Discussion: Let’s Talk Cattle! 🐄

[BYH Project Manager]

Cattle can be such a big part of homestead and farm life, whether you’re raising them for milk, beef, or simply because you love having them around. Some folks enjoy the rhythm of daily milking, others love the satisfaction of raising grass-fed beef, and for many, cattle are a cornerstone of their self-sufficiency goals.

But along with the rewards come plenty of challenges, too. Managing grazing, handling fly control, keeping them healthy, and even just understanding their personalities can be a full-time adventure. One minute they’re calm and content, the next they’ve decided the neighbor’s pasture looks more interesting!

So let’s hear from you:

• What type of cattle do you keep (or plan to keep)?
• Do you raise them for milk, meat, or both?
• What’s been your biggest lesson or challenge in caring for cattle?
• Any funny or unexpected cattle stories to share?

Your insights and stories can really help others who are just starting out or thinking about adding cattle to their homestead.

What’s life with cattle like for you right now?

 

[fuzzi]

No cattle here, but watching for replies.

 

[Finnie]

Me too.

 

[fuzzi]

@farmerjan ?

 

[farmerjan]

@farmerjan ?

Maybe this weekend, we have been just swamped with water leaks, backhoe digging pipelines, testing cows, me checking other pastures while DS and GF are doing more of the water problems,,,,just not enough hours...

 

[Baymule]

Now THAT is a typical cattlemen/woman answer!

 

[farmerjan]

Okay. I am going to try to write a few thoughts.
I am no expert... Always learning something from someone. BUT.... have a few years experience so here are some thoughts.

You have to decide WHAT you want from cattle. If you like dairy animals, and want milk for making all the things possible... Then a dairy or a 1/2 dairy cross is the way to go. There are 5 main breeds and they all give copious amounts of milk because they have been bred for milk production. Naturally there are some better at making more milk than others within the same breed. If you have a big family, consume alot of dairy, and LIKE to milk then a straight dairy breed is best.

Holsteins... big cows when mature....make bucketS of milk... more than most ever can use... unless they are a cull from a dairy for low production... You are looking at 5-10 gallons a day easy.....Butterfat will run 2.6% all the way to 5%.... with 3 to 3.6% average... MOST are A1A1.... which seems to be less digestible by many people...

Brown Swiss... usually a little bigger than holsteins. Bigger boned cows... very slow and methodical type cows... can be very thick headed and stubborn... but quiet dispositions mostly. They also eat alot due to their size... slower maturing than holsteins. 4-8 gal a day average... 3.5 to 5% butterfat, 4% and better is average.... A1 and A2 combinations

Ayshires..... not as big as the previous 2... Many are a little more "flighty" or skittish but I have known farmers with them that are as quiet as puppydogs... 4-8 gal day... butterfat in the 3.5-4.5% range mostly. A1 and A2 combinations in milk.

Guernseys.....medium sized cow... MY personal favorite... Unfortunately, they have been inbred alot and are not the old "farmstead, raw boned milk cow that had pictures of 5 kids sitting on them".... They are the famous "GOLDEN GUERNSEY" milk label cows... they have a high ratio of beta carotene in their milk naturally... more if on good pasture... which makes the milk a creamy "golden" rather than stark white. 4-6 gal a day... 4-5% butterfat mostly... most are A1A2 or A2A2... One problem... they are notorious for being problem breeders... partly due to the inbreeding over the years...

Jerseys... smallest of the "5 common dairy breeds"..... I understand there are 3 "sizes"... mini, midi, and full size... as far as I am concerned there is ONE size true jersey... They weigh between 750 and 1100 lbs... variations for different bloodlines etc. The ones bred for commercial dairying are in the 1,000-1200 lb range. Today a jersey can milk 3/4 of what a holstein will produce but on average... they make 3-6 gallons a day... 4-5 a good average. They can run as little as 3.5% butterfat, but most will make 4-5.5% on average. Milk is not quite as white as a holstein but not near as "golden" as a guernsey. Calves are those pretty doe eyed brown fawn looking ones. Most are A2A2 bit there are a fair number that are A1A2... Have been known to be a little more high strung and QUICK... fast with a kick that you never see coming... Not common... but their littler size makes them fast with their movements. Most all I have had, have been decent dispositioned...

