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Katy I'm not looking for an argument, just stating how it is out here. This is the northwest, not a place of well bred cattle and caring people, sadly. The owners I talk to all the time, and ask them about their cattle all the time. They just don't have the time do go out there because the husband is getting too old and also deaf, and the wife. . . I don't know how to describe her. She's kind of distant, and doesn't like animals much. They hire someone else to do the butchering.
so you are making your judgement on how everyone in the NW treats their cattle by how your one neighbor treats theirs?
As for the "cattle facts" - Most
backyard raised, poorly pedigreed beef cattle
don't last long. Especially bulls. One of our neighbors has to replace their bull every 3 years because their hips give out, and after a while simply walking is too much for them. And they actually don't know much on cattle anyway. I once mentioned AI to them, and they gave me a puzzled look - I explained how you can actually make money off of the semen from your bulls. They had no clue people did that. They didn't even know breeds of cattle beyond Hereford and Angus.
I don't know anyone who raises cattle in their backyard.
Most bulls are sold every 3 or 4 years because you don't want them breeding their daughters and granddaughters. I've never yet seen a bull who's hips have given out....and I've seen a lot of bulls over the years. A mature bull has a "lumbering" walk but that doesn't mean their hips are giving out.
Unless you have a high dollar bull no one is going to pay you anything for your bull's semen.
I myself am more experienced with athletic breeds like Corriente, fighting cattle, and Watusi. They naturally should live well beyond 20 years, and almost never have hip, leg, or weight problems. They're not bred for their carcass weight, after all.
how many years have you been raising them?
So what I am talking about is out here, where breeding is poor and care is minimal. Most cattle owners out here just do it for some resulting beef, and nothing more.
You never answered my question....Where do you get your cattle info from because some of it is so far off base it's laughable. Have you personally ever raised cattle?
Katy, I hate to tell you, But I was born and raised to the age of 16 in Kansas. Several of my relatives are farmers and raise cattle. I have since lived in Reno. I will just say they do not raise cattle here anything like they do in Kansas. There you can count head of cattle per acre, here it is acres per head. You do not own the land your cattle are on, they are free ranged which means they are scattered over thousands of acres. they still do round ups and brand the calves. You do not see your cattle every day when they come to the watering trough or feed trough because there is none of either. There is no real quality grazing so few people are willing to breed quality livestock, you do not take top dollar cattle and then turn them loose to fend for themselves and graze on rice grass and sagebrush. this is the country the Brangus was made for. they can grow beef from garbage. you turn cattle loose and whatever survives is what you gather up later. and you don't go out looking for them because they might be sick, if they get sick they die, it makes your herd stronger and is natural culling of the inferior.
