Need advice - Never done this before...

[Inor]

So now that the house is done and I can see the finish line on Mrs Inor's She Shack, it is time to start thinking about next few projects...

One idea that I have been toying with since moving to AZ is raising a steer. I think I may have committed to the idea this weekend without even meaning to.

Obviously, Mrs Inor and I alone, cannot eat a whole steer by ourselves in a year (before it starts to get freezer burn and go bad). So we were at a gathering of some folks around us and I threw out the idea, if we did this, would anybody be interested in buying the other half. Two other couples jumped at the opportunity and each agreed to buy 1/4. I ran the numbers and for what I am going to have to pay for the calf, what sweet grass and grain will cost to raise it and the butchering, we will end up getting a side of beef for about $400 - a little less than half if we just bought it outright. For the amount of work it will be, is it worth it? Definitely not! But the experience is worth something too. So I am inclined to move forward.

But now it is a matter of figuring out how to do the whole process, since I have never raised anything but kids and dogs before!

Mrs Inor (who grew up on a cattle ranch), thinks it would be best to butcher it in late October or early November of next year. We both think the optimal weight, to get the best quality of meat and the most quantity, should be about 1200 pounds. (Quality is FAR more important us than quantity.)

The breed of the calf is Balancer. So they do grow pretty fast. The fall roundup (when I will buy it) is scheduled for 10/15. I am thinking I should pick one that was a wiener at the mini-roundup that we had late last June. So the steer will be just under 1 1/2 years when he is butchered.

We will be moving the herd into the mountains in October, so I can let it graze on open range by M.T. Acres until April - so no feeding or watering costs until then. (Our rancher friend has already said she is cool with that since she has the grazing rights on the land by us.) After that, I will have to pen it up and pay for sweet grass and grain until we butcher.

So it this a good idea? Crazy idea? Colossally stupid idea?

Please advise...

[Slippy]

EXCELLENT Idea!

Maybe try raising the steer like the Japs do with Kobe beef? Build a barn and a pen inside the barn to keep the steer confined for most of its life. Then hire an illegal to massage the cow with sake wine. They also give the cow a bottle of beer a day or some such nonsense. Oh, and you'll have to rig the barn with a sound system to play classical music for the damn bovine.

Plus you'll need to get a donkey to kick the shit out of any coyotes that attempt to mess with the steer. I'd name the donkey Steve or maybe Taco.

This should be fun!
https://notesofnomads.com/kobe-beef/


So now that the house is done and I can see the finish line on Mrs Inor's She Shack, it is time to start thinking about next few projects...

One idea that I have been toying with since moving to AZ is raising a steer. I think I may have committed to the idea this weekend without even meaning to.

Obviously, Mrs Inor and I alone, cannot eat a whole steer by ourselves in a year (before it starts to get freezer burn and go bad). So we were at a gathering of some folks around us and I threw out the idea, if we did this, would anybody be interested in buying the other half. Two other couples jumped at the opportunity and each agreed to buy 1/4. I ran the numbers and for what I am going to have to pay for the calf, what sweet grass and grain will cost to raise it and the butchering, we will end up getting a side of beef for about $400 - a little less than half if we just bought it outright. For the amount of work it will be, is it worth it? Definitely not! But the experience is worth something too. So I am inclined to move forward.

But now it is a matter of figuring out how to do the whole process, since I have never raised anything but kids and dogs before!

Mrs Inor (who grew up on a cattle ranch), thinks it would be best to butcher it in late October or early November of next year. We both think the optimal weight, to get the best quality of meat and the most quantity, should be about 1200 pounds. (Quality is FAR more important us than quantity.)

The breed of the calf is Balancer. So they do grow pretty fast. The fall roundup (when I will buy it) is scheduled for 10/15. I am thinking I should pick one that was a wiener at the mini-roundup that we had late last June. So the steer will be just under 1 1/2 years when he is butchered.

We will be moving the herd into the mountains in October, so I can let it graze on open range by M.T. Acres until April - so no feeding or watering costs until then. (Our rancher friend has already said she is cool with that since she has the grazing rights on the land by us.) After that, I will have to pen it up and pay for sweet grass and grain until we butcher.

So it this a good idea? Crazy idea? Colossally stupid idea?

Please advise...

[Dwight55]

1: It will be immensely valuable in the experience you get now that you "may" need some day in the future.

2: You will "know" the meat has no preservatives, enhancements, etc.

