Charolais for beef?
 

Have a guy offering us a 6 month old 350 lb calf for meat on our farm, $300.00. He said he is crippled on back right leg buy healthy and gets around good. We want beef sooner than our Dexters are going to allow so we thinking about his offer. What you think? I have not heard much about this breed. Would he be able to be eaten in 3-4 months? That's what the guys said. He said he might not be real hug but good meat. Thoughts? What would we feed him to grow him fastest? Thanks!

Can't help you with determining when to process, or the quality of the beef.

Only 350# at 6 months? Seems a bit light for a Charolais, I think. I would want to know what the injury is, when did it occur, and was this calf treated with anything; if so, what? Some pain meds prevent you from using an animal for beef. I'm suspicious of "healthy and gets around good."

Sounds like a great deal. The calf will do a lot better if confined to a smaller area so they do not have to travel as far for food and water. If the calf is otherwise healthy there should be no downside. The calf is smaller because it could not compete for its fair share in its situation. We have even raised completely blind animals for food ,it just takes more understanding and care on your part. I think this should be a good thing for both parties and the calf.

Thanks for encouragment Wanda. I am a little weary for the explaination too, Seddon

So do u think we could eat him in as little as 4 months? How much feed would that take?

Have you seen the calf? If the calf looks healthy I would buy it in a heartbeat. If the calf's leg was injured early in life he could not do as good of a job keeping up with mom to take advantage of all the milk that he wanted. As far as being big enough in 4 months I can not understand. If you are worrying if it will be big enough to cover the kill charge just pencil out what it would be on a per pound basis. On the other hand you could butcher the calf yourself before the weather gets to warm.

Butchering it before it gets warm is exactly what I was thinking. haha. That is why I am wondering. How small have you ever butchered one? What would the meat be like that early in life?

you can eat it at any age, from a day old to 20 years! here veal is very very expensive, and it's not the pale stuff that's kept in crates just young cattle. taste is milder than "normal" beef, it's slightly lighter in colour very tender of course. Really I would think it just depends on whether he would weigh enough to be cost efficient.

He sent me pics and he looks ok to me. He is black though, does that mean he is a cross? He said he was born with the bum leg.

There are black Charolais as well as the white ones.

Huh! Guess I just showed my inexperience yet again. haha. I have it set up to pick him up tomorrow, guess we will jump in and figure it out. How we do most things anyways. I am just excited to have beef this year!!

The Charolais is a steer, not a bull, right?

Why don't you give it a couple more months to grow, you would have a lot more meat?

I doubt its growth over the next four months will impress you. 300 lbs now... sure, it'll be tasty, but personally I'd go without beef until it got up close to its full size.

If you want some veal go for it. But you are not going to get that much from a calf. I sure wait till it gets some weight on. Sure veal is expensive but it would not be like a veal calf that was raised for veal. Veal are fed a special diet of just liquid milk products nothing solid, no grain just a liquid diet. So it would not be very good IMO. Let it grow up get some fat on its bones. But the price is good just let it grow.

Not here or in the UK, we call it rosé veal and it's fed normal cow food, though generaly kept inside. the liquid diet and crating has been banned. And it still tastes very good.

Yes he is a steer. We will let him grow awhile for sure, just not sure how long. Found out last night that a guy I know in town has a walk in cooler that I can use so summer butchering will not be an issue now. Thanks guys!

That was my implication. Let it mature...

What is a ball park figure that folks figure for amount of feed it takes to feed one from 350 lbs to butcher size?

Born with it, 350 lbs at 6 months, I would look him over real good and make sure nothing else appeared wrong, and then maybe. Past experience with a calf with birth defects I wouldn't do it. We ended up with some nasty smelling dog food for meat.

That was one of the things that worried us the most, is that could it effect the meat if there is some kind of birth defect. Thanks Allen!

There are more questions then good answers when dealing with an unknown like a birth defect.

It can be an injury at birth just as easy. Do not jump to any conclusions before you see the calf. These opportunity do not come along every day, so it will not cost you much to have a look.