Need cattle advice

[rbstern]

We're teaming up with a neighbor who has some empty pasture, to buy four bulls. The bulls are from a local farmer, and are between 6 and 9 months old. Three are red angus/charolais, and one is a long horn. Our only goal is raising them for meat/food security. We've purchased half cows, processed, from another local cattle farmer in recent years, and have had good experience. So I guess we're taking this to the next level.

Key questions: Should we steer the bulls? How important is grain finished vs. grass finished?

Anything you care to chip in from experience, I will happily read.

 

[Streetcar]

Castrate the bulls to make them more docile. Grass finish takes longer, cheaper if you have pasture and adds favor to beef
cattle like shelter from sun and weather , access to fresh water
frequently Check on cattle to catch problems before they get big

 

[Farmer495]

Grain grass fed seems to be a preference thing. Pretty well everything is grass fed here, not much of a grain area. I do cow/calf and never leave bulls intact unless I want a breeder.

I'd want steers for beef, 4 bulls are going to be aggressive. Horned one will likely know how to use them as well. I have polled herd.

 

[Hay Dude]

Polled steer
Low stress
Grain finish to marble the meat

 

[Moxie 15]

if they drop CHOP em

I have mentioned my bull experience in a couple of other threads. I do not think I will have an intact bull beyond about 6 months old on the farm again.

 

[ponytug]

I recommend Storey's Guide to Raising Beef Cattle as a starter book.

I would definitely castrate them. ASAP. The longer they stay on, the more bullish they will become. If the testicles are of any size, the bulls will also need tetanus shots, and prudent in any case. For older bulls, I recommend a "California castration bander". Unless you and your buddies are really good with ropes and horses, you will need a cattle squeeze. If you don't have one, I would ask the neighbor who is selling them to castrate them for you.

We intentionally have only polled cattle, so I am personally unfamiliar with the damage that a Texas long horn can inflict, but I would be very careful handling him, and I wouldn't crowd him with the other bulls, ever.

We do 100% grass fed, but raise belted galloways that marble well on grass. If you keep them on grass, do harvest them when the grass is still green and lush for best flavor, and try for longer hanging of the carcass that will produce more tender beef. If you do finish on grain, 60-90 days is pretty common, but remember what you feed will affect the flavor.

Have fun!

All the best,

Peter

 

[N80]

I have family nearby. Cattle ranchers. My property borders theirs. They keep a few cows/steers for their own consumption. Almost entirely grass fed. And it isn't good. They don't even like it. When we would have a cookout and they would bring their own burgers their now grown kids would watch the grill and try to get our grocery store burgers.

We recently bought half a cow. Grain finished. So far it has had very good flavor. Not high end tender but tender enough.

I have never understood the grass fed craze. In my mind that is the oldest marketing tool in the book: try to make folks believe the opposite of what is true about your product. It is probably more healthy for you.....and that's why it tastes bad.

 

[grsthegreat]

Not a fan of grass fed only beef. No flavor.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

I've killed them in the pasture and butchered them in their own hide spread out on the ground. We have a banding tool for the castration process. Used to do them just a few days old. We have a 100 Or So longhorns cows and black Angus bulls.at one pasture.

Just grass feed and then put them in a smaller pen and grain feed for a couple or few weeks. Exactly how my papaw did it.

One main reason the home processed meat tastes not as good is aging of the meat. Beef should be hung for 10 days at least. Or, it will taste like the deer you shot this morning. I hang my deer, it tastes good. I think the main difference is aging or hanging. I just had some fresh grass fed and it was good.

When you render it down, and you will if you use all of it. Fat from grain fed is clear. Fat from grass fed is golden. So I've rendered fat down from store bought. It was golden so that tells me grass fed and finished on grain. Hanging or aging is the difference. You can do It in ice chests. Just keep ice on it and change the water when it turns red. Took 25 ice chests last time but was a large cow. When you age it and grind into hamburger it will be pink, it will be bloody slop otherwise. I always cube the meat I'm gonna grind and chill in the freezer until it's stiff. Grinds like a dream.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

The neighbors beef always tastes better.