All the details you need on buying a beef steer and raising it! This post covers things like age at purchase, castration and dehorning, and processing.
You’re ready to get serious about buying a beef steer. You’ve read my post on some things to consider and you’re ready to actually DO IT. Hooray! It’s so much fun and hands-on is always the best way to learn. In this post, I’ll cover a few of the more in depth details you’ll need to ask about when you make the purchase and bring that little dude home!
Buying a Beef Steer: Age
How old you purchase the steer will determine how long you need to keep it and what kind of care it will need from you. If you get a “bottle calf” this means it isn’t yet weaned and you’ll need to feed it milk-replacer {purchase from the feed store} from a bottle until it’s old enough to be weaned {about 4 months, but this depends mainly on where you get it from and on the condition of the calf}. When you’re purchasing, just be sure to check if it’s weaned or not. Most ads will specify something like “weaned” or “eating all hay” if it doesn’t, just ask!
Buying a Beef Steer: Health Care
You will need to get your steer some vaccinations annually. Most of the time, if you’re purchasing from a reputable source, the calf will have received it’s first set of vaccinations. If you purchase it old enough, you may not even be keeping it for a year and won’t have to worry about doing any vaccinations. If not, you’ll want to schedule this with a vet or do it yourself {ONLY do it yourself if you know what you’re doing or have help that does!} very soon after bringing it home if it hasn’t been done, or once a year if you’re keeping it for that long. Vaccinations keep your steer healthy and help it gain weight and condition. Most calf vaccinations are pretty standard {BRSV, BVD, IBR, Lepto 5, Pi3} but double check with your veterinarian on what vaccinations they recommend for your area and how often. Sometimes an ad will say something like “been given 8-way” or “received 5-way vax.” Those are just different combo vaccines, I always check where they got it and what exactly was in it.
You’ll also need to deworm your steer. Typically this is done in the Spring after everything has thawed out and in the Fall after everything has froze. You can get dewormers that are a pour-on liquid, a feed, or an injection. Feeds are easiest if you have a way to make sure the steer eats what you put out for it. There will be various dewormers that target various parasites, I usually like to go with the most comprehensive or common one first, and then rotate from there. However, contact your veterinarian for recommendations on deworming schedule and method of delivery.
You probably won’t be keeping your steer long enough to worry about hoof trims. I do recommend checking hooves and legs on a regular basis and making sure your steer is walking well {no limping or lameness} and that the hooves look healthy {no cracks, oozing wounds, etc}. If you do see a problem, the course of action can vary. Generally if any of my animals appear lame, I like to identify the leg and do a thorough palpation and visual exam myself.
Please note, I am very familiar with working with livestock and know my way around the backside of a steer. I also work with my steers a lot so they are used to me being around and picking up their feet – this does get harder as they get older but since I don’t own a chute, it’s super important that they can tolerate me while I health check them. Please do not attempt to do this with your own steer unless you know what you are doing or have someone helping you that does!
If there is an obvious problem I can’t fix, I call the vet. If there isn’t an obvious problem, I keep a close eye on them for about 3 days and watch for improvement or worsening conditions. Because we usually get playful dairy breed steers and have a rocky pasture, it’s not uncommon for them to be playing around and get a hoof bruise or two. These heal up fine by themselves, with rest. If you have concerns, NEVER hesitate to call the vet! Often they are very familiar with livestock ailments and can give you advice right over the phone.
Buying a Beef Steer: Balls and Horns
When buying a beef steer, it may or may not be castrated when you get it. You need to know if your steer has been castrated when you get it – you DO NOT want to accidentally be raising a bull. Oh my disaster. Just as ads will generally specify if the steer is weaned, they will also specify if it has been castrated or say something like, “will band by request” {Banding is just a form of castration} or “castration for additional cost.” There are a couple different methods for castration and pros and cons to both. If you are going to take this on, banding will be easiest and I recommend contacting a vet if you don’t want to band. I generally just like to purchase my steers already done and healed up – less chance for me to have to deal with potential problems.
Your steer may also have horns. Some breeds are polled, or naturally hornless, but some will need to be manually de-horned or dis-budded. We did not de-horn our first steer and I regretted it every time he would head-butt me. And they will, I promise. And it will hurt, I promise. And it will become increasingly dangerous for you and any other animals you keep with them, I promise. So these days I recommend getting a calf that is de-horned or a polled breed. Generally the younger the calf, the easier it is on them so take this into consideration when purchasing. This is something you can do yourself, but you do need some equipment so finding a friend to show you how it’s done or asking the vet about it may be a good option the first time around.
Buying a Beef Steer: Growing and Finishing
There are two stages to raising a steer for meat: growing and finishing. Growing means that the steer is, well, just growing. They won’t bulk up at all during this time because their bodies are still growing and developing. The amount of time this takes will always depend on the breed. Beef breeds are generally smaller so that the growing stage is shorter. Beef breeds are also bred to grow really well and finish quickly. Dairy breeds can vary. I stay away from Holsteins just because they are always big and have big bones. More weight from size and bones means less weight from meat. However, there isn’t a right or a wrong. This all depends on your preference and how long you want to keep your steer around. The larger you let it get, the more meat you will have. We kept our steer until he was about a year old. We definitely will keep the next one longer, probably until he is between 18 months and 2 years. Ours was tasty, but everything was really small.
