Fattening bulls

[czechmate]

Don’t a lot of your bulls in France get exported also ?
A friend who moved there to farm said all his went to Italy to be finished

Most “store” bulls go to Italy for finishing there and most carcasses (such as ours) bulls, go to Italy (dead) - with north Italy being the first early European suffer with c19 (seems old history now!), the price had taken quite a dip. Females that stay in France have at least stayed the same - and most of their weight comes from grass

 

[d williams]

Most “store” bulls go to Italy for finishing there and most carcasses (such as ours) bulls, go to Italy (dead) - with north Italy being the first early European suffer with c19 (seems old history now!), the price had taken quite a dip. Females that stay in France have at least stayed the same - and most of their weight comes from grass

Is meat then exported back out of Italy or their demand that great I presumed it was for the holiday market Spain Greece and the med in general

 

[czechmate]

Is meat then exported back out of Italy or their demand that great I presumed it was for the holiday market Spain Greece and the med in general

The french limmi bulls, fattened in Italy, are consumed in Italy. Yes, I’ve often wondered why, too. I’ve assumed, without knowing at all, that Italian farm land doesn’t lend itself to farming breeding cows . It works well for the French farmers

 

[gone up the hill]

Is there a demand for young fattening bulls? Iv always cut mine a few days old but fancy trying to leave a few whole. I sell 50% of mine 10/11 months and the rest I finish at home. Usually get U/R grades. What grades would you get with bulls? Most are lim/blue/AA few shorthorn cows, all sired by blue/lim few char.

Not sure in Scotland but this side of the border anything sold less than 12 months old is classed as veal.

 

[czechmate]

Not sure in Scotland but this side of the border anything sold less than 12 months old is classed as veal.

I read it, that those sold at 10/11 months went as stores

 

[gone up the hill]

I read it, that those sold at 10/11 months went as stores

Ahh right so in that case the OP will have to keep the bulls another 3/4 months and give them at least double the hard feed they prob are getting when sold at 10/11 months.

 

[Tomo23]

From experience the blonde will make your Limos seem quiet!

Our blonde cross bulls never just weighed as heavy as the limos. Very stylish calves but the weight for age just wasn’t there. But it’s 15 years since we went all Limo and I have been weighing up our local blonde mans bulls this last couple of years. Next time I want a change I might just try one again

Before I started where I am, he had blonde fattening bulls. Reckoned they made limmys look like pussy cats. Seen them clear 6'6 panels with ease when bedding them down. He said it was a shame as nothing would beat them when weight was paying. Talking 15-18 year ago.

 

[Optimus]

With the current price of cereal, I am surprised fattening is a popular idea at the moment
with c-19, our carcass price is the lowest for many years here, with the highest ever grain price, it’s not making a good mix

In the last year fat cattle price here has gone up at least 80p. Think ABP are around £4.10-£4.12 this week.bulls will be a similar price as their short on cattle.

 

[czechmate]

In the last year fat cattle price here has gone up at least 80p. Think ABP are around £4.10-£4.12 this week.bulls will be a similar price as their short on cattle.

WOW
We are on 3.65... Euro

Edit, I see you say cattle, that is bull price, fat heifers 4.60

 

[Anymulewilldo]

I’m glad to hear that the amount of good cows Iv culled including 3 stock bulls due to being wild sickens me but I can’t take the risk so needs to be done. What breeders have you close by, there’s none really up in Scotland.

Bridge Blondes are only 15 minutes me. Mark & Chris really know their stock, breed a lovely animal. Over the last few years they’ve bred them quieter and quieter. So tempted too try one!

 

[Whitepeak]

Bridge Blondes are only 15 minutes me. Mark & Chris really know their stock, breed a lovely animal. Over the last few years they’ve bred them quieter and quieter. So tempted too try one!

Chris and Mark have some great stock we have a few cows bred by them and they are breeding really well for us. They've really bred some shape into their stock. I'd definitely try one of theirs, if they haven't got one we're only a hour over the hill from them
We finish all our Blonde and Blonde x bulls, except the few destined for breeding. I can usually go in the pen to bed up, and tb testing yesterday the pens of bulls were some of the quietest through the crush (still get the odd daft one, like in all breeds). We take all of ours live through Bakewell and usually top the market. Try and get them gone before 15mths at around 600kg.