3: You will save some $$$, . . . all of which could go toward that full auto M243 you always wanted.

There are other good reasons, . . . but it is too early for my pea brain to come up with them.

May God bless,
Dwight

[Sparkyprep]

Great idea! Raising beef cattle is much easier than most think. As long as it is for "personal use", (not for sale), you are not required by law to pump it full of antibiotics, steroids, etc. Not sure how your pasture land is where you are, but for the most part, they feed themselves. Supplement them with hay and feed as you see fit. I pay aprox. $0.56 a pound for butchering. Let me know if you have any questions.

[Inor]

Great idea! Raising beef cattle is much easier than most think. As long as it is for "personal use", (not for sale), you are not required by law to pump it full of antibiotics, steroids, etc. Not sure how your pasture land is where you are, but for the most part, they feed themselves. Supplement them with hay and feed as you see fit. I pay aprox. $0.56 a pound for butchering. Let me know if you have any questions.

We have VERY good grass here. This is "cattle country" after all. :biglaugh: One of the biggest questions I have is: when to start graining it... Some folks say only grain it the last 6 weeks before butchering. Others say to start graining it as soon as you get it.

Slippy: I am NOT going to massage a damn steer! But I suppose I could pick up a couple cases of Cold Spring ($3.75 a case) or similar cheap beer for it. :biglaugh:

[Sparkyprep]

We have VERY good grass here. This is "cattle country" after all. :biglaugh: One of the biggest questions I have is: when to start graining it... Some folks say only grain it the last 6 weeks before butchering. Others say to start graining it as soon as you get it.

Slippy: I am NOT going to massage a damn steer! But I suppose I could pick up a couple cases of Cold Spring ($3.75 a case) or similar cheap beer for it. :biglaugh:

Grain "cleans up" the flavor of the meat, and packs on cheap fat, for flavor. I only grain for the last 4 weeks, and that seems to do just fine for me.

[DerBiermeister]

I think you are going to name him Herman and fall in love with him as a pet.

Then you are going to have to face the trauma of putting another pet down. Aren't you glad I thought of this? heh

[Inor]

I think you are going to name him Herman and fall in love with him as a pet.

Then you are going to have to face the trauma of putting another pet down. Aren't you glad I thought of this? heh

Mrs Inor wants to call it "Moth" (Meat On The Hoof).

[BucketBack]

You have it under control

[Innkeeper]

Like the sound of your idea, wish I had the room for that here, but we used to do it back when I was at kid. The steer were additions on my uncles dairy farm.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TJC44]

Mrs Inor wants to call it "Moth" (Meat On The Hoof).

Have you designed the MT Acres brand yet?

[Inor]

Have you designed the MT Acres brand yet?

No need for a brand. He has already been branded with the Cobre Loma brand (our friend's ranch).

https://www.cobreloma.com/

But we did decide to do this right rather than trying to cheap out on it. I have my fence guy coming out this weekend to give me an estimate on fencing off about 3 acres and putting in a catch pen. That will be good because I do not have any plans for that land and own it basically to prevent anybody else from buying it and building on it. It is perfect pasture land and only about 75 yards from the house. So I can get water to it without much hassle at all. Getting started this year, I'll probably run a hose just in the interest of saving time, but I will need to get a water line buried to it at some point.

[Baglady]

No need for a brand. He has already been branded with the Cobre Loma brand (our friend's ranch).

https://www.cobreloma.com/

But we did decide to do this right rather than trying to cheap out on it. I have my fence guy coming out this weekend to give me an estimate on fencing off about 3 acres and putting in a catch pen. That will be good because I do not have any plans for that land and own it basically to prevent anybody else from buying it and building on it. It is perfect pasture land and only about 75 yards from the house. So I can get water to it without much hassle at all. Getting started this year, I'll probably run a hose just in the interest of saving time, but I will need to get a water line buried to it at some point.

Cool beans! Roundup still on next week? I don't know anything about cows myself, Hubby used to raise some before I met him. My favorite meat tho...might want to keep that in mind..:p

[Inor]

Cool beans! Roundup still on next week? I don't know anything about cows myself, Hubby used to raise some before I met him. My favorite meat tho...might want to keep that in mind..:p

Yes it is! And the new pasture is all fenced off and we even have a nice 40X50 foot catch pen for him! All that is left is to get a water trough.

[Baglady]

Yes it is! And the new pasture is all fenced off and we even have a nice 40X50 foot catch pen for him! All that is left is to get a water trough.