Finishing is the stage after they are done growing. In this stage, they start to pack on weight and fat which will increase the flavor. Remember this post on body condition scoring? You’ll want your finished steer to be between a 7 and 8. If they are super fat {9}, you will just end up with a lot of fat around the outside of your cuts of meat and that is yucky. Usually you finish a steer with a higher fat feed, I like to supplement hay or pasture with a finishing grain mix I buy at Cal-Ranch. It will have a recommended feed amount, but I don’t usually feed quite as much. The more grain you feed, the more marbling {flecks of fat within the cut of meat} and flavor the steer will have. If you finish only on hay and pasture, you may not like the flavor if you are used to meat from the store. I personally don’t appreciate a particularly “grassy” flavor, which is why I do a mix of both. I’ll eat a salad if I want to taste a plant…Also keep in mind that if you finish on grass and pasture it will take longer. And if your pasture is weeds and you finish your steer on those, it will also have an off flavor. Not to mention it probably won’t finish well.
Buying a Beef Steer: Slaughter and Processing
Your steer is finished, and you’re ready to stock your freezer. Now what? There are a few different options for slaughter and processing. {Processing is the actual dividing the carcass into cuts of meat and packaging them.} If you take your steer to a processing facility, they will do everything for you. {I recommend this if you are going to sell any of your meat, it will need to be USDA inspected and if it is a reputable facility, no matter how small, they will have inspectors there.} Essentially you drop the steer off live, outline the cuts of meat you want and then pick up the packages. This is my preferred method. We do get our steers with the intent of raising them for meat, but we also love and appreciate them and I’m not sure I could watch the process. I have zero interest in doing it myself.
With that being said, I have been taken through a large, USDA inspected processing facility and watched everything from start to finish. I know what is happening and how it will work. I appreciate the time, effort and money the US beef industry has put into making it as humane as possible. The cattle were not scared. The yards filled with waiting cattle were clean, peaceful and quiet. The workers were respectful, careful and thorough. My hat goes off to those who work there and the service they provide to our country.
You can also hire a company or individual to come slaughter and process at your place. This would be convenient if you didn’t have a facility nearby where you live but keep in mind you will need a way to deal with everything that comes with slaughtering an animal {blood, unused parts, etc}. This can be an inspected process, but you’d need to make sure if you were selling the meat.
Or you could do it yourself. There are many individuals who prefer this because they feel like it’s their duty after raising the steer. If this is something you are interested in, I recommend hiring someone to come out to your place and do it so they can teach you and then having them there when you do it for the first time. It is essential you do it correctly to avoid any unnecessary pain and suffering. And also, it’s harder than you think to get all the cuts of meat right! I’ve divided up a half carcass with a butcher and it was really fun! But it’s definitely an art form and something that takes lots of practice.
There you have it, the finer details of buying a beef steer and raising it for meat. The best way to learn is to just dive in – tell me in the comments below if you are getting a steer for the first time! If you’ve done it before, tell me your favorite breed to raise. I love to mix it up and experiment!
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Marla A Green says
We have 2 bottle baby steers. Partially eating hay. Just got them yesterday. Still learning. Giving them alfapha and grain and alittle milk. They are 200lbs per the guy who sold them to us and 8 weeks old. They seem to be doing OK. One is alittle smaller than the other. The bigger one I’d a go getter with the bottle but them seem pretty happy so far. Hubby built them a learn to yesterday.
Alli says
These posts might be helpful: Bottle feeding calves, bucket training calves, treating sick calves.
Heather says
Hi! Great info. Newbie here. My neighbor has three calves he’d like to get rid of. He knows nothing about them because they were given to him for use of his big property. Since we’ve been talking about trying cattle raising, we thought we would take a calf or two from him. He has no idea what breed or anything. Should we go for it? What do you recommend? Should we take a bull and heifer? We’re not sure what to do? They all look healthy. Thank you!
Heather
Alli says
Hi Heather! Great questions. I’d get two – they do better with a companion and actually competitively eat so they gain a little better. Steers are best for meat. Here are some questions to consider: are they on solid food or bottle-fed milk? Do you have fencing and feed/water areas set up? Are they adequate for winter? Do you have shelter for them? Feed? Are the bull calves young enough to be castrated? You don’t want a bull running around! I say go for it!! It sounds like a great opportunity to get your feet wet.
Karen says
Alli- your head butting comments made me laugh! Been there done that… I want to let you in on a little secret I learned from Temple Grandin though (love her!)… Although it is tempting, she said to NEVER ever touch a cow on the forehead. Ears, great. Cheeks, great. Nose, great. But the forehead is a big no, no. I’m sure you can guess why that is– that’s what cows use to push others around with. So, I’ve tried this ever since then and ya know what?!? It works!! I haven’t been head butted in years by bottle calves or my milk cow or any other docile cattle. It’s great! You should try it out and let me know if it works for you, too!! 🙂
Alli says
Great tip!! I love Temple Grandin. I can definitely see how that would encourage head butting. Although depending on when we get our steers…it might be too late just since someone else has usually raised them for a little bit. I’ll be sure to try it out!