Jersey steers

[earl3447]

The price of bulls at the sale barn is so low one of our Amish neighbors gave us 3 Jersey bulls. My DH made some nice pens in the barn and our empty barn has life once again. Our son and his family are moving in soon and the children will have chores. Chickens are coming in May. Spring will be busy this year we are remodeling the pole shed into living quarters.

Any ideas on inexpensive feed for the steers? And any neat ideas on our remodeling project?

[Anon001]

So...which did you get? *Steers or bulls? *You first say bulls and then steers. *If they are bulls, by all means cut them.... The Jersey cow is just about the most gentle cow of all the breeds...However, a Jersey bull is just the opposite. *He is the meanest bull of all the breeds..... * So if they are bulls and you don't need them for breeding, cut them now. *

Also keep in mind that cattle should not be put in sheds most of the year unless they are being shown and then only just prior to the showing while clipping and cleaning... *Otherwise, you do them more harm than good. As soon as you know they are healthy and gaining and the weather is above 10 or 15 they can go out and remain outside. *They are good hardy sturdy animals unless he gave you weak animals that are orphaned or sick. *As far as feeds... a lot of that has to do with your purpose in mind for these three.

If you are going to feed them out for the freezer, then you can get a decent beef mix that is intended for calves. *The most inexpensive is usually one that your local coop will blend for you and let you pick it up in bulk in the back of the pickup.... It costs more to have it bagged. *If they are young as you say, then I would go with a 14 to 16 *percent protein feed.... if they are very young. *As they begin to grow, at about 300 pounds or so, you may want to add a little rumensin in the feed which helps them start to ruminate and you will get better feed conversion and shorten the length of time it takes to reach butcher weight thus reducing our overall feed costs. *If you use a feed with either bovatec or rumensin, make certain that other animals dont' get into it....especially sheep as it will kill them.... but not goats.... *If you dont' want rumensin, then after the calves get to anwhere from 400 to 500 pounds cut back to a 12% protein feed. But above all.... keep FREE CHOICE mineral supplement out for them at all times AND a salt block. This will help in overall health and will help with feed conversion. Stay away from a Mineral Salt block. They are usually from $1.00 to $2.00 more PER block and it is just a gimmick to make an extra buck.... A Mineral Salt block does not have ANY of the major minerals that cattle need. It only contains TRACE mineral and usually the entire block is 4% or less of TRACE mineral.... the other 96% is still salt. If you have fly and tick trouble some summer, switch to a sulfur salt block as it will help. But, don't put the salt or the mineral in the feed ration....it must be fed free choice. If you still decide to not use mineral, you should at least keep the salt block out in front of them at all times.

That is enough to get you going.... I managed a coop for awhile and worked closely with feeds. *Talk to the feed mill manager or the animal nutritionist at the coop about rations... If you want to keep it inexpensive and organic, let them know. *But, it will cost a bit to feed them out to butcher weight if that is your intention.

Like I said at the start.... it's difficult to say what to feed without knowing your intentions for the animals.

PaulNKS
PaulNKS

[earl3447]

The farmer banded them so I guess they are half way between I would say more steer than bull. I hope the end up in my freezer in about 18 months.
We raised one alone about 2 years ago it was a steer and still very mean. got loose one day and took a pear tree down with his head. One mourning he was fine that afternoon he was dead 2 weeks from going to the butcher. I hope we have better luck this time.

[Anon001]

If they are banded, they are steers...lol *I would go to the coop to get the feed... It will be better quality feed than you will find in the large "chain" corporate farm stores.... *Start with a calf starter if they are under 300 pounds.... *if the bagged starters are too expensive, have them make it for you and pick it up in bulk.... store it in barrels which you can buy for less than $10 each in many places. *If you can't do that, latch onto an old worn out chest freezer. *They make good feed bins.... but it will be cheaper by bulk and you will save a lot of money over 18 months with three steers. *

Also, cattle are usually very hardy animals... if you had a steer die on you when he was that big, there had to be a problem...either a health problem or something else... *Usually a cow, steer, bull, etc that is already that big won't just up and die without there being other signs or red flags....

I have been around cattle all my life... One thing I learned is that on farms and some homesteads there's a lot of junk.... (here too! LOL).... cattle will eat metal... it will kill them if not caught... A sure sign is if the brisket starts to swell up ..... if that happens you get a special type magnet and give them to keep from losing them. *ALso, if you have any old batteries lying around that they can get to... it will kill them.... But otherwise, you should have seen other health problems in advance. *If he was never vaccinated, he could have had red nose or black leg or a couple other problems...... In most areas of the country, you should vaccinate for about three basic potential problems.... that is not the same as feeding antibiotics or hormones... vaccinations are killed and/or live virus that is given to form the anitbodies.... killed or live depends in some cases on the type of vaccine.

Like I said, if a steer his size dies there is most likely something wrong.... and if you don't know what caused it, it could happen again... *Just ask and don't be afraid to ask neighbors and certainly don't be afraid to call a vet and ask for recommendations. *

If I can help in anyway, let me know....either here or pm me or email me.

PaulNKS

P.S. Did you save his hide and tan it? LOL I do....