We now have 2 new steers on the farm. We've done something a little different this year. We have, randomly, in the past raised a few steers. Our first was Marlow, back in 2009-2010. He was a dairy steer, a Brown Swiss that was 8 weeks old, that we purchased for $75!
We've raised several dairy steers since then, but they often have issues. One of the problems with dairy steers, is they are often taken from their mothers very soon after birth, and put on a bottle. Dairies don't need all their steers, so they often sell them young. This allowed us to transport them easily, back when we didn't have a trailer (that fabulous bright blue thing in the background!) They were inexpensive to purchase, and they were friendly with us, as we bottle fed them. However, babies that are not raised with their mama's often don't build a proper immune system, and are prone to sickness. We learned this the hard way a few times!
Bottle feeding calves has its issues, as well. As they got older, and maybe had a few things to say to us, they weren't afraid of us. So that first steer, Marlow, who also had horns, started getting nasty with us.
We've learned our lesson there, and have a rule that no male animal gets touched in the face. We can scritch their backs and rub their chins, but we never handle their faces!
We had been trying for years to get meat breed steers instead of dairy steers - they are bigger and meatier. But the beef ranches don't cast away their calves at a young age. That makes sense. Dairies want to get back to making milk. Beef ranchers want to grow big tasty beef. It's better for the babies to drink directly from mom. So we can't often find bottle beef breeds, unless there is an issue. This year we started looking for young calves that were already weaned.
We got lucky and found Lando. He's a doll! His mom actually died when he was young, and he had to be taken in. His owners sold him, and having gotten used to people, he's a calm little dude. After a few days of being barked at by the dogs, he's calmed down and settled right into the routine here. He even goes in the barn with the sheep at night, who don't yet seem to mind him. He's an Angus/Simmental cross, and thankfully is horn-free! He's super soft and fluffy and I have to tell myself to NOT pet his face! He's so nice!
Then we found Count Mooku. I am still unsure of his age. He was posted as being 7 months old, but we were also told he may have been born last June. He's big! It wasn't easy to get him loaded and bring him home. And yesterday we just took him up to CSU to turn him into a steer. We hope this will keep him calm and hopefully he won't have any ideas about visiting any neighboring heifers.
He was a handful when we first brought him home. He's settled in some, as well. He made fast friends with Lando, and is quite protective of him! We took him away from his mother for the first time, and that's pretty tough on any animal. But he's got a friend in Lando, and he's also figured out that life isn't too bad. Lots of hay and brewers grains, and a big pile of warm hay to sleep on. We'll keep encouraging him to go in and out of the trailer with sweet mix and treats, so that when the time comes and he's even bigger than he is now, he'll happily load up for us.
Here's to having more beef this fall and probably next spring!