How to Buy a Beef Calf

Raising beef cattle for profit can be a satisfying enterprise. However, there are a number of direction skills that each beef producer should take to be successful. Each livestock enterprise has different resources: state, labor, capital, feed, and management. To raise beefiness cattle sustainably, you must manage these resource.

In addition to managing resources, new producers must ask themselves, What practice I need to go started? This question involves considerations for the blazon of animals a producer wishes to raise as well as where to find these animals, how to select them, and what equipment will be needed for the operation. Producers likewise need to consider how they will feed their animals and what health care practices they volition use to go on the animals healthy. Savvy producers volition let markets place the type of animals they should raise in order to generate a turn a profit. This fact sheet may be used as a guide for beef cattle producers just getting started in the industry to learn:

How to decide what blazon of animal you should raise
Nigh the different breeds and how to select the correct one for you
Where to purchase your animals
What to look for as the platonic characteristics
What equipment y'all'll need to raise your animals
How to breed and heighten your beefiness cattle
What to feed and how to care for your animals' health
What information technology takes to market your animals

What Type of Animals Should I Heighten?

The first thing to decide when starting a new beef cattle enterprise is what type of animals to enhance. This decision should directly reflect the markets a producer has available to sell beefiness cattle and consider the resources available on the farm and the producer's individual goals.

Beef cattle may be used to produce meat or generate seedstock (breeding animals). The intended markets may dictate what breed or breeds are best suited for the functioning. Some producers cull to breed females to produce calves to sell for convenance stock or market animals. Other producers may prefer to purchase weaned animals, besides known as feeders, to raise to marketplace weight.

Producers should start by determining if they wish to raise purebred or commercial stock. A purebred performance typically raises animals of one brood. Often a purebred operation will accept all registered animals that can also be sold through purebred sales. A commercial functioning may have unregistered purebred animals, or they may take crossbred animals. Crossbred animals take the benefit of hybrid vigor, which is but the ability of crossbred offspring to increment in productivity over the average of the breeds that were part of the cross. This means that a crossbred calf could abound faster, or a crossbred female person could produce more than milk for its offspring.

Selecting a Breed

Each livestock brood has different traits for which they are recognized. Brood associations can provide information on those traits and help you narrow your conclusion regarding what breed or breeds fit best with your operation. Beef cattle breeds are ofttimes divided into maternal (cow) and concluding (sire) breeds. Maternal breeds are typically moderately sized and recognized for their power to enhance salubrious calves. Last breeds are more often than not a bit larger in their size and commonly used for meat product. In addition to these two classifications, composite breeds of cattle besides exist.

Composite breeds are cattle breeds that are generally made upwardly of maternal and terminal breeds and oft combine genetics for specific environments or markets. While many producers use both maternal and concluding breeds in their systems, composite breeds have been established and are recognized by their pedigree. Many breeds be in the Usa. The more common breeds are listed in the table below.

Maternal

Angus
Hereford
Shorthorn
Red Angus

Terminal

Charolais
Gelbvieh
Limousin
Simmental
Maine Anjou

Composite

SimAngus
Maintainer
Braford
Beefmaster
Limflex

Angus Photograph credit: Michelle Kunjappu, PA Beef Producers Working Group

Hereford Photograph credit: Michelle Kunjappu, PA Beef Producers Working Group

Photo credit: Michelle Kunjappu, PA Beef Producers Working Group

Photograph credit: Dave Hartman, Penn Country Extension

Where Can I Purchase Animals?

Animals tin be purchased through several different means. Many sales are held beyond the state throughout the year and may offer simply i breed, a diversity of breeds, or even crossbreds for sale. Another option would be to locate reputable breeders and purchase directly from their subcontract. A broad variety of animals may exist available at a local auction befouled; withal, let the heir-apparent beware. Animals sold through this venue are more probable to accept health problems.

Cull breeding males that will complement the outstanding traits in your females and better their weaknesses. Always use the best bull yous can afford to improve the genetics in your herd. The male person has a neat influence on your herd considering his offspring could remain in the herd for a number of years.

