Raising Your Own Beef Cattle For Beginners
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- Опубликовано: 26 июн 2018
- In this video, Jason from the Big Bear Homestead is talking about Raising Your Own Beef Cattle For Beginners. In this video, he talks about the things you need to know when buying your first beef cow. Jason will explain what to look for so that you know you are getting a good calf. This video should help the beginner and the experienced homesteader when it comes to buying your first beef cow.
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I retired from the corporate world bought 4 acres with a very nice home and sheds out of the city (lots of trout and deer hunting around here) Bought my self 4 steers 7 days old so through the worst for $30 each I am picking them up tomorrow finished kitting out the calf barn today and bought som CRM and calf meal I am very much looking forward to it :).
As I told my old coworkers when I retired when asked what am I going to do with my time so far out in the country - ''going to buy me some steers and a big hat".
Congratulations, enjoy your retirement...lol
Jason you are doing God's work by sharing your knowledge. Thank you
I appreciate that
Amen
That was a really good video. It definitely answered some of the questions I had about beef cows.
Awesome thanks for watching
Starting my homestead hopefully later this year, eventually I hope to learn about cattle. So thank you for this valuable info!
Best of luck!
Great Video!! I was raised on a ranch out in California on the central coast near Santa Barbara! We have quite a few Cattle Ranches out in our area. I learned a few things about Beef Cattle i didn't know before i am now a new subscriber and supporter to your channel!
Thanks for those kind words and the sub, I hope you are still around. Do you have a homestead now?
Good information- I have subscribed! Thanks for posting these useful videos.
This video is so helpful. We just bought 2 calves and are bottle feeding them. Currently they are a week and a half old, I’m loving the experience though!
Awesome!!! If you guys run into any issues please shoot us an email. We will help out any way we can
How's it going with the calves?
I like these videos. I'm learning a lot about cattle I did not know. Thank Mr. Bear
Thanks for watching
Good information!! Loved Carol on this!! Made me laugh out loud!! LOL
Thanks
So much good information here! My husband and I are looking for a property right now and I can't wait to start raising beef for my family. I get the feeling subscribing to your channel is going to help a ton
Thanks for watching and thanks for the kind words. Can't wait to hear about your homestead once you get it
Did you buy some property? If so, did you start raising cattle? My wife and I are looking at 2 pieces and will make an offer this week hopefully. Looking forward to starting some beef cattle
We're getting Scottish Highlands for the 1st time in the spring. Can't wait! Just subscribed to your channel.
I am so jealous, always wanted highlands. Thanks.for watching and subscribing. Hope you hit the bell with all notifications.
What a good video.. very informative. One of the best I’ve seen.
Wow, thanks! We appreciate the kind words. God Bless
Great tips and info on what to look for, especially the way to check for the frame/stature of the calf.
Thanks
Loved the info! I love channels that actually give real advice. Subbed immediately.
THANKS, hope you are still subbed and finding our video still packed full of information
Hi
This video was very informative! Much appreciated
Glad it was helpful!
Beautiful videos of your life brother! You guys are living the dream! Much love from germany!
Thanks
Thanks for the video. I'm hoping to start raising these soon.
Go for it! and if you have any questions please let us know. Hope you hit that subscribe button and rang the bell so that way you can catch future videos
im getting ready too get three beef calfs for my FFA project and im super excited but im a beginner and a little nervous, this video helped a ton thank you very much.
That's exactly why I'm here. My daughter just got 2 herefords for FFA
You got this!
Thanks. Very informative. Keep it up.
Thanks, will do!
I'm about to raise me some of them FANCY wagyu cow but just for me I'm about to be 150 percent self sufficient on my new land I'm excited gotta get my back fixed first but I'm real excited video had good info
How is it coming along? Did you get your cow? Thanks for watching and we hope you hit that subscribe button
I don’t own any cattle, but I enjoy learning. Great job presenting, sir! I think I’d like to go to a cattle auction one of these days. I’m always driving past the one out by me, and it looks like a good time … maybe? 😂
Thanks for watching! Cattle auctions are fun to watch. You should definitely check one out if you get the chance
Just found this channel. thanks for ur info. love from indonesia.