Lesser known dairy breeds...
Dutch Belted... look like oreo cows, but are smooth haired as opposed to the beef breed of belted galloways... Supposed to make decent amount of milk 4-6 gallons a day.... average in the 3.5-4.5 % butterfat...I have only had experience with 1, good dispositioned...average sized 9-1100 lbs.

Kerry cattle, Irish breed, more dual purpose, supposed to be suited to "rougher conditions".... do not produce alot of milk...higher strung dispositions... one of the rare breed status....

Dexter... another more dual purpose breed, smaller, less milk due to size... supposed to be a good "homestead type " cow. Most I have seen are not impressive... but I have no hands on experience with them.

A few other "commercial" dairy breeds... Sweedish and Norwegian Reds... more meaty than american dairy types... used in more grazing dairy's ... butter fat in the 4% range ... Some of the farmers I test for have used them in their breeding rotations especially if they are doing more grazing type operations.
Montebeliarde... a red spotted looking type... Very "fleshy" so more a dual purpose type... BUT.... they milk really good and are the type that stay "fat on nothing".... their calves are very fleshy/beefy... I like them alot. One dairy I test had used them several times and they came in the milking parlor, looking like a beef cow with a bigger udder... and they would surprise you right out of your boots with the milk they made. 4% butterfat was his average... They are a little smaller and shorter.... red and white spotted... NICE cattle in my opinion...
Lineback cattle... they are a black and white spotted animal with a whiter "stripe/line" down their back... some are almost black with the white line down the back spine... bigger cattle, more fleshy, milked decent.. 4% fat on the ones on the one dairy...

There are others... a couple of things... All your dairy breeds will usually sell decent as a cull cow... and yes, you have got to be practical about when they are no longer a contributing animal on the farm.... Jerseys will fare a little worse for cull cow/salvage price... Understand that cull cattle are sold on what they will yield on the kill floor... 1000-1300 lb cattle in good decent flesh will bring the most... Jerseys will always bring a little less, although they dress out well percentage wise. But they are smaller and so yield less overall.
Small cattle like Dexters will just get "killed" on the price as a cull animal... the plants that kill cull cows do not want to deal with these small and mini sized animals... they take up space and time that will yield alot less. The best thing to do with cull animals that are of the small sizes... is to have killed and made into hamburger and cuts that you will use at home.
I say this because at the cost of an animal today... you cannot afford to get back next to nothing for it when it's productive life as a milker is over.. You have to be practical... even when they are a "pet"... We all have buried a couple that are pets.... BUT.... burying them does not help them to provide some capital for the next replacement....

 

[SageHill]

That's a lot of great info! A lot to learn. I like the breed descriptions. We don't drink enough milk to consider getting a cow. That and the need to milk them - I don't think I'd be up to the task day in day out every day.
So -- we buy the Kerry Gold Irish butter -- do you think that comes from the Kerry?? LOL I had no idea that was a breed. I was just thinking it was a brand name or place.

 

[farmerjan]

Next topic... Beef cattle...
Dairy animals can be bred to provide a calf for beef... Jersey steers make excellent beef in the freezer... I have eaten jersey beef for 30+ years... a jersey bull calf used to be worth next to nothing... lately even they are worth a small fortune...
Many breed a jersey, or any other dairy animal, to a beef bull to get a 1/2 beef calf for eating... Excellent beef... No one breed is better than another in the grand scheme of things. A straight dairy calf will make good eating... might not get the amount of meat on the bones... but most steers will flesh out well.
If you are going to buy a calf, or more practical a feeder steer... got for a 5-700 lb animal... Depends on how much grass you have, how long you want to feed it... quality of the grass/pasture... beef animals will gain better and finish better. Figure you are going to want to feed it for around 18-26 months to finish out...
Different breeds/different sizes and ages. I like to finish out a jersey steer at about 25-28 months..

Word of advice... ANY animal over 30 months, you CAN NOT get back any cuts of meat that have bones from the backbone.... has to do with the BSE rules.... so no T-bones, no backbones (make very good bbq like ribs) no "tail" bones for things like soup... Only applies to animals over 30 months.... FEDERAL law... hence I like to kill at 26-28 months... to get all the bones etc that I can get back...