Be witting of selecting and keeping practiced productive females that will produce and wean one calf per twelvemonth without assistance and maintain their body condition without condign overly thin or fat.

Selection Principles

There are two methods to select livestock: animate being operation and visual appraisement. Animals should start be selected on performance (e.k., how well calves grow or how much calves weigh at weaning), and then the higher-performing animals should be evaluated visually.

Functioning selection principles evaluate measurable traits such equally nascence weight, weaning weight, yearling weight, or meat yield and quality.

Producers who evaluate growth traits should arrange weaning weights to account for the sex of the calf, historic period of the dam, birth weight, and weaning weight. Weaning weights are typically adjusted to 205 days of age.

Progressive cattle producers with registered animals can enroll their herd in breeding association databases to obtain expected progeny differences (EPDs). These EPDs use genetic linkages to assess genetic merit for growth, carcass, and maternal traits. EPDs let producers to evaluate fauna genetics without environmental influences.

Commercial producers can apply operation information when selecting a new bull. More information on expected progeny differences can be found by contacting breed associations.

Visual animal appraisal evaluates aspects such as structural definiteness, muscling, body capacity, and breed character. Evaluating structural correctness allows producers to place animals with defects that are not apparent through operation evaluation.

Purebred producers who enhance registered stock should get familiar with breed characteristics associated with the breed they raise, such equally:

ear length and shape
color and distribution of color
polled status
defects that disqualify animals from registration

These depicted bulls exhibit the ideal characteristics of breeding males .

Angus bull. Photo credit: Michelle Kunjappu, PA Beef Producers Working Group

Hereford bull. Photo credit: Michelle Kunjappu, PA Beef Producers Working Group

Equipment Needs

After the appropriate animals are called for the performance, the equipment necessary to maintain those animals must be gathered. Beef cattle operations can be low input only even so demand a variety of equipment. Basic equipment includes feeders, water tubs or watering systems, and wellness intendance equipment. Considering safety is a concern when managing these large animals, beef cattle operations should besides have equipment for handling cattle.

Feeders

Feeders should be used to foreclose animals from eating off the ground. Well-designed feeders volition also forestall animals from wasting feed by spilling it onto the ground. There are potential health concerns when cattle swallow off the ground, including parasite infections; even so, feed costs represent the principal input cost on whatsoever beef cattle operation and equally such, feed waste is a driving factor for feeders.

Feeders can be simple like racks to hold round bales. Photograph credit: Bigstock.com

Many unlike sizes and styles of feeders are available for beef cattle. Some feeders can suit feeding both hay and grain, while others may be designed to feed only hay or just grain. Producers should be sure that all animals have access to the feeder if feeding at specified time frames. If animals have free-pick admission to the feeders throughout the day, smaller feeders can be used.

Feeders may also include simple troughs to hold supplemental protein, free energy, or minerals for grazing cattle. Photo credit: Michelle Kunjappu, PA Beef Producers Working Group

In confinement finishing systems, beef cattle may be fed a more complete mixed ration in a bunk. Photo credit: Michelle Kunjappu, PA Beefiness Producers Working Grouping

Beef cattle of all classes should always accept access to a good-quality mineral mix formulated for their product needs. Nearly producers provide beef cows and grazing cattle free-choice minerals when on pasture, while others limit-feed minerals daily in a grain mix.

Fenceline-style feeders allow producers admission on ane side to place feed and grain into the feeder while animals access their feed on the other side. Walkthrough feeders allow producers to walk down the middle of the feeder. Grain can be placed in a trough on either or both sides and hay is shared in the fundamental walking area. Producers should be careful non to contaminate feeders with manure-covered footwear.

Larger operations ofttimes feed hay in the form of big round or foursquare bales. Many styles of hay feeders be, but the inverted-cone-way feeders are frequently recommended for beef cattle as they ordinarily waste matter the to the lowest degree amount feed waste.

