Bull Beef - Quality of meat

Dominic · Post by **Dominic** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 7:53 am

Hi Clive
Is 141 kg a decent size ? We were disapointed with our 80 kg of meat from our short leg.Yes , he was short but had a fab body and was one of the best finished animals we have ever sent .OK , we only send one a year so a far from experienced :D
I read about people talking about prices per liveweight and deadweight etc.
I don't have access to a weighbridge - what are the average live and dead weights of dexters ?
We don't sell our meat , just enough each year to share around family and for us but someone recently asked me if I would sell them a whole ( butchered) beast .I said yes and when I told my wife she wasn't best pleased as we don't have enough animals growing on. Mind you next year we will have the huge number of 2 steers to send off :p
Anyway I have left it with this chap that other half will ring with a price ( once again I'm in trouble ! ) - any guidelines on what a fair price to him and a sensible , worth all the hassle to me price would be for a whole beast , freezer ready of course.

Also look forward to hearing your results

Dominic

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 9:17 am

Hi Dominic

Actually I'm not the person to ask really because I sell mine mainly to butchers and all I get is a deadweight and a cheque. I think 141kg is not that special. I have a bull and his very similar half-brother steer in a field together on the same grass. Same ages as well. They aren't much different actually but we'll see when they go to the abattoir later this year, the bull probably has an edge.

The only thing with keeping bulls for meat if you have a few is all the problems. I had 5 togther last year, eventually castrating 4 of them, but they fought so much they just wouldn't put on weight. And you put your life in your hands going into the pen. They were very "playfull"...so I am avoiding bulls personally unless I get some dramatic results from the one I've mentioned.

My deadweights can be down to 150kg for a small animal and up to 230kg for bigger ones, usually around 200 though. I have heard of 250kg once. Mine are usually sent slightly on the lean side of finished, and others will do the other side.

At the end of the day, it appears that you end up with 1/3rd of the animals weight in meat (excluding offal). Those are the figures I have seen, which isn't many. Isn't that a waste...just 1/3rd. With lamb we get a lot more. We take a lamb weighing just under 40kg and get back 19-20kg plus offal.

Other people have got final meat weights I know, so will hopefully respond. Obviously it depends upon what is discarded and how much fat is cut off as well. Figures from people selling to butchers (more ruthless with fat) may be lower than those doing it for their own sales, I would imagine.

Louisa Gidney · Post by **Louisa Gidney** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:34 pm

In the 1980's, when I was collecting old cows for my reference collection & thesis (which is finally happening), I ate an awful lot of beef from animals aged 12 years & older. The classic was a fillet steak in a beef wellington which was on the blue side of rare & melted in the mouth. The cow it came from was 16 years old. This is part of the "art & mistery" of the butcher/grazier. The trick with old stock is to get them as thin as possible THEN fatten them on grass. The old beasts are then laying down fresh new muscle and fat, which is therefore tender "new" meat when butchered. This advice has been given to me independently by several traditional butchers, now sadly retired or dead.

Rob R · Post by **Rob R** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 4:12 pm

Broomcroft wrote:Hi Dominic

I think 141kg is not that special...

At the end of the day, it appears that you end up with 1/3rd of the animals weight in meat (excluding offal). Those are the figures I have seen, which isn't many. Isn't that a waste...just 1/3rd. With lamb we get a lot more. We take a lamb weighing just under 40kg and get back 19-20kg plus offal.

141kg was meat, rather than deadweight, am I correct?

Dexters should kill out at ~56%, so it's comparable with a lamb, which is usually cut without removing any bones or fat, so what you actually eat is not that much with any animal, though pigs have a slight edge.

Martin · Post by **Martin** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 4:31 pm

Clive,
I don't think much of your passport photo either!
Martin.

106-1100209741 · Post by **106-1100209741** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 6:51 pm

Well, actually, the passport office would probably love it apart from the mouth (should be closed!) but there's two eyes, a nose and a mouth, no hair over the eyes and best of all - no shadows.

One thing though - is it a true likeness!?!

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 9:26 pm

Of course it's true likeness.

Post by **Mark Bowles** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 9:50 pm

Got a medium steer back today, not very big, 29 months,weighbanded at 360kg a couple of weeks before going to the butchers, got back 114kg of meat plus liver kidneys etc, nice meat hung for 24 days. I have had short legs bigger, up to 400kg liveweight.
Mark

Dominic · Post by **Dominic** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 8:58 pm

Hi Rob
Yes , I had 141 kg of meat , I don't know what his actual deadweight was.
Didn't think of a weighband , we have such a thing for the horses , assume I need a specific cow one though .

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 7:53 am

I have some statistics from DBO members as follows:

Liveweight : 355kg (mainly medium legged in the stats)
Deadweight: 198kg
Meat without offal: 114kg

Deadweight = 53% of liveweight
Meat = 57% of deadweight
Meat = 30% of liveweight

So, 141kg of meat without offal appears to be a large amount so far.

Stats is based on 7 animals. Stats will be published and added to, on the DBO Info site soon together with other beef related info and individual cut amounts.

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 7:50 am

Mark

Your animal produced almost precisely to the average stats we have.

Post by **Mark Bowles** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 10:49 am

Clive, consistency in dexters! i dont beleive it.
Mark

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 1:02 pm

Talking about weights, my farmer friends who do Limos, and they are totally mad and very dangerous (and the cattle aren't too friendly either), say that their steers can loose some amazing weight figure on the journey to the abattoir, or wherever. I think they said 20 or 30 kg. Presumably mainly their "waste material". So if this applies to Dexters, obviously less so because of small size, then the weights we are using for comparison could vary a lot.

It's probably a lot to do with how nervous/scared the animal is. Even by Limo standards, his are apparently seriously wild; they announce him when he goes to market and everybody keeps clear.

Anybody got any before and after journey figures?

wagra dexters · Post by **wagra dexters** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 5:29 am

Clive, off the track a bit, I wonder if your limo friend could be convinced to try using a B12 shot. We have had amazing results in 3 very cranky cows, by using B12 with selenium. We alternately use a mineral oral drench, with the same positive results. They get treated about every 3 months.
Two of the said cows can put on ridiculous acrobatic shows in the crush if there is another person there, (easy enough to AI if it's just me), and the third, while placid enough in the crush, can run a mile at the sight of a stranger.
At the moment, life is sweet, but we will treat them again before our Spring calving.

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 4:08 pm

I'll let them know Margaret, thanks. When I first saw your "try B12 shot", I took that as a "shot" with a "12B" 12 bore shotgun!