The circle of life
Eighteen months ago, I bought two small calves to raise on bottles:
George, who became a steer as soon as we got him home... and Gracie.
Both of them were smaller-than-average bottle calves, being in large part Jersey. They enjoyed life fully, and never had to worry about anything.
They were eating calf starter to supplement their milk replacer by the time they were two weeks old.
We put out word that George was for sale, and this lady and her husband came and purchased him.
Here you see George on the scales at the butcher shop. He weighed right at 900 pounds. Considering what a small baby he was, I'd say he grew well.
Today we went to the butcher shop to see how he looked hanging on the rail. Pretty good, if I do say so myself.
We have been paid, and the buyers will pick their meat up at the butcher shop when they get a call that he is ready.
I'm hoping to buy a couple of little boy calves this week and start the process over. I may let one of them remain a bull so he can breed the cows next year before we butcher him.
Looks like a good hunk of meat to me.
ReplyDeleteI sure wish we lived close enough to do business. I'd love to have some of that good home grown meat, and I'm a pretty good butcher. I grew up helping care for, slaughter, butcher and put up our own pork, beef, chickens and other poultry, so I know the difference between processed meats and home grown. Home grown is worth every penny and all the effort.
ReplyDeleteI eat hardly any beef, but after what I heard today about contaminated beef in circulation(and no idea where it went) I definitely wish I lived closer, so I could get meat I can trust. I guess I become even more of a vegetarian.
ReplyDeleteThat is a lot of meat.
ReplyDeleteThe circle of life indeed. You see more of it there than most of us do.
ReplyDelete