castrate or not ?

[Alaska]

New to the cattle business, We have the intent of selling grass fed beef to the public. WE have a nice 6 month old angus lowline x bull calf, daddy is registered 3/4 lowline, have put the word out and an add on craigs list but no offers. So... if we are to just raise him to 18mos or so for beef is castration really gong to make a difference?

[Tex-]

Cut him !!!

If you have no intent to use him as a bull, take his mind off *ss and put it on grass. Speaking as a rancher, I can think of no legitimate reason to keep him intact unless you plan to use him as a herdsire. We wouldn't even have a bull on the place unless we absolutely had to have one.

Bulls are nothing but a liability and a pain in the butt. They are needed for one thing and that's it. As they get older and their hormones start kicking in, they aren't worth the headache.

Take'em off and fry'em up. Makes a tasty snack


Tex

[SusyTX]

He's a nice looking young bull from the picture!

Grass-fed usually takes about 24 months for them to gain flavor and put on a good layer of fat. Much depends on your pastures. We have a large herd and our minimum age for processing is 24 months.

He will bulk up more if left intact, but yes, there can be a bit of a headache keeping him as a bull. If your fencing is good, it can be done without him getting out and looking for 'companionship.' We and friends and family have eaten grass-fed bulls as old as 4 yrs old. They were tender and delicious with no 'off' flavor.

[SusyTX]

deleting dup posting

[sammyd]

I'd cut him. With his mixed parentage I never would have left him intact, he would have been banded as soon as practical.

[montysky]

Cut him.

[FarmerDavid]

Originally Posted by DoubleR

Castrate. Bulls are a liability and nothing but trouble. Save yourself the headache. Especially when they are still small enough to manage/process easily.
You have green grass! Your lucky
I saw "grass fed" calves the other day. They were being fed hay!!!! Lol! Amazing what people will try and sell on craigslist

What is wrong with feeding grass fed cows hay?

As for the OP if he's going to be around females that you don't want him to bred cut him, makes for easier management.

[M5farm]

Originally Posted by DoubleR

Castrate. Bulls are a liability and nothing but trouble. Save yourself the headache. Especially when they are still small enough to manage/process easily.
You have green grass! Your lucky
I saw "grass fed" calves the other day. They were being fed hay!!!! Lol! Amazing what people will try and sell on craigslist

?????? Hay is grass

[SusyTX]

Here's a link from the American Grassfed Association: http://www.americangrassfed.org/about-us/our-standards/

Forage (including hay) is permitted during times of low pasture quality.

[MO_cows]

Cut him! Young bulls who have just figured out they are bulls are a total pain to have around. They'll try to mount everybody, they'll "head butt" seeking dominance, just all kinds of behavior you don't want or need. And if you have a mature bull on site, this young one might well misbehave bad enough to get himself hurt. Yeah, yeah, he's docile. They all are, until that moment when they are not.

[Alaska]

Originally Posted by SusyTX

He's a nice looking young bull from the picture!

Grass-fed usually takes about 24 months for them to gain flavor and put on a good layer of fat. Much depends on your pastures. We have a large herd and our minimum age for processing is 24 months.

He will bulk up more if left intact, but yes, there can be a bit of a headache keeping him as a bull. If your fencing is good, it can be done without him getting out and looking for 'companionship.' We and friends and family have eaten grass-fed bulls as old as 4 yrs old. They were tender and delicious with no 'off' flavor.

We slaughtered at 14 mos this spring after two months of finishing on chaffhaye (alfalfa) and is some of the best beef I have ever eaten. So I dont think we will go 24 mos. Had enough fat for us and the people we shared with.
Still have not made a decision. Neighbor comes over for the 4th he has squeeze chute and we may talk taking him over there for cutting. Poo guy he is so mellow and so is his daddy

[G. Seddon]

Might want to wait for cooler weather before you castrate this bull and give him a tetanus shot 3 weeks before and booster at the time of the procedure.

[vahighlander]

We are in the grass finishing business. Not sure what weight you slaughtered at 14 months, but we like to fully develop frame and then finish our beef animals. We use Galloway and Galloway crosses, so we grow it a little slower. We have found by lots of trial and error, that more mature cattle give us better marbling, flavor and dollars. The notion of grass finished beef being gamey or extra lean is simply a sign of someone not doing the right things, with the right breed, in a low stress ecosystem. The emphasis for us over EVERYTHING else is growing good grass and practicing mostly MIG grazing. If you don't have good grass and legumes, you are not going to CONSISTENTLY produce a product that promotes repeat customers. If your steers are not gaining 1.75 pounds per day during the grazing season, or better then you have work to do. We never slaughter unless they are in gain mode as well. We have good grass and cheap grass, so we don't mind holding on to ours if it does not roll into an extra winter. Sometimes it's 24 months, sometimes it's 29 months....everyone is a little different. Also, hay is grass and you can feed hay anytime as a supplement. We are An AGA and AWA farm. again, to be successful, concentrate on grass, fertility and everything else will fall in place....
From Riven Rock Farm

[vahighlander]

Also castrate your beeves earmarked to customers, bulls are simply leaner and that makes your job of tender juicy beef harder over most animals.....

[M5farm]

http://extension.psu.edu/animals/bee...rE4A8n78.email

[vahighlander]

So what does John Comerford have to do with the castrate or no castrate decision.

[FarmerDavid]

Originally Posted by DoubleR

According to actual (at least the ones I've read) grass fed guidelines it's to be grass on pasture not hay.

Where are these "actual" guidelines written at? I've sold alot if hay to guys that were raising grass feed beef.

[vahighlander]

Were an AGA farm. It's perfectly fine to feed cattle hay.....

[Gravytrain]

Originally Posted by DoubleR

According to actual (at least the ones I've read) grass fed guidelines it's to be grass on pasture not hay.

FORAGE
An AGA-Certified Grassfed animal is born, raised, and finished on open grass pastures where perennial and annual grasses, forbs, legumes, brassicas, browse and post-harvest crop residue without grain are the sole energy sources, with the exception of mother’s milk, from birth to harvest. Hay, haylage, silage, and ensilage from any of the above sources may be fed to animals while on pasture during periods of inclement weather or low forage quality.

http://www.americangrassfed.org/about-us/our-standards/

[Gravytrain]

Originally Posted by DoubleR

*

The way I'm reading it is they can't be stuck in a corral fed hay. That is what I was referring to. The adds I've been seeing is cattle stuck in panels fed strait hay.
They can be fed hay WHILE ON PASTURE during periods of inclement weather or low forage quality.
Certified Grassfed ruminants MUST graze pasture where they will receive MOST, if not ALL, of their nutrition, and be allowed to fulfill their natural behaviors and basic instincts of grazing at all times.

Right. You seemed to have a problem with the hay part...not where the hay was fed.

My cattle are fed hay on pasture from December until April. My cattle never leave the pasture. But, then again, I don't certify anything. I'm not interested in getting anyone's stamp of approval other than my customers.