Water

Water is perchance the most important nutrient because it impacts feed consumption. Poor-quality h2o or not enough water can subtract feed intake and result in decreased animal performance. Producers tin supply water using anything from buckets to troughs to automatic watering systems. As with feeders, many different styles are available. The primal is that h2o should be fresh, clean, and available at all times.

Automatic frost-costless waterers may be used on pasture or in solitude for cattle. Photo credit: Betty Cameron, Bedford County Sheep Producer

Permanent spring improvements can provide a year-round water supply for beef cattle on pasture. This system has boosted crushed rock around it to prevent excess mud accumulation in the area. Photo credit: Melanie Barkley, Penn Land Extension

Simplistic float tank trough systems can be easily moved depending on cattle location. Photo credit: Melanie Barkley, Penn Land Extension

Pasture Systems

Many beef cattle, specially mature cows and bulls, graze pastures throughout the jump, summertime, and autumn. Producers should pay close attention to pasture pinnacle in an attempt to maximize provender utilization. Pastures should be subdivided to provide an acceptable amount of forage for the grazing fourth dimension, often 4 to v days. Animals should be moved to a new section of pasture by the time forage has been grazed downward to 4 inches in height. Rotating pastures ensures the nutrients from manure are spread out and that cattle utilise available resources efficiently. Continuous grazing tin cause forage stand damage in overused or loftier-traffic areas and encourages weed growth in other less-desirable areas of the pasture.

A skillful-quality perimeter contend contains livestock inside the pasture and keeps predators out. Many producers adopt loftier-tensile fencing with some wires electrified. Subdivision fencing divides larger fields into smaller areas to improve manage fodder growth. Subdivision fencing for beef cattle tin can often exist a single strand of polywire with step-in posts to reduce input costs. Most cattle will respect one strand if it is electrified.

Pastures should also provide admission to water. This ranges from temporary systems that motility with the animals to permanent systems. Many producers choose to install cloak-and-dagger systems that tin be accessed throughout a pasture organization to reduce the labor of hauling h2o. Depending on the system and region, it may be necessary to access electricity to heat waterers in common cold months.

Health Intendance Equipment

Routine health care employs practices to forestall disease. Common practices include tagging, vaccinating, dehorning, castrating, and deworming. These practices require basic equipment such as tags and tagging pliers, syringes and needles, elastrator bands, a band expander tool, and a drench syringe or deluge gun. Tagging is considered a health care slice of equipment considering tagging is of import to place treated animals.

Producers may too wish to dehorn their cattle to forestall horn growth. This is often performed with an electric dehorner shortly afterwards the horn buds break through the skin. Dehorning prevents future injury to other animals and handlers.

Hoof trimming is some other health intendance equipment item. Hoof trimming is not considered routinely necessary in most beefiness cattle operations. In addition, nearly beefiness cattle must be put in a tilt table in lodge to have their hooves trimmed for the safety of both the trimmer and the animal. Therefore, many beginning cattle producers volition contact a professional should hoof intendance exist necessary.

A bander can be used to desexualize immature males. Photo credit: Michelle Kunjappu, PA Beef Producers Working Group

Other Types of Equipment

Larger equipment may exist used by beef cattle operations to allow producers to handle or manage animals more efficiently. Producers can utilize a scale to monitor beast growth performance at weaning and other times throughout the year. A scale should also be used to weigh animals to summate the correct dosage for medication treatments. 3 types of scales are oft used by livestock producers: beam, punch, and digital.

Equipment for beef cattle production should include these items necessary to maintain herd health, similar this drench for deworming animals. Photo credit: Dr. Tara Felix, Penn State Extension

Most feeder calves and finished cattle are bought and sold on a weight footing. Therefore, because the economics in beef systems are based on pounds of calf to sell or weight of finished cattle, scales are an important role of cattle operations. Scales can also help monitor weights at critical times throughout the year, such equally breeding, weaning, and so on. All scales should be tested to ensure accurateness. Simple scales can exist placed in line in a handling arrangement.

