Veal

[randm]

The wife and I are wanting to get a bull calf and raise it to about 4-5 months and have it processed for veal. I have access to pasture and a pen as I live on the same land as my grandparents and my papa runs cattle but only breeding and sale. From what I have been reading it seems that the dairy breeds work better for veal, is that correct? I am new to cattle, I have chickens and rabbits currently as well as a heifer I am hoping to breed soon. I was just looking for recommendations, suggestions or any other insight someone may have.

Matt

[CraterCove]

I am sure you will get answers from people a lot more knowledgeable than me but I'll plunk my two cents in and hopefully get some new knowledge too.

I don't think that it is that dairy breeds make better veal but rather that usually veal is a dairy breed by product. Dairies don't need nearly as many calves as are born to them and there are a couple of options for serious dairy operators. They can toss the unwanted calves on the garbage pile, have them processed for veal or sell them really cheap as bottle babies.

I don't eat commercial veal because I object to the way they are raised but that's a whole other can of worms isn't it? I think the main characteristic of veal though is that it is kind of a meat more like white meat than red and in past that has been maintained by keeping calves anemic and in tight quarters. I think that pasture raised veal is a lot more happy during it's life but hopefully someone else here has more experience and knows if it retains the coveted veal properties of the traditionally raised veal.

Good luck!

[bigmudder77]

I didn't think veal was to have anything but milk

and dairy breeds you can get around days old beef breeds there isn't a lot that are a couple days old around most that are run through auctions are a min of a month old most iI've seen are around 300-400lbs

that would be my guess to it but thats all it is idk for sure because iI dont know veal just auctions and there is always way more dairy calves around me than beef ones

[arnie]

I think what you want to raise is a baby beef a veal is only fed milk and has a is very young at butchering allowing it to eat hay grass or grain and it,s meat will lose the white color .any of the beef breeds will make better beef than a pure dairy breed .I raise my milkcows calf which is 1/2 brown swiss angus angus at 10 months old it having plenty of milk pasture and grain is tender and makes great beef though not as marbled and fatty as a older prime beef but is better than any thing at the walmart counter .and without having to feed it for the extra 7-8 months to get it into the prime fat beef stage it is much more economical. many raise dairy bull calves for beef the steaks won't be as juicy but if you like more hamburger and stew - crock pot meat they are good . I remember my aunt and grand mom would raise there milk cows calf usally a jersy x herford as that was the breeds most available in those days ; keeping it in the barn and only letting it have milk till it was a couple hundred pounds at most and getting a premium price for it as veal and then letting them hav all the milk for the familys needs.