Thanks for watching
Fantastic video great information!
Glad it was helpful! Hope you hit that subscribe button and rung the bell so you can catch future videos and live shows. Don't forget to hit that bell also. Are you getting into cattle? Do you have any?
Great video lots of useful information
Thanks
Thanks for the knowledge!!!
Thanks for watching!
Thank you for this information.
Glad it was helpful!
Video is very informative, as I’m 14 gonna invest into day olds, I have experience from bottle feeding. I trying to start a business and hopefully get a couple calves by mid 2023
Sounds awesome, let us know how it.goes for you.
Dad jokes .... cow taking dump as you’re explaining hip size 😆😆😆 you’re my kinda of channel
Just subscribe, planning on getting some Dexter cows first. Thanks for info
Very helpful, thankyou
What did you find the most helpful? Do you have cows or are you thinking about getting cows? Thanks for watching and we hope you have hit that subscribe button so you can get notifications on future videos and Livestreams.
From a son of a man that raised Herefords and angus. Black baldies are the way to go (Hereford angus x) superior hybrid vigor
We raised a black baldie once. The meat was pretty great!
Good advice!
Glad it was helpful!
That pair on the thumbnail is AMAZING
Thanks
Thanks for the info. Sounds good. I have been putting this off. Maybe I have been too much of a cow ard to try. Time to get started. I just hope you didn't steer me wrong. LOL
Go for it! They will bring you enjoyment and maybe a little frustration at times but it is worth it.
Hello Jason from Scotland 🏴
Well hello thanks for watching
Big thank you
Same to you thanks for watching hope you hit that subscribe button and rang the bell so you can get notifications of future videos
Iv just found this video and it's of big help we have a 100 acre property but just starting out and dairy calves are very cheap and mainly Jersey and Friesian and did the bottle and did lose a couple but it's a learning curve the question I have is I was told to cross them with a beef bull but to use an insemination kit as it's way less expensive than hiring a bull for just 5 claves we have thanks
Personally I would not go that route, we had very little luck with AI. As far as crossing a beef bred with a jersey make sure it is one of the smaller breds .
Ah thank you for this educational video, since understanding this I may try raise the native cow since those type of breed doesn’t exist in Cambodia if did so it cost triple price
Do it but do.it in the way you can heal the land.
Thank you!
You're welcome!, Thanks for watching. Hope you hit the subscribe button and rang the bell
My fiancé and I are hoping to start our own homestead in the future, and while he has financial, gardening and business know how I’m looking to learn more about raising livestock even if just enough for ourselves
Awesome, we just released a video about livestock for beginners. If you have any questions please feel free to email us, we will help in any way we can. Good luck.
Thank you.
Thank you
These are not things the brand new meat farmers would know unless they study first. I totally agree that unless you take cows to a stock show or want a really big pet follow the breeders' guidance regarding what characteristics you want. Most people talk about the same characteristics you do so I'd expect those would also be premium priced. Body types happen and sounds like they follow about the same rules as for humans. Stats are important so thanks for the chart. I'll check it out.
Thanks for watching
I like your video, I love raising cattle. I also subd to your channel
Thanks for watching and the sub, hope you are still around and enjoying our content.
Thank you 🙏
You’re welcome 😊
Great job explaining
You should start classes in Florida for people like me . For more personalized education.
Thank you sir
Maybe one day!
Thank you! !! I watch a lot of cattle videos and yours is tops! We had a Randal cow and lost her and her beautiful white calf with black ears...nose...ect... we used AI and Rebecca couldn't handle the size of the calf. With AI you don't know what you're getting or I didn't know. I see you have some lineback blood in your herd. I look all the time at different cattle breeds and still prefer the LINEBACKS!
So sorry that this happened but you are right when it comes to AI you really don't know what you are getting and if the calf is to big it can kill the mom or cause major issues down the rd. Thanks for sharing your story and thanks for watching
Thanks, Ive been holding back on raising something, I have grass, firemen sez best thing for fire suppression is, "put animals on it." Thank you for sharing your knowledge ......!! I'm not scared no more !!
