cow newbie

[marvella]

hello all, i have a few questions. i've never raised beef before, so please bear with me.

1. what is the best AND most economical fencing for calves? some of the land is brush and small trees, and parts are pretty steep. neighbors mostly seem to electrify barbed wire, but i would like to avoid barbed wire if i can. will two hot wires keep them in?

2. if i buy weaner calves, what breed is best for the home freezer?

3. do they need a grain supplement, or is grass enough feed?

4. i guess we should finish with corn? what happens if we don't?

5. i plan on buying in spring, and butchering the same fall. any reason not to do it this way? i don't want to have to feed all through a winter.

thanks for your patience and answers.

[topside1]

1. Instead of barbed wire use 14 gauge aluminum wire. It's cheap, more conductive and doesn't corrode.
2. I guess you mean weaned calves (feeders). If so buy them at 300 pound or more, this way you can butcher before winter.

[marvella]

yes, that's what i mean. calves that have just been weaned. are they 300 pounds at that point? or do you mean buy an older calf? wouldn't the meat be more tender if they are younger?

i've got 14g aluminum. so that's good news. is 2 strands sufficient?

[matt_man]

Originally Posted by marvella

yes, that's what i mean. calves that have just been weaned. are they 300 pounds at that point? or do you mean buy an older calf? wouldn't the meat be more tender if they are younger?

If you bought a baby calf in spring and raised him until fall, they would not be very big and wouldn't yield much meat. Starting with a calf at 300lb and raising it through the summer/fall would be a better investment and put more meat in your freezer. They would still be very tender. JMO others will have to chime in with their own experience. We are raising our first cows but will have our first butchering next fall when we do this springs calves. They will be about 18 mo. old. We are feeding a growing family of 7 and want to utilize as much as we can from one animal as possible.

Originally Posted by marvella

i've got 14g aluminum. so that's good news. is 2 strands sufficient?

It depends of where you put the wires (how high). We have just one strand of polywire about 30" high that holds in our full grown milk cows. When the fence is working properly of course. We are having an issue somewhere and aren't getting a lot of charge lately and we are having escapees. At least they are easy to catch.

Obviously this one strand would be too high to hold in a calf, so ours are housed in a different pasture that is woven wire. Maybe if you put them at 18 and 36"?? If you aren't letting them grow to full sized, you might be able to get away with just the two.]

Rachel

[topside1]

marvella, do you live anywhere near me? If your very close I would have no problem dropping by for a informational homesteading visit...

[sammyd]

We use 3 strands of barbed wire for the perimeter and 2 strands of plain old wire for individual paddocks. All fence is electrified.
Barbed wire has never been a problem with the animals, no cuts or anything. Been using barbed wire since I can remember and the only time it was an issue was with a stupid horse. Cows have a tougher hide and don't seem to scratch as easy.
If it was calves at 300 pounds that have never seen a fence before I would go for 3 charged wires. And keep an eagle ey on em for the first few hours until they figure out what a fence means.

[marvella]

thanks to all!

topside, i'm not sure where montery is...near crossville? if so, i am about 2 1/2 hours from crossville, in the mountains near the TN/NC line. thanks for the offer tho... it's very generous.

i guess prices are down right now, as many of my neighbors have sold off a lot of their stock because of drought. but on average, what does a 300# calf cost? i'm financing it, my friends husband is to do the work, then sharing the meat.

[topside1]

The calf cost depends on the breed. Right now I have a 250-300 pound Holstein steer that I would sell for $250. He understands electric fencing and has been bottle raised. He's for sale if your interested.
Here are the results from the Crossville Livestock Auction on Saturday. This animals all have beef backgrounds. If you ever in my area feel free to stop in an see my small operation. I'm only 3 miles off I-40...

Feeder Steers Medium and Large 1 - 2
Head Wt Range Avg Wt Price Range Avg Price
2 220-240 230 114.00-119.00 116.39
3 255-280 267 112.00-123.00 115.51
4 335-345 340 112.50-119.00 116.65

[tinknal]

If you buy weaned beef calves they will weigh 400- 600 pounds and will sell for $1.00 to $1.10 per pound. The electric is fine to start (I would use 3 strands), and I would use steel wire as it is much stronger. If you decide to do this long term I would put in a well built barbed wire, or woven wire topped with barbed wire fence, with stout corner posts and bracing. Doesn't hurt to add a strand of electric to this too.

Buying 400 lb calves in the spring and feeding on grass over the summer with no grain would result in a very lean low yield and low grade carcass. If you insist on fall slaughter I would start them on ground cob meal about 90 days before slaughter (while still on grass). I would work them up to full feed on the grain (full feed meaning as much grain as they will eat, you can still keep them on grass or hay). I think you and your customers will be much happier with the beef if you invest in enough hay to get them to December.

Grass alone until fall will give you a lean stringy 750 steer. Using the method I described will get them to near 1000 lbs and the meat quality will be far superior. I would look for English bred cattle like Angus, Hereford, shorthorn, etc as they are smaller so they tend to mature faster.

[marvella]

thanks again tops! it's tempting but i really don't want to have to feed thru winter, especially this winter. i was lucky enough to get enugh hay for the goats early on, but there's no way i could feed 2 calves all winter as well.

tink, we were planning on angus. so december is the time to butcher? that's not a problem. and thanks for the info on feeding as well. it's probably NOT long term and not commercial, only for my family and friend. of course, raising high quality meat is a priority.

i hate to work with barbed wire and my neighbors have horses that are frequently loose are my main arguments against using it.

did i cover everything?

one more question- if we decide we want to start with one calf, will they be ok by themselves, or will they bawl all day and night like goats left alone? we talked about two for that reason. we could easily have enough meat from one.

thanks to all!! i'll be back when we get ready to buy, asking how to tell i'm getting a healthy animal at the sale barn.

[topside1]

Marvella, just buy one steer at a time. He will enjoy the company of your goats, no need to buy two..

[marvella]

Originally Posted by topside1

Marvella, just buy one steer at a time. He will enjoy the company of your goats, no need to buy two..

he won't be in with the goats, will be in an entirely different pasture. no company....

[tinknal]

They are a herd critter and will be happier with company. On the other hand if you want to tame it down much better to be alone. A steer with a single horse would be fine too. If you have more than one horse though the horses will bond and ignore the steer.

[Karin L]

I'm probably a little late here, but here's my two cents.

1. Two-strand hot wire or electric wire is the best, just so long as the calves are hot-wired trained.

2. Weaned calves (quite often you can buy the 500 lb calves) of Angus or Black-baldies are good for the freezer

3. Supplement with grain, to get a higher-yeilding carcass

4. You can finish with either corn or barley. If you don't you end up with a carcass that will be of low-grade, and the meat will be a might stringy.

5. THis is a good plan..