I was at a local dairy today and they told me that they sell Holstein bull calves for $20! I started wondering if we should have one or two to have butchered for my own family. I know I don't have the heart to butcher it myself after taking care of it and am wondering if I could make it work. Could I find someone else to butcher? Would it be just too heartbreaking for my kids and myself? How much does it cost to feed, care for and then butcher an animal like this? How much meat would it produce?
Raise your own cattle?
- Thread starter Tracylhl
- Start date
miss_thenorth
Frugal Homesteader
I don't raise them, but.... 
remember holsteins are a dairy breed therefore, don't get meaty like your angus, charolais, simmental, etc. I wouldn't know how much they would cost to feed, I don't how long it would take to get to an acceptable butcher size, but if you have pasture for them from say april to october, most of your feed costs are already taken care of. I believe, but I'm not sure, that you usually raise them to about 8 months old. If you can't do the deed yourself, there are processors, (we call them abattoirs here in canada), that you could call to find out a price. If you have processed your own deer, moose, they will be similar (we always take ours off the bone, but you could cut through). From what I've read and heard, if your fencing is good, they are fairly easy keepers.
(there was a guy down the road whose fences were crap, and his two steers used to walk to our place, so we'd jump on the quads and herd them back)
remember holsteins are a dairy breed therefore, don't get meaty like your angus, charolais, simmental, etc. I wouldn't know how much they would cost to feed, I don't how long it would take to get to an acceptable butcher size, but if you have pasture for them from say april to october, most of your feed costs are already taken care of. I believe, but I'm not sure, that you usually raise them to about 8 months old. If you can't do the deed yourself, there are processors, (we call them abattoirs here in canada), that you could call to find out a price. If you have processed your own deer, moose, they will be similar (we always take ours off the bone, but you could cut through). From what I've read and heard, if your fencing is good, they are fairly easy keepers.(there was a guy down the road whose fences were crap, and his two steers used to walk to our place, so we'd jump on the quads and herd them back)
FarmerChick
Super Self-Sufficient
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2008
- Messages
- 11,417
- Reaction score
- 14
- Points
- 248
remember these are 2 or 3 day old bottle babies. a ALOT of bottle feeding and calf replacement milk is very expensive.
my friend Barb owns a dairy. she can't wait to get rid of the bull calves fast enough. they are not needed on the dairy and they drink expensive milk. she wants them gone fast also.
yes you can do it and make great money on your beef.
you just have to commit time and money and in the end, you do get great meat on the hoof.
How much meat depends on how big you raise the calf.
Before you buy, google how to raise calves. Tons of info out there.
my friend Barb owns a dairy. she can't wait to get rid of the bull calves fast enough. they are not needed on the dairy and they drink expensive milk. she wants them gone fast also.
yes you can do it and make great money on your beef.
you just have to commit time and money and in the end, you do get great meat on the hoof.
How much meat depends on how big you raise the calf.
Before you buy, google how to raise calves. Tons of info out there.
ohiofarmgirl
Sipping Bacon Martinis
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2009
- Messages
- 5,488
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 189
my buddy has an Amish neighbor who sells the jersey bull calves for about $10.. he cant wait to get rid of them either. my buddy uses his dairy cows to feed the calf out and then finish them on grass. he did a GREAT job with the calf and butchered it at about 300 lbs... which is really small compared to beef cattle.
but
oh it was heavenly - basically you got small cuts of 'grass fed' veal. he made a ton of stock, filled half a freezer, and gave lots of great ground beef to his friends!
as far as the butchering goes -- dont psych yourself out. can you do it? yes you can. but would you - thats up to you. if you would have asked me 3 years ago if we'd be out there butchering them pigs i would have told you that you were nuts... but sure you can do it. it helps if you have a friend to mentor you - maybe someone who hunts? or an older farmer near you??
if its not your thing thats just fine - check around for deer processing places or custom butcher shops that charge by the pound.
good luck!
but
oh it was heavenly - basically you got small cuts of 'grass fed' veal. he made a ton of stock, filled half a freezer, and gave lots of great ground beef to his friends!
as far as the butchering goes -- dont psych yourself out. can you do it? yes you can. but would you - thats up to you. if you would have asked me 3 years ago if we'd be out there butchering them pigs i would have told you that you were nuts... but sure you can do it. it helps if you have a friend to mentor you - maybe someone who hunts? or an older farmer near you??
if its not your thing thats just fine - check around for deer processing places or custom butcher shops that charge by the pound.
good luck!
farmerlor
Lovin' The Homestead
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2009
- Messages
- 620
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 94
I know a lady who raises her bottle calves on goat's milk. Luckily, she has lots of goats. The one thing about dairy cattle beef is that the fat tends to be a little darker in color and that is DIFFERENT and scary to some people.
