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Post by copperhead on Nov 8, 2012 22:49:35 GMT -5
I just took a steer to the processors, Monday. He weighed 728 lbs, stood 45 inches at the hip and had a hanging weight of 417 lbs !! I think thats a very good percentage. He was pastured, with no supplement through the summer, about 4 weeks before slaughter I started feeding him about 6 cups of shredded beets, soaked in water, and 3 lbs of calf creep, twice a day. Plus, he had access to a 28% protien lick. He had a nice layer of fat over his back and ribs and seemed to be doing well even with the grass being short the last few months.
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Post by laughingllama75 on Nov 9, 2012 5:59:42 GMT -5
looks just like my guy thats going next week! 2 weeks ago, he taped @ 710. Dash is only 42" tall. I will throw a tape on him today, for the fun of it. Hay, grain diet
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Post by bluegranitefarm on Nov 9, 2012 8:44:56 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing. It's nice to see this kind of info so I can have an idea of what we might be lucky enough to end up with one day just out of curiosity, how old are each of your steers? They both look great! Oh and do you use a standard beef breed tape? I was trying to tape one of my cows with a dairy tape which had three breeds including Jersey on it and I didn't have much confidence on the accuracy.
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Post by bluegranitefarm on Nov 9, 2012 8:48:28 GMT -5
Oops, just realized this was two pictures of one steer. Working on a tablet sometimes makes it confusing!
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Post by laughingllama75 on Nov 9, 2012 8:51:15 GMT -5
I use the beef tape. my guy is 20 months
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Post by copperhead on Nov 9, 2012 18:56:50 GMT -5
My steer was about 27 or 28 monthsz old, can't remember for sure. thats about the age I usually sent them to freezer camp. I just used a tape to get his hip height, while he was in the trailer, so I could be off a little. The butcher caught his weight when he came off the trailer. this is the first time I've used the beet shredds so I'm real curious how the meat is, I'm not getting any of it but I'm going to ask my customers what they think. I hope it's a good review, cuz the beet shredds are a cheap carb for cattle, and they like them.
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Post by laughingllama75 on Nov 9, 2012 21:26:32 GMT -5
Do you soak the beet pulp? and did you integrate the pulp slowly or all at once (like did it bother the rumen)?
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Post by Olga on Nov 9, 2012 23:53:56 GMT -5
I'm a strong believer in beet pulp. It was packing quick pounds on my geriatric cow Sioux during winter. Now I'm using it for my milk cow and all I can say is "Beet pulp, where have you been all my life?!" I soak beet pulp and it swells up triple the volume, then mix in grain. The mix looks like a lot of feed and takes a long time to eat - which lets me milk without a hurry. I have fed it dry before, at about half a large coffee can per animal, and it never gave them any trouble.
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dexterlady
member
Wife, mother of two daughters and five grand children
Posts: 647
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Post by dexterlady on Nov 10, 2012 0:23:22 GMT -5
Olga, how did you get your cows started on beet pulp?.....And why do you buy it?...Is it expensive? I have heard of it before but never could find it...I had been trying to find something to fatten our cows....Maybe I will try this formula.....Thanks..... Donna
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Post by laughingllama75 on Nov 10, 2012 5:52:23 GMT -5
I feed it to my geriatric mini horse, so having it/finding it no prob.. I was not sure about the soaking. I will have to try it, I bet they will like it. Not that anyone seems to need more feed. LOL Oh, dexterlady, at your feedstore and I think I pay $14 for a 50# bag. I use a 2 quart scoop and it will literally swell up 3 times that size. good luck!
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Post by dexterfarm on Nov 10, 2012 7:43:00 GMT -5
Many feed beet pulp because they want an alternative to corn. What they dont know is that it is to a gmo and heavily sprayed. I will not feed it to mine.
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Post by kansasdexters on Nov 10, 2012 8:09:15 GMT -5
Beet pulp is not heavily contaminated with pesticide or herbicide. It is a supplementary food that is often given to older horses to help them maintain weight. It is also safe for cattle and other livestock. Please read the following article, published in October 2012: www.horse-journal.com/magazine-article/beet-pulps-bum-rap/One of things that many people don't seem to realize is that as our technology has improved and advanced, our ability as analysts to detect extremely low levels of "contaminants" has become routine. What used to be an "Undetectable Level" is now detectable and reportable. If you read "The Secret Life of Dust" by Hannah Holmes, you will see that just about everything and everywhere on Earth is "contaminated" to some degree with stuff that got there from somewhere else, whether intentionally or not. Patti
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Post by dexterfarm on Nov 10, 2012 8:31:47 GMT -5
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Post by marion on Nov 10, 2012 8:33:24 GMT -5
But very likely they are GMO now. It is getting harder and harder to feed ourselves or our stock because of the GMO's in the food supply, which are now being shown to have frightening consequences..
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Post by kansasdexters on Nov 10, 2012 8:49:56 GMT -5
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