tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851574739661452863.post4537220848526164078..comments2023-05-30T04:54:47.560-05:00Comments on a Girl on a Farm: rocky mountain oystersagirlonafarmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12174293745917509072noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851574739661452863.post-73848967359958940992012-03-16T22:11:50.537-05:002012-03-16T22:11:50.537-05:00Thanks for the comments Rich. I agree with most of...Thanks for the comments Rich. I agree with most of what you said. We will look long and hard at banding and tagging within a few days of birth, for the upcoming calving season.Farmer Jonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06712838521549711077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851574739661452863.post-55767680927168035942012-03-16T21:12:59.671-05:002012-03-16T21:12:59.671-05:00Even though you didn't ask, I can tell you how...Even though you didn't ask, I can tell you how I manage our calves and some of my thoughts on finishing beef.<br /><br />All our calves get an ear tag and the bull calves are banded a couple of days after calving. If it is supposed to be bitter cold (20 degrees F or below and wet), I'll wait until it warms up a little because I've had trouble with frostbitten ears in the past.<br /><br />It does take a little time each day during calving season after checking the cows to tag and band the calves, and it's usually easier and sometimes necessary to have a couple of people available to tag and band calves daily. <br />But there also isn't a long, hard day of working calves or the stress on the cattle running them through chutes, etc. <br /><br />In my opinion and from what I've read, castration results in more marbling and delaying castration or leaving bulls intact might cause them to grow quicker but the growth is muscle instead of fat. More muscle means leaner meat, but more marbling results in meat that is more tender and has more flavor (which is what people want from beef regardless of what they might say about lean meat).Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11412944120622315804noreply@blogger.com