There are 9 hundred and 99 ways to raise an animal for beef... If you are starting out, My advice is to get a 700 lb yearling... feed out for 8 months... get it butchered... You are Less likely to have sickness problems... they are likely to be fully weaned so not going to go looking for "momma"... will be well established on eating grass/hay/grain.... Also... GET 2... they like company... and sell the 2nd one at auction at 1000 lbs or so... or get some friends to buy in and get meat also... What you can sell them for will go a long ways to help make your meat cheaper...
Right now a 500 lb steer... good quality... will bring $4.00/lb LIVE WEIGHT... YEAH over 2,000... a 700 lb steer will bring about 2200 $3.00/lb or a little more... and that's 200 lbs less you have to put on him. Different weight classes can be bought at better prices different areas of the country... This advice is for our eastern area... There are other tricks to make your purchase price a little less that I can tell people if they want some help.
If you are a first time cattle person... FIND a mentor /cattle person/neighbor to buy from... do NOT go to the local sale/auction barn and buy something... it can be a train wreck for the novice. You can get a sick animal, and bring home a bunch of diseases... at today's prices, that is a horrible lesson to bury 2,000 worth of animal... It was bad enough when they were only bringing .50/lb.....

Baby calves are a crap shoot for the new person... and should NEVER be bought at auction by an inexperienced beginner... Colostrum is essential and some don't get that before they go to the sale barn... and they are exposed to every disease known to man and babies do not have the immune system to fight off all the possible diseases they can get... Plus you are looking at 2 years of feeding this calf to an acceptable slaughter size... A LOT of feed goes into that baby... and 2-600 lb calf can NOT make it on grass alone. Don't forget... in a natural setting, a beef calf is on momma for 6-10 months.... they aren't getting alot of milk after 4-5 months... but enough to keep their nutritional levels balanced as they learn to eat and utilize grass and hay... That's an average of 4-600 lbs... at the least.
On top of that right now baby calves, that are in the 80-100 lb range... holsteins will bring $700-1000, and the black ones that might be 1/2 angus beef and half holstein are bringing $1000-1500.... totally out of the range for anyone to pay ...... If you have a neighboring dairy that has some smaller ones, and you know they have gotten colostrum feedings for 2-3 days... you are still going to pay $500 and up....but safer than something from the stockyard sale.

I mentioned in the previous post about 1/2 dairy 1/2 beef animals... There are alot of holstein/angus and holstein/hereford crosses... they make good milk cows... not as much as a straight dairy... beefier animal... and if bred beef they will produce a 3/4 beef calf that will make a good beef for the freezer. The biggest "drawback" is they will not keep up their production as long or as much as a straight dairy animal...
Same goes for any dairy/beef cross... there are a fair number of jersey/angus crosses out there. I have had some and they make good homestead milk cows... They will often slow way down after they get bred but that is okay for many people... The biggest drawback on some of them, it the udder support is not as good and they can become "swing bags".... their udders become very pendulous... which leads to possible damaged teats and mastitis problems as they age. Not all, but many do...

 

[farmerjan]

One more quick thing.... Cattle cost alot right now... BUT.... they also cost ALOT in feed and such. Grazing is definitely preferable... but you have to consider the return on the value of the grass.... cost of how much land you have/bought/lease... and there is fencing, water sources... hay costs for a good part of the country for at least 6 months of the year... because grass only grows so much in the hottest summer temps, and doesn't grow in the winter most places... snow/cold rain/sleet etc requires more feed. Hay quality has to be considered... they can't live on crappy hay and you expect them to produce... they need certain protein levels for the rumen to function... most places the hay is not good enough to be the sole source of feed, so grain or a supplement of some sort has to be considered...more $$$$$.
Today, we now figure that if you figure in the cost of the land... whether bought or leased... and all the things charged against the cow... feed, grass value, hay, vaccinations, etc... it costs $850-900 a YEAR to keep a cow here in VA.... NOT counting your time..... farmers work for nothing don'tcha know.....
Here in Va, it takes about 2 acres of GOOD grass to keep a cow during the grazing season... that is rotating it to get the best use.... this year we went into moderate drought status... NO grass growth for the last 2 months... we have nothing to rotate back to, that we moved cows off of, since it never rained enough to get any grass to grow back. Things like that have to be taken into consideration.