Self-Sufficiency in Style
Animal farm
Cattle for meat
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Self-Sufficiency in Style Animal farm Cattle for meat |
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Raising, or perhaps fattening cattle, for meat is a pretty straight
forward process. You take a young animal, feed it appropriately until it reaches the size you want, have it slaughtered and butchered to your taste. This simplistic approach obviously leaves many questions unanswered, but they are merely detail; the basics are that simple and the detail is just that - detail. |
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split into two distinct fields: meat and milk. The meat production system her is suitable for both a smallholder wanting to have both meat and milk production, or meat only. For a novice it is best to start with meat only. Milk producers have to ensure that each cow produces calves. If they don't they won't get any milk. Most of the calves produced are surplus to requirements and and available for sale. Usually, such calves will not make the best beef animals. Their mothers were specially bred to produce the maximum quantities of good milk, rather than to produce good beef calves. Their offspring will put on weight more slowly and, in theory, produce smaller quantities of poorer quality beef. |
This is a milk cow (Jersey) with her crossbred calf. |
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No Horns! |
So, the smallholder will be
able to buy small calves very cheaply at most times of the year from dairy
herds, and it can be very cheap indeed. Perhaps ten pounds depending on the
size and breed. It is worth taking some interest in the breed of both mother and father. The fact that commercial farmers will not want such calves should not worry the smallholder. A small calf, just taken from his or her mother is ideal. A male is probably better, they grow a little faster. Avoid taking a horned variety otherwise, for your safety later, you will have to get an expert to dehorn the calf. Some cattle are naturally hornless; known as polled. The age to take on a new calf can vary widely from a few days to a few weeks. The calf must have had some mother's milk before being taken away, so the minimum is about a week. Five weeks will give you a calf roughly the size of a large dog. The right time for a smallholder to take in a calf is late winter or very early spring. |
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You will need some dry accommodation with good ventilation, plenty of
straw and some commercially produced milk substitute. You now come to the fun part. Your calf has almost certainly never drunk from a bucket. You have to teach it to drink from a bucket. It can be a long, arduous and frustrating job. Your back will ache and your temper fray, but you have to stay with it. Fingers are dipped into the milk and the calf encouraged to suck the milk as if it was from a teat, eventually the fingers tempt him or her to the bucket. Then finally when you have almost given up hope, the calf will suddenly catch on. You will need to feed milk at the intervals and quantities advised by the manufacturers. |
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Gradually, a little hay and commercial
concentrates are introduced, and maybe you will be able gradually to train
the calf to walk on a halter. The local farmers will laugh at the spectacle, but it is useful in the context of a smallholding to have animals tame and easy to handle. Finally, as the weather warms, the calf can be allowed out for an hour or two, gradually increasing. He or she can be brought back to the shed or stable at night. Needless to say make sure there is adequate water and shelter, some hay if needed and a little dry food to keep the animal tame and responsive. Eventually, you can leave them out all night. The paddock must be adequately fenced. Cattle like longer grass than sheep, so they should precede the sheep into any paddock. |
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After a long and hopefully happy summer and autumn, the weather
deteriorates and it is time for the calf to go for slaughter. Ignore any advice from commercial farmers about when to slaughter. They need bigger beasts and will over-winter. You don't need the work or the meat. You will not be producing beef, but the finer "rose" veal. The butcher will make it up into joints, steaks and mince according to your requirements. Your freezer will be full with more than enough meat for a family of four for the year ahead.. What does it taste like? Nothing like commercially produced white veal, that is for sure. It tastes like unusually tender beef. If you are troubled by the idea of getting too attached to the animal to have it killed, read Your Own Meat. It may help. |
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A word of warning! This is not an instruction manual on how to raise and look after cattle. Cattle are too attractive an animal to be mistreated. You do need to make sure that you really are conscientious and dedicated to their welfare, you also need to adhere strictly to the many government regulations in respect of health, recording movements and identity. Make sure that you have all the necessary books, an experienced cattle farmer to look the animal over and, when necessary, veterinary advice. |
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You can now move on to an overview of the whole idea of
Minimal
Production - a system of raising animals for food suited to
the self-sufficient, or to these specific articles: |
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...beefing things up - as we did at Hangman's Cottage, just to the south of Misery Corner. January, 2006 |
