I just purchased 12 acres in Sealy, Tx. I can reasonably expect to have about 9-10 acres of this for cattle. There is not a single tree on the land [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] It is all 70-80% coastal hay. I have heard that I can raise a small number of cattle and take them to the butcher and he would prepare them for a "cut" of the meat. I have -0- experience with cattle. I would like great meat and the least learning curve. Granted, it is not something that requires no work. I just need to know what I should expect and what I should plan for. Any tips, buildings if any I need, how much hay they will eat, what to supplement, etc...
Are you setup with fences?
Around here 4-5 strands of barb wire is the norm.
What about a pond? You will need some water source.
Most guys around here don't supply any shelter in the summer time, but some do in the winter. Cows are pretty solid.
You also need to think about winter. Even a small number of cows will eat that 9-10 acers bare in the summer. A herd of ~20-30 cleaned out most of my 90 acers last year. So you will need a source of hay and storage capability. Most guys use round bales and store them out in the open. Going rate is around $20/ 1000lb bale.
I have 5 strand wire all around. I need to cross fence a section to prevent the cattle from visiting my house. I have a pond. It has about a 3 foot angled drop to it. I don't know what they can manage. The pond water is very cloudy with clay particles. I am not sure what I can do about it and if the cattle would drink from it.
I don't forsee a problem with storage or buying hay. How many days can a cow eat a 1000 lbs bale? I would like to get an idea of the amount of hay I will need.
As you can tell, I am very green when it comes to this but I guess we all start somewhere.
As mentioned water, fencing, shelter and storage for grain & hay. A lean to is OK for protection and or a pole barn that is 3/4 storage and 1/4 cattle shelter would work well.
It sounds like you want to raise these for meat, so you could buy some feeders in the spring and feed them through the summer and butcher late fall. I think 3-4 head would be OK for that size tho it depends on the season and amount of water you get for grass. Also supplement this with some corn feed mix to get some fat (marbling).
If you want to raise cattle (cows, bull, and calves) this requires more attention as well vet bills, year round care etc..
anything else we should know....herefords sound o k for newbies?.... how bout vaccinations, how often and what do cows need?....what is a good age to purchase calves?...sounds like we should wait until next spring to begin the process, and how long would a round bale last 4 first year calves? just a roundabout figure so we have a guesstimate of how many bales to buy....thanks
Cows are amaging as far as the type of slope they can handle. I use to live in soutwestern virginia and eastern tennessee, and many very steep hill sides are used for cow pastures. Also they are not picky about clean to say the lest and will drink about any water avilable.
As far as how much hay you will need. That depends on many factors. Most improtant is the quality of the feed. Here is a link that talks about some of the issues. http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/SP42.pdf
I would talk to locals in your area or your ag extension office. They can give you details about the qulaity of hay in your area and the consumption rate you can expect.
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