time. So... Bottom line... cattle well not bounce back and increase their breeding numbers near as quickly as smaller livestock will. When I sell a lamb off cheap at weaning I loose $200. Wean I sell a steer off cheap at weaning I loose almost $2000

Makes sense. I know the drought here in TX just keeps on going. We have large cracks in the ground all over our pasture and the ground is shifting. It's worse the farther west you go. Sounds like it's going to keep getting worse before it gets better.

 

[ronott1]

Cattle and beef prices are up in general right now but unlike much of the country the previous two years we were unaffected by the drought here. So while our prices have remained constant many cattle farmers in the country are still recovering from the terrible effects of the drought. I know many cattle farmers who had to sell off large numbers of stock just to feed and water their remaining few. And trust me, they were sold at quite a loss. Now we are experiencing a shortage of beef as a result. The dramatic price increase was predicted a year ago. All cattle farmers knew it was coming. But many cannot cash in on it simply because they no longer have the numbers due to the big sell offs last year. It will take several years for the cattle numbers in the US to recover. Unlike other stock they simply don't recover as quickly.

Compare cattle and sheep...
I can produce 2 meat lambs per ewe in 10 months time. That's conception to slaughter weight. That's should be easily 4 every 2 years. A cow will only produce 1 a year AND it takes almost 3 years for that steer to get from conception to slaughter. Now yes... The cow is pregnant again during that steers growth. But she still produces only 1 a year and it still takes 2 full years to raise a steer from birth and you can raise 4 lambs in that period of time. So... Bottom line... cattle well not bounce back and increase their breeding numbers near as quickly as smaller livestock will. When I sell a lamb off cheap at weaning I loose $200. Wean I sell a steer off cheap at weaning I loose almost $2000

Beef has been high, pork is going up and poultry is going up too.

 

[RedRidge]

And this is just one of many reasons we raise all of our own food. I've gotten to the point where I despise going to town for things like toilet paper. LOL

 

[bnjrob]

And this is just one of many reasons we raise all of our own food. I've gotten to the point where I despise going to town for things like toilet paper. LOL

I'm trying to get there. I want to be as self sufficient as we can be. The quality is going down on so many things while the prices just keep going higher - IF there is anything to be had at all anyway. Too often finding empty shelves at both grocery store and the feed store these days.

 

[Turk Raphael]

Yea, go daddy. That's what I need to get is, a chest freezer. Next month I'll be looking for it. But first I need to get the hardware cloth. I've been pushing it and now last night I lost my one and only Basque.pullet.

I'll be buying Walmart 3' high 1/2" for $58 for 50'. It's enough for what I need.

I hate to hear about the loss of your bird. Our birds lock up tighter than Fort Knox at night but I know it's only a matter of time before we suffer loss during the day.

 

[LindaB220]

I hate to hear about the loss of your bird. Our birds lock up tighter than Fort Knox at night but I know it's only a matter of time before we suffer loss during the day.

Thanks, I feel better about it now. Determined to predator proof all 3 coops this month. I only let the smaller birds out twice a day for 15 min or so to have some running time. The layers I keep in their coop. They would not come back. Just keep roaming. Well, that was before they started laying. They are pretty docile now..

 

[Arielle]

Hi Everyone!! I have lost the link to the feed information, where every feed can be looked up for % protein etc. ANy one have it??

 

[LindaB220]

Hi Everyone!! I have lost the link to the feed information, where every feed can be looked up for % protein etc. ANy one have it??

I can't find the one I was thinking about, but I did run across this. It should give you an idea what different grains can do.

http://www.ingredients101.com/soybeanml.htm