Can't wait for the pics. What's your favorite cut of beef? Mine is the brisket.

[rstanek]

FYI, around these parts a mixed quarter will run between $400 to $500, depending on hanging weight, that also includes cutting, wrapping and freezing.....

[Inor]

The steer will be here early this week. We are not sure which day exactly, but I am sure it will be here by Wednesday.

In the meantime, a neighbor stopped by with about 1000 pounds of corn for free!!! I am not sure where Leroy comes up with all of this stuff and I have learned not to ask. But...

8877

[Deebo]

HOLEROY!!!
Damn good. I don't know how you feel about cats, but you better get one..

Me and the son will be heading through your state in Dec. Probably the 21st of Dec?
I will be headed south, i will check the map again.

[Baglady]

The steer will be here early this week. We are not sure which day exactly, but I am sure it will be here by Wednesday.

In the meantime, a neighbor stopped by with about 1000 pounds of corn for free!!! I am not sure where Leroy comes up with all of this stuff and I have learned not to ask. But...

8877

That's a really good friend! At the least you'll pay 5 bucks for 50lbs here. I don't remember how much out of the field. We only feed corn in the cold weather, but that's just with the horses, cause it raises their blood pressure to help keep them warm. I don't know about the cows. Of course we'd top out the pigs with straight corn for about a month before slaughter.
I do know, and you probably do too, that rats will eat through the plastic barrels. Wooden bins are good, better if you can wrap some valley tin around the bottom. Not treated lumber tho unless you can line the interior too. You wont get any sweating with the wood, like metal drums in hotter weather. Food for thought.
Keep us posted.

[OSFG]

HOLEROY!!!
Damn good. I don't know how you feel about cats, but you better get one..

Me and the son will be heading through your state in Dec. Probably the 21st of Dec?
I will be headed south, i will check the map again.

I got one I'll FEDEX you right now!

[Inor]

Well, we broke down and got a proper feeder for the steer.

9417

The way we have been feeding him is to just buy small bales of hay and break off 1 or 2 flakes, twice per day. The problem is, we have to walk into the catch pen to put it into the feeder I had made. He has been starting to get aggressive with Mrs Inor and I when we go in there. Maybe "aggressive" isn't the right word - he wants to play. But a 180 pound man or a 120 pound woman "playing" with a 700 pound steer is probably not a prudent decision. We can feed him his grain without going inside the fence.

Now, we can also buy the big bales of hay and save some money too.

[Dwight55]

My uncle in Wisconsin had a bull one time that wanted to "play".

Full size Holstein, . . . had never been out of his 16 ft square bull pen that he was born in.

Somehow the latch opened, . . . he bumped the door, . . . it came open, . . . he walked outside.

Spotted my uncle and came running over to play, . . . uncle did a leap over the 3 strand barb wire electric fence around the loafing area, . . . bull didn't know any better, . . . came straight thru the 3 strand fence like it was not even there.

Ol dog got him by the nose, . . . uncle got his Winchester 94, . . . and he won the game. Final score: Uncle 1, Bull 0.

Be careful there Inor, . . . they do not know their strength or your weakness. They can also outrun you by a long shot.

May God bless,
Dwight

[Inor]

My uncle in Wisconsin had a bull one time that wanted to "play".

Full size Holstein, . . . had never been out of his 16 ft square bull pen that he was born in.

Somehow the latch opened, . . . he bumped the door, . . . it came open, . . . he walked outside.

Spotted my uncle and came running over to play, . . . uncle did a leap over the 3 strand barb wire electric fence around the loafing area, . . . bull didn't know any better, . . . came straight thru the 3 strand fence like it was not even there.

Ol dog got him by the nose, . . . uncle got his Winchester 94, . . . and he won the game. Final score: Uncle 1, Bull 0.

Be careful there Inor, . . . they do not know their strength or your weakness. They can also outrun you by a long shot.

May God bless,
Dwight

Holsteins are notoriously mean.

I have been kicked a few times by cows during round up and it is something I am in no hurry to duplicate if I can avoid it and certainly not with a steer! After you cut their bull parts off, it does settle them down some, but only some and they are still really big strong animals.

[Baglady]

Well, we broke down and got a proper feeder for the steer.