Good stuff
I,m very intresting in your teaching i have cows ,oke regards Jack Brown ,a farmer from Suriname
Thanks
Thank you! Of all the videos I've watched and books I've read, this has been the most informative. Were going to be a small operation as we only have a couple acres to work with and we dont want to overrun a pasture.
We figure to purchase two calves and raise them, selling one to offset winter feeding cost for the second steer that we will take to butcher. Is this a good idea?
Where do you plan on selling it? If you plan on selling it at a sale barn it really depends on the price of beef at the time you go to sale. If you plan on selling it yourself start getting the word out now and get someone to put a deposit down.
But raising one and selling one is always a good idea, I would just sell it myself.and not go to a sale barn
2 cows on 2 acres? I think that isn't enough land for 2 unless you supplement with hay or feed. We had 7 on 4 acres and that is bad. I didn't have time to do any research on it. My husband and a friend went to an action and we ended up with 7. Anyway, one we sent to be butchered because of an injury that he had when we got him. Another one died from issues I won't go into, still too painful, pretty much ignorance on my part. My heart broke that day. Now down to 5 which is still too many. Going to send one out for meat here soon. 4 is still too many so we supplement. I know now what we can do/not do (there is always something coming up that throws me off). We got them early this year along with 4 lambs. It's been an overwhelming time for me since it's been on me to take care of the animals and I knew nothing about them before this. That said, they have brought me so much joy. Bovine are so curious and have made me laugh a lot. My lambs are so freaking sweet! So much cuteness there.
After this novel, my point is do lots of research so your animals will have good health and you have less stress.
Very good information. I am getting some month old calves at the end of the month. Is there anything I need to be concerned about as far as giving antibiotics or other disease preventatives?
Yes don't give antibiotics unless the calf is sick and a vet said to give them to the calf to save its life. Never give them as a prevention.
Keep the calves dry and as warm as possible.
Do you feed grain & hay? We have a holstein & a swiss. Both steers. We do not have good pasture yet. I was told to let them each have 2 scoop s of 14%grain & second cutting grass hay. Plus a scoop each of electrolytes. One is 4 months the other is almost 6 months
We give hay in the winter
I don’t have a perimeter fence on my pasture. Could I use 3 strands of hot wire or poly rope to keep cattle in? Or am I asking for trouble?
It depends on your cows and your predator population, food and water sources.
New subie! Thank you for your valuable info. Am going into farming with a little more seriousness and focus. Thank you. How many do I start with am looking at a breed called Bonsmara am in Africa I want to start with 1 bull 10 cows
That sounds like a solid start, have you done it yet and have you ran into any issues?
Thank you for listen, I would like to start business....
Cattle?
Hi, We just bought 40 acres with a creek running through it but it’s been grazed pretty heavily from being leased to a pretty big cattle operation here in Colorado. It’s mostly sage brush except for the areas near the creek. Do you think this could support 2 steers or should we just stick to chickens 😂. Thanks for all your video info! Happy farming.
I think you can,
Did you get a good deal? Will you hunt the land as well?
i like this guy
Well thank you
Thanks you
Thank you too!
Very useful information how many land is needed for 10 steers to be raised? Thank you for this informations
That question is hard for me to answer because , it really depends on how well your salad bar is in the pastures that you intend on placing your cows and also on how you are going to graze them.
I am thinking about starting a small herd on a portion of 300 acres I inherited. I thought of purchasing mostly yearlings, and completing the initial herd with a 2-3 cows and a couple springers. Do you think this will give me a good healthy start? Trust me when I say that I am not looking to be the nations largest beef producer only a high quality small producer. No more than 125-150 head EVENTUALLY.
If you take care of them they should
Hi, What do you do to make the grass grow faster if you get no rains? Thank you.
Never let your cattle graze lower than 20cm. The plant must have some leaves to catch sunlight, to use to grow. If it is grazed too short above ground, the roots will die back to shorter below ground! If the grass is kept long enough above ground, the surface of the ground will have shade and be cooler, and so be not dried out. If you take your cows off your grass at the right time, everything will go better and your grasslands will be better every year.