Handling system equipment allows producers to more efficiently handle animals. It functions by gathering animals into a group pen then funneling them into the chute. Animals walk unmarried file downwards the chute, where they are held for routine health care or sorting. Gates at both ends of the system contain the animals while producers perform tasks. Gates can part by sliding back and forth or up and down like a guillotine.

A caput catch in the chute restrains the cattle for necessary procedures, while ensuring the safety of both the cattle and the homo handlers. Photo credit: Dr. Tara Felix, Penn Country Extension

If the beef cattle operation intends to use implants to increase growth functioning of market animals, a handling system should be used. In add-on, if the operation desires to breed using artificial insemination, a treatment organization is a must.

An alley allows the beef cattle producers to motion several cattle at a time, making cattle handling easier and more efficient. Photo credit: Dr. Tara Felix, Penn State Extension

Reproduction and Convenance Seasons

Gestation length for beef cattle is about nine months, varying slightly amidst breeds and sires. However, the typical gestation length for most cows ranges from 282 to 288 days.

Cattle will cycle throughout the twelvemonth. All the same, managing a divers convenance season will help better the efficiency of the cow herd and marketability of the calves. Most productive cattle operations maintain a unmarried convenance flavor. While many operations breed animals to calve in the jump when weather is warming up, some may choose to calve in the fall to take advantage of a less saturated calf market. Purebred cattle used for seedstock are frequently bred to calve early in the year, January or February, so that those animals tin can enter the breeding herd at heavier weights.

Estrus cycles and historic period at puberty vary slightly among breeds. If breeding heifers (females that have non calved before), they should weigh at to the lowest degree 65 to 70 percent of their mature weight by the outset of the breeding season with a target of 85 percent of their mature weight at calving. Generally, it is expected that heifers will meet this weight and be ready to brood between 11 and 15 months of age. It is also appropriate to breed heifers one bicycle alee of mature cows so that they accept additional fourth dimension to rebreed the post-obit season.

Some producers will accept this a step further and synchronize their females then that they are certain to breed the heifers at the desired time and the rest of the cows come up into heat, or wheel, at the same time virtually a month after. This synchronization is necessary for an efficient and effective artificial insemination procedure and is about often accomplished with the employ of a CIDR, although feed additive protocols exist for heifers. The CIDR contains hormones and is inserted vaginally into the females. Many protocols are available for synchronization and beginning producers are advised to work with their veterinarian to constitute their own on-farm protocol.

In well-nigh instances, cattle give birth outdoors and, thus, calving season is timed to start when weather warms up and grass is available on pasture. However, some producers adopt to breed earlier in the breeding season in gild to market at specific times in the summer or autumn. In other situations, producers may brood earlier so that calves are older and heavier while on pasture.

Producers wishing to calve earlier may demand to house animals in a barn, such equally a banking company barn, depending on the climate. Calving indoors tin help foreclose ears from freezing and ensure calf viability in colder temperatures.

Signs of Impending Calving

As a cow nears her time to give birth, she exhibits several signs that the birthing procedure will begin. Shortly before calving, the udder will begin to tighten. This tightening is the udder filling with colostrum. Colostrum is the get-go milk and it contains antibodies that assistance protect newborn calves from disease.

When the cow is set to requite birth, the muscles effectually her hips volition begin to relax and may appear every bit if they are sinking. The vulva changes color and is most apparent with lighter skin colors. For example, a low-cal pink color will modify to a darker pink color. Peradventure more noticeably, the vulva will keen. The udder will feel total and tight at this point. The cow will also reject feed and move away from the herd.

The first sign that the female is in labor is the appearance of the h2o bag. Within a curt period of time, the front feet and nose of the newborn should appear. This will progress as the female person pushes to expel the newborn. Once the calf is born, the mother should brainstorm licking to dry off the newborn and encourage the calf to stand and nurse.

A visible h2o purse or feet point impending calving. Photo credit: Dr. Tara Felix, Penn State Extension

Typically, most beef cows calve on pasture and crave petty aid. If assistance is required, inexperienced producers should consult a veterinarian or an experienced producer for assist. Assistance may be required if a calf has not been delivered within six hours of the h2o purse appearing or if the moo-cow is establish straining and the h2o handbag appears to have already been ruptured. Always use caution when trying to piece of work with or around laboring cows or cows that have recently delivered. Dams will defend their young well against predators but may turn this assailment on an unsuspecting human trying to tag or examine a new calf also.