9417

The way we have been feeding him is to just buy small bales of hay and break off 1 or 2 flakes, twice per day. The problem is, we have to walk into the catch pen to put it into the feeder I had made. He has been starting to get aggressive with Mrs Inor and I when we go in there. Maybe "aggressive" isn't the right word - he wants to play. But a 180 pound man or a 120 pound woman "playing" with a 700 pound steer is probably not a prudent decision. We can feed him his grain without going inside the fence.

Now, we can also buy the big bales of hay and save some money too.

Hay rings are great time savers, but also saves a lot of hay from being wasted. That's the Idea anyway. Our gelding, Chester didn't get the memo..:horsepoo:

[Inor]

About a month ago we took Moth (Meat On The Hoof) in to the butcher. He was a little smaller than we originally wanted but the butcher was so busy due to the Chinese virus, it was either take him in when we did or feed him until after the 1st of the year. Even so, we got almost 700 pounds of meat from him.

Yesterday, Mrs Inor drove to the butcher and got the meat.

12412

We sold half of it to a neighbor. So we only kept about 340 pounds.

Tonight was the big night to try him out. Since this was our first attempt at growing our own meat, we decided to go for the gusto tonight and grill up some ribeyes.

12413

Oh hell yeah!!!

12414

I am sure part of why they tasted so good is psychological, because we grew it ourselves. But damn! Those were the best steaks I have ever had! They were tender, and juicy and had a MUCH beefier flavor than even high-dollar grocery store meat.

After doing the math, I figure our supper for the two of us this evening came out to just over $2. It would have been cheaper, but Mrs Inor insisted on having dressing on her stupid salad.

All in all, this was the best homesteading experiment we have tried so far. We will be getting Moth2 in just over two months. (Fall roundup is the week of Oct 12th.). On the next one, we are going to keep the whole thing because our fence builder, Smiley, is going to be raising several hogs and has agree to trade some homegrown beef for homegrown pork. I think I am also going to pull the trigger on chickens right after the first of the year.

[Dwight55]

I would not drive all the way there for one of those ribeyes . . . .

But you can bet your sweet tea bottle . . . I'd think about it before I said no.

Looks like you did all right.

Neighbor up the street from us gets a couple of Jersey bull calves every year . . . I've got some of one of them still in the freezer.

I also put a bunch of him in pint jars . . . with the ol' pressure cooker . . . man that is good eating.

Glad you guys are doing good. Be careful out there on the roundup.

May God bless,
Dwight

[Sparkyprep]

Great to see you enjoying the fruits of your labor. Enjoy!

[Inor]

The new Moth (the 2021 edition) came today.

12718

He is freakin' HUGE! He is at least half again as big as the one we got last year. He is already well over 400 pounds.

12719

We probably made a mistake castrating him last spring because he would have made an excellent bull - perfect shape, etc. But it does mean he will make very good steaks too. If he grows into his crank, he is going to be at least 1400 pounds by the time he goes in next fall.

The only negative is he is quite a bit more hyper than our last one. And with an animal his size, hyper is not a good combination. He has already tried to jump the fence once. Hopefully he will calm down over the next couple days as he gets used to his new surroundings. We are planning on keeping him in the catch pen until Monday so he gets used to where his food and water are. Then we will release him into the pasture.

[Piratesailor]

Inor... excellent thread that I’ve followed. We have grown our little patch of Texas by a few more acres and I have considered buying a steer. We do have a small cattle ranch down the street and they run a few dozen cattle in back of our property.

But my hesitation is that my wife will name it, the grandkids will love it, it will become a pet and outlive all of us. Ugh.

[Slippy]

The new Moth (the 2021 edition) came today.

12718

He is freakin' HUGE! He is at least half again as big as the one we got last year. He is already well over 400 pounds.

12719

We probably made a mistake castrating him last spring because he would have made an excellent bull - perfect shape, etc. But it does mean he will make very good steaks too. If he grows into his crank, he is going to be at least 1400 pounds by the time he goes in next fall.

The only negative is he is quite a bit more hyper than our last one. And with an animal his size, hyper is not a good combination. He has already tried to jump the fence once. Hopefully he will calm down over the next couple days as he gets used to his new surroundings. We are planning on keeping him in the catch pen until Monday so he gets used to where his food and water are. Then we will release him into the pasture.

:potd:

[Inor]

Inor... excellent thread that I’ve followed. We have grown our little patch of Texas by a few more acres and I have considered buying a steer. We do have a small cattle ranch down the street and they run a few dozen cattle in back of our property.