Pray for.rain, and keep doing the pasture rotation
Do you feed feed the last few months before butchering to fatten them up?? Thanks for the great video by the way!! 🙂🙂
No, they are on grass the entire time. I am glad you enjoyed the video thanks for watching
Thanks again I like this video too but what is the breed or mix breed of that black cow with white face showed in the beginning of the video? I like mostly black medium sized cattle.
That was a black baldy if we are talking about the same one. Thanks for watching hope you hit that subscribe button.
I have about 3 acres of land that has 50 % wooded / open grass area. What type fencing should I install to allow rotating the beef steers to start?
Also is 4 to 5 min. 2-month old calfs a good plan to start?
I would use some type of physical fence around your perimeter. Then the type of electric fence doesn't really matter, it is the charger that matters. In our opinion Gallagher has the best chargers on the market for the money.
Thankyou
You’re welcome 😊
Thank you for your video. Very informative. Say, I have a few questions if you don't mind providing information. I live in California, and we have property which currently has tall dry grass and I wanted to mow the 25 acres but, I am thinking to put some cattle on this area. We have an attached hill side with, I don't know maybe another 20 acres also with grass. How many cows without supplementing should the 25 acres support? I'm not opposed to supplementing, just curious. Should I leave the grass for them to eat? Is now an ok time to put cows on the property or to buy the older calf's. Many more question but, I will reach out at another time. Thank you in advance for sharing your knowledge. Have a great rest of your Sunday.
That all depends on how you do it
One this days I will have a beef cow
Good to have vision, that's my goal too lol.
Have you reached your goal yet?
Question if this chat is still available. With reseeding our pasture there are a lot of wild onions.....is it a wives tale that it will affect the taste of beef or harm the steer if wild onions consumed?
We have them in our pasture as well, we have never tasted it in the beef, but the milk yes.
Could you tell me what breed can get the fattest on grass/no grain? I want the fattest cow possible so I'm looking for real short legs right?
That really depend on the different grasses that you have, and how often you rotate them
How much pasture size do I need for two calf? Also how much barn size ?
I cannot answer that for you because there are to many different variables that comes with that question. Like are you going to do intense grazing, what types of grass do you have in your pasture. Are they dairy or beef breeds. Barn size depends on the age of the calf and what your plans are with said calf.
Your video was very informative. What is your recommendation for stocking rate? I am located in north Mississippi.
What do you mean sticking rate? Never heard that term.berfore your comments
How does the Dairy / Meat cross fair at the sale in comparison ?
Thanks
When you take all the factors in, a all meat cow will bring you a better price per pound than a dairy/meat cross.
Thinking of getting 2 calves about 2 or 3 months old. How much acreage will they need before they go to butcher. Grass grows good in that area
It really depends on your area and the breed of cow and the age you plan to slaughter. For example, an Angus or Simmental is going to require more acreage of land, unless you're supplementing with hay or grain. a Dexter (a small Irish breed) can run on 1/2 acre -1 acre of good grass. If you buy dairy calves super cheap for beef, they tend to take a bit longer to gain weight. The general rule of thumb is 1 animal unit per 1 acre. But that would change to more or less depending on whether you live in the rich pastures of Virginia or the scrub of Arizona.
That depends on you, and your pasture. If you just turn them loose on large acreage then it will take a while and you might have to pour feed to them. If you do intese grazing then you time would be shorter .
I plan on starting with cross breed steer and then moving to angus and hopefully in they future growing to be a bigger operation but for now I may start with 20 cross breed steer do you think that’s a good starting number ?
It depends on your pasture
I know this is little over 2 years old. My question is will it be better to start with a 1 to 2 months old Calf for yourself for food if you don't want to bottle feed it. Thanks I just want to know because of the cost of meat right now and want to get bang for the buck. Yes I know there cost of food, water, processor aka end of its life, and transportation of it or going to it. Any other advice on this.
