My husband and I are thinking about raising two, three, or four beef cattle. We have the barn and the acreage but other than that we would be starting from scratch, needing fencing, equipment, etc. I bought Storey’s Guide to Raising Beef Cattle and am making my way through it. I visited Tractor Supply Company today to get prices on troughs, etc.
My question is, would anyone be willing to share any wisdom or advice you may have about raising beef cattle? What is the best fence to have? How do I get them to be as gentle and manageable as is possible? Any warnings or things not to do? What is your favorite breed of beef cattle and why? Are there any "absolutely have to have" equipment or tools?
I’d appreciate any words of advice anyone cares to give.
Thanks SO mooooo-ch! ;) lol
Glenda
We're considering raising beef cattle. Any words of advice?
Can't help much with that Glenda, I hope you get some responses soon. :)
There was a frenzy of beef cattle raising advice a few seasons back...there are some very knowledgeable people on the subject on DG.
Storey's books are normally very good, so that is a wise beginning. I assume you are thinking of a cow - calf operation? Or were you going to raise stocker calves? I don't know what breeds are appropriate for your climate, around here the Brahma crosses do best in the heat but can be difficult. A polled breed would probably be preferable. Your cows will either need to be halter broken (not easy) or you will need some sort of chutes to restrain them for vet work etc. If you buy from 4H or FFA sales you will have (expensive) animals that have been handled a lot and possibly halter trained or you can start with weanlings and gentle them yourself. Our fencing is wire and hot wire which is wonderful until the hot wire isn't working and then often a real pain to find the problem. I would love to have pipe fence but the expense is prohibitive. Cows are cool, good luck!
Good fence makes good neighbors. Never forget that. The boundry fence needs to be snug, interior fencing can be electric.
You'll need a water supply, pond or city makes no difference. Being in Michigan I think you need some type of windbreak/shelter. Beef cattle don't require a lot of shelter but it is nice for them to get out of the wind. A headchute or some type of restraint is essential too.
We have a Simmental/Angus cross commercial herd. There are days we wish it was straight Simmental. Angus can definately have an attitude. If you have a polled breed you don't have to deal with dehorning. Otherwise, to me, dehorning is a must.
Any animal will be gentle if you work around them calmly and quietly. And a feed bucket with a little feed each day will go a long way towards making that happen. It's a lot easier to call a cow up and lead her to the barn than try to drive her while screaming and yelling. Just doesn't work.
You'll need to become familiar with administering vaccinations and doing minor vet procedures such as castration. You'll also have to decide if you're planning to keep a bull or breed AI. We keep clean up bulls but personally I've never had to chase a bull in the AI tank. He's gentle, doesn't push the fences and I don't have to feed him!
we raised herfords white and red and black and white the kids used them for show at the fairs not 4-h if you work with them you have great beefs never raise your voice pet -rub them alot and have a treats , for them so when you call them they know its time to come takes work we have 300at all times and yes they do step on your toes ouch, good feed hay and bedding out of drift ours have a barn to go in and outside cover , they use bouth, if you have grass land you are set they love to graze and when you get the beff the farmer we help you out just go and talk to them they are there to help you we do we like electric fence but have batter back up some how they know its not on we use two strands of wire about 18 inches off ground and one about maybe 16 inches above the first one on same pole we have done this for years.