But my hesitation is that my wife will name it, the grandkids will love it, it will become a pet and outlive all of us. Ugh.

That was definitely a concern with the first one. I half thought Mrs Inor would fall in love with it. In a way, she kind of did. She would go out and play with it and such. It would come to her when she called, etc. But when the time came to make him into steaks, she also had no problem at all. Part of it, I think, was they are so big (even when small) and they are never totally trustworthy. So it never became like a dog.

[Inor]

We just got Moth2 back from the butcher and he was a real beast. Live weight, he came in at 1556 pounds! That is HUGE for a Balancer beef. We ended up getting over 900 pounds of beef and had to buy a second freezer to hold it all!

16869

16870

Cattle prices were down last fall when we bought him, so we got him for a little less than the first Moth even though he was quite a bit bigger. However, due to our drought last fall/winter/spring and the extreme rise in feed prices, he did end up costing a little more per pound than last year's steer. - I think it is going to be around $3.60-$3.70 per pound. Still, the quality is SO much better than grocery store meat that we are okay with price. And since that is $3.70 per pound for EVERY cut, it is still a lot cheaper than the grocery store.

But even better... I found out the local feed mill will sell feed retail! (I did not think they would). Since I have to build a hay shack in the next couple months anyway, I will just add an additional storage area on it and buy feed from the mill by the ton for less than 1/3 what we have been paying at Tractor Supply! Also, we had a great monsoon season this year, so we will not have to buy hay until at least February or March!

All in all, I am calling this a victory and we are shitting in tall cotton!

[Prepared One]

All in all, I am calling this a victory and we are shitting in tall cotton!

That's probably what he was thinking all year while you were feeding him.

[Mad Trapper]

Glad this thread is active again. Last posts were before I joined OTP.

[Any Beastie]

Now that's quite the accomplishment! Good garden fertilizer and good human miracle grow all in one!

Would you ever consider trying pigs? You're the guy with BACON in his profile pic, just thought I'd ask.:bacon:

[NewRiverGeorge]

Do you do all grain feed or grass? We tried some grass only beef last summer and I was not a fan.

This year we went with grain fed and the taste is great, much more marbling in the steaks too.

[Mad Trapper]

Do you do all grain feed or grass? We tried some grass only beef last summer and I was not a fan.

This year we went with grain fed and the taste is great, much more marbling in the steaks too.

Not to answer for Inor......

My cousin raises prime beef cattle, sells many as brood stock. Usual plan is to grow them on grass and cow corn, then finish any for the table with grain. He grows his own hay/corn and has plenty of pasture. I need to ask him if I can get in on the next steer he takes for the table, my other cousin is a retired butcher has all the tools, he will process for a cut of the beef.

[Inor]

Do you do all grain feed or grass? We tried some grass only beef last summer and I was not a fan.

This year we went with grain fed and the taste is great, much more marbling in the steaks too.

We feed him twice per day with grain. Then he gets as much alfalfa or wheat hay as he wants. They say not to feed a steer with alfalfa because they bloat but we have never had a problem.

Some folks say that you only need to grain them the last 6 weeks or so. But we have used grain the whole time on both of ours and the results have been outstanding. So I am not going to mess with success.

[Inor]

Now that's quite the accomplishment! Good garden fertilizer and good human miracle grow all in one!

Would you ever consider trying pigs? You're the guy with BACON in his profile pic, just thought I'd ask.:bacon:

We were originally planning on raising a pig as well but several folks around us raise them. So it is just easier, for now, to let them raise the pigs and we just trade some beef for pork. We still have some land outside our fence line that I could fence off for pigs, but we are going to start doing meat chickens next year. So we want to see how much additional work that is going to be before signing up for pigs too.

This year is learning egg chickens and guinea hens. So far, they have been minimal extra work. If that holds true with meat chickens too, a pig would not be a problem. But we'll see...

[Slippy]

We just got Moth2 back from the butcher and he was a real beast. Live weight, he came in at 1556 pounds! That is HUGE for a Balancer beef. We ended up getting over 900 pounds of beef and had to buy a second freezer to hold it all!

16869

16870

Cattle prices were down last fall when we bought him, so we got him for a little less than the first Moth even though he was quite a bit bigger. However, due to our drought last fall/winter/spring and the extreme rise in feed prices, he did end up costing a little more per pound than last year's steer. - I think it is going to be around $3.60-$3.70 per pound. Still, the quality is SO much better than grocery store meat that we are okay with price. And since that is $3.70 per pound for EVERY cut, it is still a lot cheaper than the grocery store.