If it is in your budget to buy the older calf then yes as a first time owner I would go that route. The only thing to keep in mind is finding a processor that is not booked up . I would also suggest taking the time as your young calf grows to learn how to butcher. So that way you can butcher your beef yourself. Best of luck and if there is anything else we can do to help you along your road to self sufficiency please let us know. Hope that you hit the subscribe button and bell so you can catch future videos and live streams
Ok. I understand the months and the inch part bit what are the 1- 9 numbers across the top indicate?
are you asking about the chart on our website?
Yes
My question is why would you want to get steers if your planning on starting a heard why buy something that cant bread and keep and heard going
I think you might.have misunderstood what I was saying, the reason to go buy steers is for the quick turnaround. So that way can have revenue to build your heard or for operating costs.
When this video was.made bull calves could be bought rather cheap. So you could get 8 to 10 day old to a week old bull calves for the same price as a cow .
Then you can turn around and sell them.in two years and make enough money to get started with your own herd. I hope this answers your questions, thanks for watching and we hope you hit that subscribe button and the bell so you can get the notifications of new videos.
I have 10 acres.
I am going to add a few green houses, one good size commercial one and a couple smaller ones.
How many head do you think can be sustained and grown on 10 acres as grass fed?
This depends on if you will be grazing them in an open pasture or intense grazing from paddock to paddock. The rule of thumb is one cow per 2 acres per cow. But if you intense graze, you could knock that down significantly.
Big Bear Homestead
Thanks for the info.
That is helpful
Would like to raise three or so.
One for family, a half for friends and 1 1/2 to sell to pay for it.
Don’t know how realistic that is.
I just purchased two Angus/Wagyu f1 1 yr and 15 months they have been on some feed they suggested I don't go straight grass right away what are your thought don't want them getting sick
This is what I have been told, it is not that they will get sick they will just loose weight. Then slowly put it back on I'm a healthy way.
Sensible advice. Almost every farmer and expert recommends older calves or weaning calves for a starter
Thanks and thanks for watching
one question I want to get into the cattle business but how do we know what consumer to sell to or how do we find a consumer.
You have to do the leg work. Go talk to chefs, use social media for your area.
So I’m getting a young beef they say for 4-h. And there maximum age is 7 and a 1/2 months are they gonna be fat enough?
No you would need to raise them some more unless you want veal. Thanks for watching
is there a video on where to buy calves or cows? like how to find auctions or farms? Google just wants me to buy online but I want to see the calf first.
Look up your local livestock auction
Are cows/cattle careful to avoid snakes? How do you know that who you sell to butchers ethically. I have seen videos of cows being skinned alive. I want to make sure if I sell them they are ethically treated afterwards.
You should get to know your butcher no different than getting to know your farmer if you aren't growing your own food. I understand your concern. Never heard of one skinning a cow while it was alive. Seems like that would not be worth the struggle. These animals are huge.
If you get a calf that is 1-2months old and put him straight on grass, you will end up stunting the calf. They will not turn out to be any where close to having full potential feed to growth efficiency. What you need to do to fast wean a calf properly is give the calf "creep feed" (Calf Starter Grain) immediately free choice. It will take it a while to eat it and like it, but the calf will keep trying it curiously until he likes it. This takes 2-4 days on average. When the calf can consume over 2 pounds in a single day, then the rumen (stomachs) will be full developed (usually takes about 2 weeks) and only then will the calf be able to get all the nutrients out of eating grass.
At 1 to 2 months you should still be bottle feeding that calf also. There is no reason to force feed a calf commercial feed. You can offer it to the calf but you should still either bottle feeding or have the calf bucket broke. Until the calf is either eating more grass and feed than the milk then you can begin the process of removing the milk.
Is there ever such a thing as a broker or dealer that I could lease cattle from? I do not want to chore in winter because I have unreliable backup chore crew. And it seems right to have stock when grass arrives but clear them off when it slows down. Is this possible or must I feed hay ten months of the year?