Pay close attending to newborns for the first couple days after birth. Mothers should be attentive to newborns and willing to represent newborns to nurse. Newborns should stretch when they stand and appear alert. Newborns that cry for their mother or rush to nurse equally soon as they get up likely are not receiving plenty milk. Weak calves may require feeding with a tube. Consult a veterinarian or an experienced producer for help.

A good beef cow should immediately tend to her dogie without interference. Photograph credit: Wendall Landis, Penn Land Beef Barn Manager

Feeding and Nutrition

All animals require water, protein, carbohydrates and fats (to provide energy), vitamins, and minerals in their daily diet. These may come up from a multifariousness of sources just should exist counterbalanced to meet nutritional requirements. Food requirements change throughout an animal's lifetime and reflect its stage of production: growth, maintenance, breeding, pregnancy, or lactation (milk product).

Forages such every bit pasture and hay frequently meet requirements for mature animals, but they may not meet requirements for fast-growing animals. Therefore, additional poly peptide or energy sources may need to be added to the ration to meet requirements of young, speedily growing cattle.

Additional protein requirements may exist met with better quality hay or through sources such as soybeans, soybean meal, or distillers grains. Additional energy requirements may exist met with a variety of grain sources, but cattle are most unremarkably fed corn because information technology is oft the cheapest free energy source.

In most cases, pasture provides the most economical feed source for mature cows. Cattle should rotationally graze pastures to yield the best quality and quantity of grazing days. In general, animals should enter a pasture when forages are half dozen to 10 inches tall. Animals should rotate out of a pasture by the fourth dimension the fodder has been grazed down to 4 inches. This not only provides high-quality feed for the animals but also helps maintain good for you plants.

Grain supplements are most often used for growing cattle or in times of pasture shortage. Feeding grain to growing cattle increases weight gain. One mutual grain feeding practise is creep feeding, the practice of supplying proficient-quality grain and/or hay to immature calves while they are nursing. This boosts weight gains and body condition, or level of fatness.

Health Issues

A skillful indicator of healthy cattle is their body condition. Body condition for beef cattle is scored on a ix-signal scale with i beingness emaciated and nine beingness obese.

Convenance females should be maintained at an average body condition score of 5 to six. Animals with decreasing torso condition scores, or that are losing weight, bespeak a potential wellness issue.

The first step to keeping animals good for you is to prevent diseases from entering the farm. Implementing biosecurity practices tin can help keep diseases off the farm. Any new animal that arrives at the farm—and animals that leave the farm and return—should exist quarantined from other animals for three to four weeks. In addition, irresolute shoes and article of clothing after visiting locations where you lot had contact with other cattle tin can help prevent bringing diseases to your farm. Visitors to the farm should exist asked to either disinfect their shoes or wear plastic disposable boots.

All producers should form a human relationship with a veterinary. This veterinary-client-patient relationship allows the veterinarian to become familiar with your farm direction practices and your animals and to more quickly address whatsoever wellness issues within your herd.

Internal and External Parasites

While most beefiness cattle systems do non experience production losses directly every bit a issue of parasites, it is partly because they are very easy to treat and prevent in beef cattle. Broad-spectrum antiparasitics can exist applied equally a pour-on or an injectable product. Many beef cattle producers choose pour-on products because they are easy to employ and fairly effective.

Additional internal parasites that may affect beef cattle include worms and coccidia. External parasites that may affect beef cattle include flies, ticks, and lice. Consult your veterinarian for more information on individual parasite species and their treatment.