But even better... I found out the local feed mill will sell feed retail! (I did not think they would). Since I have to build a hay shack in the next couple months anyway, I will just add an additional storage area on it and buy feed from the mill by the ton for less than 1/3 what we have been paying at Tractor Supply! Also, we had a great monsoon season this year, so we will not have to buy hay until at least February or March!

All in all, I am calling this a victory and we are shitting in tall cotton!

My MAN!

[Slippy]

Would you ever consider trying pigs? ...

Mrs Slippy and I raised up two male offspring, I know at least that they are both hers as I saw them squirt out of her nether regions myself. I have no desire to go back to raising pigs again. :attention:

[NewRiverGeorge]

We feed him twice per day with grain. Then he gets as much alfalfa or wheat hay as he wants. They say not to feed a steer with alfalfa because they bloat but we have never had a problem.

Some folks say that you only need to grain them the last 6 weeks or so. But we have used grain the whole time on both of ours and the results have been outstanding. So I am not going to mess with success.

My experience with grass beef is the meat texture was rubbery (for lack of a better term) and tasted "gamey" almost along the lines of venison. I agree grain is the way to go.

[Any Beastie]

Yep, pigs never had a great load of appeal to me.

[Sparkyprep]

We just got Moth2 back from the butcher and he was a real beast. Live weight, he came in at 1556 pounds! That is HUGE for a Balancer beef. We ended up getting over 900 pounds of beef and had to buy a second freezer to hold it all!

16869

16870

Cattle prices were down last fall when we bought him, so we got him for a little less than the first Moth even though he was quite a bit bigger. However, due to our drought last fall/winter/spring and the extreme rise in feed prices, he did end up costing a little more per pound than last year's steer. - I think it is going to be around $3.60-$3.70 per pound. Still, the quality is SO much better than grocery store meat that we are okay with price. And since that is $3.70 per pound for EVERY cut, it is still a lot cheaper than the grocery store.

But even better... I found out the local feed mill will sell feed retail! (I did not think they would). Since I have to build a hay shack in the next couple months anyway, I will just add an additional storage area on it and buy feed from the mill by the ton for less than 1/3 what we have been paying at Tractor Supply! Also, we had a great monsoon season this year, so we will not have to buy hay until at least February or March!

All in all, I am calling this a victory and we are shitting in tall cotton!

That is a good looking freezer!

[bigwheel]

They make great pets. An old black guy with a pig farm and bad lighting violations on his slop truck gave me free baby one time. It was a blast. Him and the dog became best pals. He loved table scraps and baloney sandwiches. He loved to root around under the tree on Christmas. Sure wished I had another.

[stevekozak]

They make great pets. An old black guy with a pig farm and bad lighting violations on his slop truck gave me free baby one time. It was a blast. Him and the dog became best pals. He loved table scraps and baloney sandwiches. He loved to root around under the tree on Christmas. Sure wished I had another.

How did he taste at Easter?

[bigwheel]

Never got around to hurting the poor little guy. I swapped him a to pal whos parents owned a country and western store. I got about 500 bucks worth of jeans and and boots for the free pig. The guy wanted to to put on a big pig roast for his pals and palettes etc. Well anyway a big German Jeppard got in the pen with it and killed it...before he could get fattened up. It was a heart breaker.

[bigwheel]

Hey seen you had a big playful cow. One kept my Mama in law penned to the ground all day one time. Make sure he gets ate first. They are more dangerous than mean cows according to the cowboys I know.

[bigwheel]

EXCELLENT Idea!

Maybe try raising the steer like the Japs do with Kobe beef? Build a barn and a pen inside the barn to keep the steer confined for most of its life. Then hire an illegal to massage the cow with sake wine. They also give the cow a bottle of beer a day or some such nonsense. Oh, and you'll have to rig the barn with a sound system to play classical music for the damn bovine.

Plus you'll need to get a donkey to kick the shit out of any coyotes that attempt to mess with the steer. I'd name the donkey Steve or maybe Taco.

This should be fun!
https://notesofnomads.com/kobe-beef/

Will Inor have time to give them the mandatory rub downs?
https://farminence.com/wagyu-beef/

[Box of frogs]

GREAT THREAD - I am carving out an additional 3.5 acres next to the 1.5 acre pasture/field that is already established behind the house. Once that is done this month it will get fenced. It's heavily wooded and will take another season to get grass started. I hope to bring in the first cow next spring, maybe a breed heifer, not sure. Im still thinking that part over.