- Thread starter
- #6
Thanks. I don't hunt. Honestly, I can't bring myself to take a life. I won't let a rooster near my egg hens because I would be hard-pressed to eat a fertile egg! So I definately don't think I could "do the deed" anytime soon! 
My understanding was that Holsteins weren't large enough to butcher until closer to a year 1/2 or two years. Long enough to get pretty attached! 
But it sure would be a good way to get grass-fed beef instead of the inexpensive junk we buy now! And I would love my kids to understand the process better. My husband says that he's sure I could never bring myself to send them off to the butcher. Maybe he's right but I would really like to start pushing myself to be okay with it.
My understanding was that Holsteins weren't large enough to butcher until closer to a year 1/2 or two years. Long enough to get pretty attached! But it sure would be a good way to get grass-fed beef instead of the inexpensive junk we buy now! And I would love my kids to understand the process better. My husband says that he's sure I could never bring myself to send them off to the butcher. Maybe he's right but I would really like to start pushing myself to be okay with it.
FarmerChick
Super Self-Sufficient
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2008
- Messages
- 11,417
- Reaction score
- 14
- Points
- 248
you are right...the holsteins are not a beef cattle so yes the need more grow time for a good deal of meat in the freezer
and be sure you want a BIG bull before you get this critter.
you will have to band him---he can't stay a bull.
And if you end up keeping him as a pet, then wow, that will be one livestock pet that will be alot of work in a way for what he is.....cows don't do much, they don't interact like a dog and fetch a stick ya know..LOL---so be real sure if yoiu want this thing as a long term pet.
and be sure you want a BIG bull before you get this critter.
you will have to band him---he can't stay a bull.
And if you end up keeping him as a pet, then wow, that will be one livestock pet that will be alot of work in a way for what he is.....cows don't do much, they don't interact like a dog and fetch a stick ya know..LOL---so be real sure if yoiu want this thing as a long term pet.
farmerlor
Lovin' The Homestead
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2009
- Messages
- 620
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 94
Y'know, cows are the one animal on the farm that I never got terribly attached to. I guess it's got something to do with the fact that anything that can stick it's tongue in it's nose just isn't someone I want kissing on me. For me at least, it's much easier to get friendly with the pigs than the cows.Tracylhl said:Thanks. I don't hunt. Honestly, I can't bring myself to take a life. I won't let a rooster near my egg hens because I would be hard-pressed to eat a fertile egg! So I definately don't think I could "do the deed" anytime soon!
me&thegals
A Major Squash & Pumpkin Lover
Bwaahaaahaaaha!! You just reminded me of a guy on my high school bus who could do exactly this. While impressed, I have to admit no attraction to him whatsoever.farmerlor said:
freemotion
Food Guru
When I was a teen, my father did just this very thing....buy a calf from a dairy and we would bottle (pail, if I remember) raise it, then put it in our pasture to grow. The milk replacer cost money, but the pasture didn't, and we bought very little hay....the steer was butchered as the weather got colder and his food was going to keep him warm rather than fatten him up. We did grain him in the last month or so, and moved him to a smaller pen....my horse loved to "round him up" and drive him into the barn all day
The steer was young and tender and the most amazing beef I ever ate in my life. We were dirt poor those years, too, so it was cheap food for the family. We ate the best food during those years, due to resourceful and hardworking parents!
If you have pasture, go for it. But call him Big Mac or Quarter Pounder like we did, and make the arrangements in advance....set an appointment for November before you take him home.
The steer was young and tender and the most amazing beef I ever ate in my life. We were dirt poor those years, too, so it was cheap food for the family. We ate the best food during those years, due to resourceful and hardworking parents!
If you have pasture, go for it. But call him Big Mac or Quarter Pounder like we did, and make the arrangements in advance....set an appointment for November before you take him home.