I have never heard of leasing cows, I don't think that is a thing. When it comes to hay that really depends on your pastures and if they need it. We try to have a good mixture of seasonal grasses so we don't have to fed that much hay
@@bigbearhomestead thank you sir, wish you all the best
thanks for the good information for beef farmers . my question is if am to buy the ones of 2 months old for how long will it take for one to sell them
Roughly it is about 24 to 36 months if you do just pasture and that also depends on how good your pastures are.
About how much profit do you think you would get for selling an average sized steer
That really depends on the market in your area, and if you are selling it by hanging weight or by the cut. Now if you are selling it by the cut your profit will be higher granted if you have the market for it. Also, I look at it like this even if I am not able to sell it, It goes in my freezer and I don't have to buy beef for the next couple of years so that is also a profit.
Thank you
Hi there, great video bud. Im from south florida, How do u go about finding we're to sell them for meat as a business? And are there licenses needed?
Check with your dept of arg.
So on what stage u start like giving them that block of salt and do they like need to go vitamins too
Never a block but a loose mineral mix. Put it in a tub with a rubber flap that keeps rain off.
If we do, we mix it in with their feed. We also keep an eye on them and if they act like they are missing out on something we do our best to provide it
wow this is wonderful i want to venture in dairy production thanks for knowledge so where are you based cause i want to visit and collect more information am in Botswana Francistown
Thanks for watching
how long do ya keep yer calves? before ya butcher?? thank you for the videos, just subbed
To be honest it really depends on their size and my money. But somewhere between 18 to 36 months
Hello Jason so I’m trying to understand the chart. So the numbers on the left is the age in months. Buts what’s the 1-6 represent that’s on top going horizontally. Thanks.
It has been a while since I looked at that chart, give me a day or two to get a free second to look at what you are referring to, but right off the cuff I am thinking that is the size of the calf.
I took a look back through, and the frame score for the calf is scored 1-5. Just match up the age of the calf (column on the left) with the hip height of the calf in inches. This will give you the rating of the calf.
Big Bear Homestead thanks Jason, I’m kinda slow I guess lol, but Isn’t a calf’s hip a lot bigger then that? Also I got another question, I’m gonna be just raising and selling cattle. Is hay enough for them as food or do I need to provide with other stuff?
Hay is not enough they need grass. Fresh grass
Big Bear Homestead Thanks I appreciate it
Thanks for the Teachings 👍🍻
Please i want to make an enquiry about the best species of cow for a farmer like me....??
thank.......👏
I would need more information
nice work... Thank you for sharing. :)
Thanks for watching
What about land,how much do I need.we only have 5 acres right now
Believe it or not, that is a very complex question. Is the 5 acres all pasture? When we first started we only had 2.5 acres, but we had to buy hay and sweet feed. If you intense graze, and your acreage is primarily grass, then I would say you could do 2 cows (in our experience, cows are herd animals and like to have at least one friend)
GOOD THICKEN BRO ! TY
Thanks
Hey Jason I was just curious what you feed your beef steers? Are yours strictly foraging on pasture? If they are how many acres of pasture per steer and how do you keep your pasture green?
Our cows are on pasture, we only supplement with feed when we either go through a drought. We do intense grazing, so keeping them green is due to the N it gets from the chickens.
Thank you for the help! I have 2 steers on about 1.5 acres in California but it's not pasture, just dirt. How much feed do you give them when you're in drought with no pasture for them to graze?
I would make sure that they have plenty of hay, and minerals (free choice) and then about 3 to 5 lbs per cow
Which breeds would you say are the friendliest?
We have raised mostly mixed breeds. I would say for the most part, animals will react to how you treat them. If you are aggressive to them, they can reflect that behavior. We are always friendly to our cattle and have not had any be aggressive toward us.
Also, be aware of bulls and protective mama cows.
How much land is required to raise a calf to adult to take it to the butcher
Hello and thanks for watching, I get this question a lot so I am going to have to do a video on it LOL. The answer to that question is a hard one because I don't know how you are going to do it or the condition of the land you are going to put the calf on. But just shooting from the hip if you do rotational grazing and it is only one calf you could get away with less than an acre