I have a few questions, well really a bunch but i'll just poke a few out for now.

Fence - I saw in the pic you had T-post and barb wire. Have you had problems with the beef rubbing down the posts, or just plain old knocking them over ? Did you run a electric fence on the posts too? Would you do T-posts over again or some other fence post (wood ) ? Did you do wood posts on the corners for strength?

Catch pen - what is the main purpose here? just a smaller space for vet visits - etc? Do you have a loading chute for getting them trailered?

Grass - Sounds like you have sweet deal with some free grazing - Im not that lucky here. With about 3 - 3.5 acres of good grass and the other 1.5 in shade tree and scrub forage in your opinion how many head would that support?

thanks in advance for your time and opinions.

BoF

[Inor]

GREAT THREAD - I am carving out an additional 3.5 acres next to the 1.5 acre pasture/field that is already established behind the house. Once that is done this month it will get fenced. It's heavily wooded and will take another season to get grass started. I hope to bring in the first cow next spring, maybe a breed heifer, not sure. Im still thinking that part over.

I have a few questions, well really a bunch but i'll just poke a few out for now.

Fence - I saw in the pic you had T-post and barb wire. Have you had problems with the beef rubbing down the posts, or just plain old knocking them over ? Did you run a electric fence on the posts too? Would you do T-posts over again or some other fence post (wood ) ? Did you do wood posts on the corners for strength?

Catch pen - what is the main purpose here? just a smaller space for vet visits - etc? Do you have a loading chute for getting them trailered?

Grass - Sounds like you have sweet deal with some free grazing - Im not that lucky here. With about 3 - 3.5 acres of good grass and the other 1.5 in shade tree and scrub forage in your opinion how many head would that support?

thanks in advance for your time and opinions.

BoF

The fence - We just have 4 foot tall 4x6 inch cloth with T-posts, plus two strands of barbed wire on the top. So far we have had no issues at all with them knocking down the T-posts. The only fence issue we had was the last steer went THROUGH the cloth between the catch pen and the pasture one time. It was hilarious! It looked like something out of a cartoon. But he got pretty cut up so that kept him away from the fences for the rest of his time with us.

The fence corners and around each gate are 3" pipes welded into an H-shape and set in about 3 foot of concrete. So far, no issues at all with the fence.

When we get a new steer, we keep him in the catch pen for about a week before turning him out into the pasture. Mostly it is just to calm him down and get him used to where the feed is and give us a chance to check him over for any possible health issues before we turn him out. We also use it to get him loaded into the trailer for the butcher. We just back the trailer up to the catch pen gate and herd him into the trailer. It is MUCH easier than trying to chase him down in the pasture. Beyond that, the only time it is used is when the farrier comes to trim the hooves on Mrs Inor's donkeys.

We do not have a loading chute. A couple pieces of cattle panel wired between the gate and the trailer have worked out fine so far. We generally keep him in the catch pen the night before we take him to the butcher and do not feed him that day (so he has an empty stomach for the butcher). Toss a flake of hay in the trailer and he is hungry enough that he usually jumps right in.

In terms of grass... Our pasture is about 3 1/2 acres and it is mostly high desert grass. That does not come anywhere close to producing enough grass for the steer, to say nothing of Mrs Inor's two donkeys that are in with him. So we do have to buy hay. Out here, the rule of thumb is 40 acres per head to not buy hay. But that is completely different in other areas. When we were in Minnesota, we had some friends that were raising 6 head per year on about 10 acres of natural grass and they never had to buy hay.

The other thing to consider is grain or grass fed... If you are thinking about going 100% grass fed, I suggest you spend too much money and buy a couple of the certified organic grass fed steaks at the grocery store first and see how you like them. Grass fed is a LOT more lean and there is a definite difference in the flavor. Some folks like it better but I am not a huge fan.

Our friend Sparkyprep gave me some great advice (I think at the beginning of this thread) and suggested that we grass feed him until the last month or two, then bring in the grain/sweet feed just to add some quick fat for flavor. The grain makes it more tender and the fat makes it taste much better in my arrogant opinion. We did that with our first one and he came out like what you are used to with grocery store beef. It was damn good.

