| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Hannah |
A beginner's guide to cattle .....Hi there! I wonder if anyone can help me. We are just starting to think about possibly getting two cows and I wonder if you could answer some questions please:1. How much land should you have for the cows (assuming you have to rotate)? 2. Which breed is good for a beginner? We are looking for meat breeds, definitely NO milking. We were thinking of either a Dexter or Highland. 3. Am I right in thinking that both these breeds dont' need extra food, just the grass, all through the year (I am sure I read this for Highland, but not sure about Dexter)? And if we do it this way we don't take them for slaughter until 30 months (but BEFORE 30 months)? 4. Is there a problem taking Highlands to slaughter i.e. do some abbatoirs not take them because of their horns? 5. TB testing - how often is this done and at whose expense? 6. Are there any other regular vaccinations/injections that need doing? 7. Am I right in thinking I can only buy from within 50km of me (and take to slaugher within 50km of me) before needing a person with a certificate to deliver the cows? 8. At what age should we buy them, what sex (assuming they are for meat - boys?) and what kind of price should we be paying for them? Any other information would be great! We are only at the "thinking about it" stage so please don't be alarmed if my questions are a bit odd! 
Thanks! |
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| Rob R |
Re: A beginner's guide to cattle .....1. It depends 1 acre/cow is the usual general guide, but Dexters count as half a cow. If the land is good it will support more, if it is not it won't- best to start low & build up to what it can take. Different management systems, including planting, affects how productive the land may be.
2. Dexters can produce the very best beef in the world and can be good to handle, but they do have the will & power (well they have a lower centre of gravity which counters their smaller size) of a larger animal. 3. Having kept the two side by side I would say the Dexter finishes better from grass alone, although the Highlands are relatively new & this could have more to do with the particular genetics of our group of Highlands. 4. There might be, first job when considering Highlands is to ring the abattoir & check. You can of course dehorn them. 5. Every 12, 24, 36 or 48 months depending on the level of TB incidence in your area, click here to find out which you are in/will be in after 18th August. Routine tests are at DEFRA's expense, although if you are in a 12 or 24 month area you will have to carry out pre-movement testing at your own expense. 6. Not really, although there are plenty of options such as bluetongue & other vaccines. There is also worming, the need/frequency for which also depends on your management system. There may also be local mineral deficiencies that need catering for with boluses and/or licks. 7. Identification & movement info is all here: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/id-move/cattle/index.htm The zone is 65km but all the info is here 8. Price depends what you get, heifers or steers (castrates) will be best at about weaning age (6-8 months). About £1/kg liveweight is a fair guide price. |
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| Hannah |
Ah brilliant thanks ever so much (I was hoping you might turn up  )!!
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| Rob R |
I tried to keep it brief (with lots of links) but I've only had 20 years experience so I still don't know that much people who know more will be along later.
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| Hannah |
Do you happen to know what kind of weight they are likely to get to at 30 months (assume a Dexter) and how much meat in kg you are likely to get from that? (Hmm that sounds like a "how long is a piece of string" question ....)!! | ||
| Rob R |
Well, with a Dexter you have two different types- long & short legged and longs grow bigger (hence the wide variation in the info below).
Cattle 'kill out' at about 50-55% ish, so the carcass will be just over half the liveweight, and the meat (depending on how you have it butchered) will be about two thirds of carcass weight equivalent to ~36% of liveweight is meat.
www.dextercattle.co.uk |
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| Pel |
You should get welsh black cattle, being in pembrokeshire.
They are very gentle, finish out great, and can live off grass only, and you live in the best cattle area of wales (for grass), you should be surronded by dairy herds. Most of our beef steers and heifers (rather than the cows and calfs) live on SSSI land, which is boggy and full of rushes, gorse, trees and not much grass, and apart from a half a bale once a week between 10 (just to keep bonding between cattle and owner) they finish off before 30months. well for cow and calf its 2.5 acres recommended amount, so going with Rob 1 acre should be fine. 2. I would never say a dexter is good for a beginner, i hear more bad stories than good about them, and you have to pay the same price as if you slaughtered a welsh or highland, and you only get half the meat back in comparison (I'm not saying anything about dexter meat though as i hear wonderful things... when their dead) 3. Most british beef breeds can survive on grass and silage in winter, for you depending on how much land/stocking rates you have you should be fine for grass in winter. 4. Is there a problem taking Highlands to slaughter i.e. do some abbatoirs not take them because of their horns? Can't say for highlands, but we take our welsh black cattle down to haverfordwest to the welsh hook slaughter house (its the nearest organic slaughter house to us) every cattle we take down there has horns on, in age they are normally around 24months old, so the horns have had time to grow a bit. They don't seem to complain. To get your animal slaughtered there its £205 irrspective of cattle size. (includes butchering) 5. TB testing - how often is this done and at whose expense? We have had TB testing once a year for the past 5 years, and now have been classified as a TB free herd. ( 6. Are there any other regular vaccinations/injections that need doing? Drenching for blackleg is done at work, and a wormer is sometimes given. (can't think of any others, but the cattle are organic, so it will be different for anyone who isnt) We also get tested for Johne's diesease at the same time as TB testing. 7. Am I right in thinking I can only buy from within 50km of me (and take to slaugher within 50km of me) before needing a person with a certificate to deliver the cows? You can ask someone with a certificate to join you on the road, but you could drive. I think its 40miles for the whole trip. Also once you start going to the slaughter house there tends to be no return, so in theory you slaughter house can be upto 40miles away before you need to get the cert. 8. At what age should we buy them, what sex (assuming they are for meat - boys?) and what kind of price should we be paying for them? Like Rob said around weaning is probably best, and defintely get steers, not bulls. You can get heifers too, ours don't take that much longer than our steers. Can't answer price. |
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| Rob R |
Don't go on bad things you hear about breeds, I could convey bad stories about Highlands & much worse for the wild Welsh but they would be examples of unhandled herds. Many times Dexters are bought on the impression that they will be easier to handle because of their size & they are definitely not, but equally they aren't worse, however some of the owners are. Far better to visit the herd & check the temperament of the stock, whatever the breed than listen to stories (eh, dpack ).
Good point though if you are considering Dexters- check with them to check that they're not the rip off merchants that charge the same for everything bovine. Before we used him for the first time we heard stories from other people about our butcher being expensive but he turned out to be very reasonable. |
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| wellington womble |
I have no idea if it's useful information for you or not, but I bought a whole dexter (butchered) and it filled a half sized chest freezer, and an underwork top freezer. 18 months ago, and we're still eating some of it. Was great meat! | ||
| bayandgrey |
hiya hannah,
i would agree with everything already said, but the absolute best advice i could add is that you find and befriend a local cattle "guru". our two nearest neighbours are both cattle farmers and have been invaluable with the advice and help they have given.if you have 2 cattle you are going to end up with an awful lot of meat so it might be worth seeing if anyone you know would be interested in buying some of it or alternatively buying a breed that you will be able to sell easily as a finished animal ( selling one this way could pay for both of your cattle so you might end up with yours virtually for free ). aberdeen angus might be worth thinking about as they are usually quite docile and will sell well. cattle prices round here ( aberdeenshire ) are about £1.40 - £1.80 a kilo for weaned animal at market. andyp |