 

[J 1177]

There seems to be a two tier market for bulls. Up here there is a strong demand for heavy bulls. Friend of mine had one at £2017 through the ring at Darlo last week. Weighed 825 kg and would be more than 16 months

Theres some seriously good bulls go through that ring

 

[Anymulewilldo]

Chris and Mark have some great stock we have a few cows bred by them and they are breeding really well for us. They've really bred some shape into their stock. I'd definitely try one of theirs, if they haven't got one we're only a hour over the hill from them
We finish all our Blonde and Blonde x bulls, except the few destined for breeding. I can usually go in the pen to bed up, and tb testing yesterday the pens of bulls were some of the quietest through the crush (still get the odd daft one, like in all breeds). We take all of ours live through Bakewell and usually top the market. Try and get them gone before 15mths at around 600kg.

Last blonde we had was a Bridge. He threw nice calves but was ignorant as hell and the calves were wild.

Went down there year before last and Mark insisted on showing me his bulls. We walked through and amongst a pen of 20 young blonde bulls and only one bothered too raise his head. Mark said that was was Bakewell bound!

 

[Vader]

How do you find the blonde? I’m mainly a lim man but find them a bit wild. So I really fancy buying a blonde bull or two, I think they’ve came a long way from years ago! What grades, kill out % do you get and what age roughly?

Blondes quite as mice.
But we round them every day, so all the cows are. Bull will wander over for a scratch if he sees you.
Killing out wise, don't know our % but we always in top 5% market prices and regular buyers as know they kill out very well.
Think blondes have best killing out % officially, or did.
Blonde limo cross works well for us.
As above 14 month roughly to market fit.

 

[Porkchops57]

Blues, limo and blondes crossed cows.
All back to limo or blonde bull.

Getting cover is as much to genetics as to food.
When I took over herd from old man I looked at the cows condition when they came in at autumn.
Some cows were fat as butter, others thin and boney.
All ate same grass. So some convert it better. I culled all poor cows and kept heifers off the fat ones.

Bulls took off mothers at about 7-8 months at end of summer.
Put on rolled barley with bit of protein mixed in. Once onto it then kept ad lib.
Same with clean straw to eat.

That's it. No fancy feeder wagon multi ingredient stuff.

Lovely job! Fatten suckled heifers on rolled barley and brewers grain ourselves which does a cracking job! Didnt know if the added testosterone would require more starch/higher ME to get cover on them.

was always told “muscles in the breeding, fat is in the feeding”.

but yes sometimes the simplest way is best way.

 

[Vader]

are you creep feeding them with the cows?

We calf over winter inside, so they do fine on mothers milk.
So turn out on spring grass at a age when can get stuck in, so lot of the growth then on grass.
Put a creep in field for a month before we wean them off so they already eating barley when go into fat yard so keeps them going.

 

[Vader]

Lovely job! Fatten suckled heifers on rolled barley and brewers grain ourselves which does a cracking job! Didnt know if the added testosterone would require more starch/higher ME to get cover on them.

was always told “muscles in the breeding, fat is in the feeding”.

but yes sometimes the simplest way is best way.

Blondes lean on the fat, mainly muscle, which is what buyers seem to want.

 

[Werzle]

is that on a normal market day or monthly sale I have a few I may try was going to cut them to graze but prices are good so cash I think

Feeding bull section at every sale 2xmonth on a thursday.

 

[Whitepeak]

Last blonde we had was a Bridge. He threw nice calves but was ignorant as hell and the calves were wild.

Went down there year before last and Mark insisted on showing me his bulls. We walked through and amongst a pen of 20 young blonde bulls and only one bothered too raise his head. Mark said that was was Bakewell bound!

Temperament is my top criteria when picking out potential breeding bulls, anything that looks at us funny or I can't tie up is Bakewell bound.

 

[FarmerDanny1989]

Chris and Mark have some great stock we have a few cows bred by them and they are breeding really well for us. They've really bred some shape into their stock. I'd definitely try one of theirs, if they haven't got one we're only a hour over the hill from them
We finish all our Blonde and Blonde x bulls, except the few destined for breeding. I can usually go in the pen to bed up, and tb testing yesterday the pens of bulls were some of the quietest through the crush (still get the odd daft one, like in all breeds). We take all of ours live through Bakewell and usually top the market. Try and get them gone before 15mths at around 600kg.

Roughly how many do you kill? Pure and cross and what’s your grades/ kill %. What’s there rough daily gain? What are you finishing them on? Defo going for a blonde bull next gonna cull out the lims there too wild and there bedded daily (hand rolled).