Butchering Percentages?

[dezeeuwgoats]

Sorry, I KNOW my answer is in the archives somewhere, but I must not be using the right words for my searches......

I googled it too with no luck, so I thought I'd save time and ask you fine folks.

What I'd like to know is the comparison between butchering a beef breed versus a dairy breed - how much meat (approximately) is yielded. I know a dairy breed is about 45-50% - how about a beef breed?

Is it really worth the higher purchase price for a beef calf? I understand that beef breeds won't each as much to get to the desired weight - would that offset that higher purchase price?

I can pick up dairy calves for $25 each. I have access to some pasture. I'm going to raise them to weaning on goat's milk - of which I have an abundance. Had someone who grew up on a 'real' (I think she meant 'beef cow') ranch say the dairy calves really weren't worth growing, 'all bones'. We've butchered both in the past, and preferred the taste of holstein beef over black baldy.....However, it may be that her personality tainted the meat, lol - she was a mean sun of a gun...which is why she got 'et. lol

Sincerely;
Niki

[francismilker]

I delivered a beef calf to the butcher last week on Wednesday. After all was said and done, the calf ended up yielding 61% (hanging weight). I was very pleased considering the butcher has given me some literature that stated average yield was 59% on beef hanging weight.

[unioncreek]

You can take 50% of live weight and that will give you the approximate amount of meat cut and wrapped. I'd assume and you sometimes end up wrong to assume anything that the dairy breeds will average less, especially Jerseys.

Bobg

[Ken Scharabok]

Go to the top of the forum and click on the thread on sticky threads. It is in there.

[dezeeuwgoats]

Thanks Ken. I had checked there, but the wrong article.....

Niki