Cattle should be treated for internal and external parasites to proceed them healthy. Photo credit: Melanie Barkley, Penn State Extension

Abortion Diseases

Perhaps more critical than the parasites themselves are the impacts they may have on reproductive operation. Several parasites that touch cattle tin crusade abortions. For example, anaplasmosis causes an anemia so severe that cattle may abort. Information technology is almost commonly spread by bitter insects like ticks; however, because it is a bloodborne affliction, humans may play a office in infecting cattle by reusing contaminated needles and castration and dehorning equipment.

In that location are other abortion diseases that are acquired by sexually transmitted diseases. These tin include chlamydia and trichomoniasis. Ownership bulls and replacement females from reputable farms or brokers and request about the history of venereal disease tin assist forbid the spread of these disorders to your subcontract.

Several other diseases may besides cause abortions in cattle. Some of the common diseases that crusade abortions tin be prevented with a vaccine for viruses like bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR). Work with your veterinarian to plant a good vaccination plan for your beef cattle herd.

Foot Health

A major reason for implementing biosecurity measures is to forestall highly contagious, difficult-to-eradicate issues such every bit hairy heel wart, besides known every bit digital dermatitis. Many beefiness cattle producers are noting an increase in the prevalence of digital dermatitis in herds across the country. Digital dermatitis is difficult to eradicate and can cause severe lameness. If your herd becomes infected, information technology is fourth dimension consuming and expensive to treat infected animals and eradicate the disease. Treatment requires hoof trimming and antibiotics, thus veterinarian oversight is required.

In addition to digital dermatitis, foot health can be impacted by poor nutrition. Cracked hooves or curved (sometimes chosen spooned) hooves are often a sign of a mineral deficiency. E'er provide a good-quality mineral to beefiness cattle and feed according to the label instructions.

Marketing

A number of markets are available for beef cattle. When choosing a market place, you lot must make up one's mind whether your operation will focus on selling live animals or marketing meat. Many producers in the eastern U.s. focus on direct marketing of their beefiness cattle as freezer beef or retail beef cuts due to the admission to consumers. Alternatively, many larger producers may focus simply on selling finished cattle to a large meat packer.

Left: Many beef producers cull to sell beef by the side or the quarter. Photograph credit: Dr. Tara Felix, Penn State Extension

Correct: Steaks are a popular consumer selection, but selling private cuts requires a proper license. Photo credit: Dr. Tara Felix, Penn Land Extension

Keep in mind that state laws prohibit a producer from selling meat unless the animal was processed in a USDA-inspected facility. Therefore, the producers often sell calves live and the customer would make cutting arrangements with the processing facility. Many producers also provide the service of delivering the animals to a local processing facility.

Other options for beef cattle include marketing convenance stock, feeder calves to the feedlot, or market animals for junior shows. Breeding stock are typically purebred animals and may be marketed directly from the farm and through a registered auction. Many states operate a bull test, allowing producers to pay to have their bulls adult alongside other young bulls and enter a larger sale at the stop of the test. Work with your local extension educator to determine the best markets for your operation.

Decision

Raising beefiness cattle can exist a rewarding farming enterprise. Very few beef cattle operations are identical to one another, allowing producers a variety of opportunities to develop a programme that uniquely suits their lifestyle and farming enterprise. This brief introduction simply touches on a few of the aspects to remember nearly when considering a beefiness cattle enterprise. Before showtime your ain enterprise, seek the advice of your extension educator or experienced beef cattle producers in your area.

For more information virtually beef cattle, visit Penn State Extension Beef Cattle

Many opportunities exist for beef cattle producers. This publication covers basic concepts related to raising these animals. New and beginning producers should seek further information on non only bones production practices but as well nutrition, reproduction, and health in order to produce high-quality, good for you animals.

Then You Want to Enhance Beef Cattle? This fact sheet may exist used as a guide for beef cattle producers just getting started in the manufacture to larn:

How to decide what type of beast y'all should raise
Nearly the different breeds and how to select the right i for yous
Where to purchase your animals
What to expect for as the ideal characteristics
What equipment you'll need to raise your animals
How to brood and raise your beef cattle
What to feed and how to care for your animals' health
What it takes to market your animals

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Source: https://extension.psu.edu/so-you-want-to-raise-beef-cattle-print