The second one we did, we fed him hay/grass and sweet feed the whole time we had him. Yes, it was quite a bit more expensive to raise him, but we did end up getting about 200 pounds more meat than the first one and the quality of the meat is beyond anything I have been able to find at any store at any price. Over the course of the year, I would guess it cost us about an extra $700 to feed the second one over the first but it was worth every penny!

Hope that helps.

[bigwheel]

My inlaws tried that and wound up making pets of the animals and couldnt eat em.

[Sparkyprep]

My inlaws tried that and wound up making pets of the animals and couldnt eat em.

As my dad used to say- “I don’t have any pets. I would eat my dog if I had to”.

[Box of frogs]

My inlaws tried that and wound up making pets of the animals and couldnt eat em.

I am in no danger of that happening here.
Lol. BoF

[Inor]

I can see how some folks might think of a steer as a "pet"... Until the first time he turns on you. That pretty much solves the "pet" issue in a hurry.

[White Shadow]

Somebody starts eyeballing my dog and we're going to have a problem. Wife, kids - meh - we can negotiate. Dog, don't even think about it.

[bigwheel]

The ones who like to play are the most dangerous. One kept my MIL penned to the ground for half a day.

[TJC44]

The ones who like to play are the most dangerous. One kept my MIL penned to the ground for half a day.

You say that like it's a bad thing. :bounce:

[bigwheel]

It was bad for the poor cow. It got sent off to the sale barn. The MIL was tough as a boot lol.

[Inor]

We got next year's steer yesterday. Like the ones before him, we are calling him "Moth" (Meat On The Hoof). He seems a lot more calm than the last Moth, which is very good. (The last one we had was an absolute psychopath). He's bawling like crazy for mom this morning, but otherwise he seems pretty good. He'll spend about a week in the catch pen so he learns where his food is, then he can go out in the pasture and meet his new donkey "friends".

20359

[hawgrider]

Angus?

[Prepared One]

We got next year's steer yesterday. Like the ones before him, we are calling him "Moth" (Meat On The Hoof). He seems a lot more calm than the last Moth, which is very good. (The last one we had was an absolute psychopath). He's bawling like crazy for mom this morning, but otherwise he seems pretty good. He'll spend about a week in the catch pen so he learns where his food is, then he can go out in the pasture and meet his new donkey "friends".

20359

Fire up the grill and cut my steaks extra thick! :chef:

[Inor]

Angus?

He is a Balancer breed. It is a cross between an Angus and something else that I cannot remember. The meat is like an Angus but they are not nearly as temperamental. Angus beef are a pain in the ass to raise.

[hawgrider]

He is a Balancer breed. It is a cross between an Angus and something else that I cannot remember. The meat is like an Angus but they are not nearly as temperamental. Angus beef are a pain in the ass to raise.

Son inlaw has a new steer in the pasture this year its all black except for a couple white socks. Its supposed to be Angus and some other breed.
They call this one Chuck lol

[Inor]

Son inlaw has a new steer in the pasture this year its all black except for a couple white socks. Its supposed to be Angus and some other breed.
They call this one Chuck lol

Angus are great meat, but damn they are mean! The first year we did round up here, after we moved here, the herd was all Angus. Those pricks not only wanted to kill us, but when they would just injure us, they would back up and try to finish the job!

These Balancers seem a lot better.

[hawgrider]

Here is Chuck

https://i.imgur.com/vK1CVrb.jpg

[T-Man 1066]

My last heifer was black angus, white park, and charolaise mix. Wasn't too bad, still a little goofy...

[1skrewsloose]

What gets me is the folks who brag up grass fed beef, the meat has hardly any marbling. Whatever breed, they need to be finished off on corn to get decent meat.

Worked packing houses and locker plants for many years. This talk about how good lean meat is, is b.s., like that will make it taste better. NOT.

[T-Man 1066]

What gets me is the folks who brag up grass fed beef, the meat has hardly any marbling. Whatever breed, they need to be finished off on corn to get decent meat.

Worked packing houses and locker plants for many years. This talk about how good lean meat is, is b.s., like that will make it taste better. NOT.

Totally agreed! Corn for the win!

[Inor]

What gets me is the folks who brag up grass fed beef, the meat has hardly any marbling. Whatever breed, they need to be finished off on corn to get decent meat.

Worked packing houses and locker plants for many years. This talk about how good lean meat is, is b.s., like that will make it taste better. NOT.

Agreed. I am not a fan of 100% grass fed. I guess some folks like it but not me.