bull beef vs. Steers

Muckit

Can those 'in the know' explain to me why bulls are deemed 'finished' at 18-20 mths?

I'd have a different age in my head for when an animal would have fully grown.

Someone please explain!

blue5000

I don't really understand the post, do you want to keep bulls on for longer than 20 months? If they get older than that the neck and fore end develops more without any more gain in the high value cuts.

TUBBY

Bulls due to their hormone levels will start to develop in the "wrong areas" atfer round 20 months which adds little to their carcase value. Also, due to higher conversion rates they will gain kill weight quicker than steers.

I would imagine the meat would become less tender as they get older also.

Muckit

blue5000 wrote: »

I don't really understand the post

Hi blue

Basically what I was asking....

You'd see +24mth old bullocks, but not factory bulls of this age, why?

I don't keep bulls commerically, so I know nothing about them, that's why I posted.

I think you and tubby have answered my question....

Thanks!

Mr.Success

Once there castrated the meat will never go as tough on a bullock like it would on a bull. I often seen bullocks being killed at 3 and half. Bulls have be killed young or else castrated.

farmerjack

From my own experience occasionally we would have a bull that would go to 25, 26
Months before being killed, the main problem we would have with these is the tend to start going strong in the neck and forequarter and the market place for these type animals is very small, Not to mention from about 22 months on they start becoming overly "boisterous"

Farmer Pudsey

It depend on the type of bull being finished it is easy to finish Contenintal type bulls from suckler herds at around 20 months however cattle from dairy cattle (proved by all independant trials) are impossible to finish before 2 years of age (with a profit for the farmers involved) .There is no point in finishing cattle at a loss . It is continually shown that the longer cattle are at grass (not on bare paddocks) the grater the profit. Bulls kept outside in small bunches in small paddocks are the most profitable. Anguscross bulls can be finished fastest of the dairy bred cattle next are herefords cross and last Fresian and contintal cross cattle. Fresian bulls that are killed too young tend not to grade and it is very hard to get fat cover on young growing dairy bred cattle. I find that fresian bulls need to be 24 months +++ to finish depend at what age wait they are when you buy them yhey need to be 550+ kgs to go on a finishing diet or they will break you. What is the point of haveing dairy cross bulls at fat grade 2- being penalised on fat cover and loseing the persentage that will jump into the next grade