Anyone raise Yak for Chow

[Brown Thumb]

My dad has been up my butt to raise some steer for slaughter. This store bought meat sucks. He is willing to help with expenses.
I don't want to deal with cows, My wife's father used to raise them and now his son does.
I don't want to buy off him due to he treats them like crap. Under feed, dirty water and knee deep in shit. Dead calfs all the time. He can take them to market before I buy one.
There not cheap in the start but having like 4 to 5 might be worth the try.
Any Input?

 

[webmost]

No, but I yakked my chow.

 

[deluxestogie]

You might look into raising miniature (~600 lbs.) cattle, like a Dexter.

http://www.minicattle.com/

http://www.dextercattle.org/

Bob

 

[Brown Thumb]

They look good also. But i am trying trying to get away from bad fat.
Bacon, Bacon, Damn I love Fat.

 

[indianjoe]

Been around cows all of my life and home raised, grain fed is the best. Miniature cows usually dress out better meat percentages and are cheaper to feed. I have not eaten minature cows, but a butcher friend does, I sell him hay. I will tell you that grass fed beef is not the way to go, if you want good steaks, I killed one last year and will not do that again. My butcher asked me to pickout the carcass from another 12 to 15 and I could, no body fat. The fresh meat smells like grass.

 

[DGBAMA]

Home raised is tough. Best bet is let them graze to size then grain fed the last couple months. Have a butcher liked up or be ready for a lot of work. Pigs are a better return on investment for personal consumption.

 

[deluxestogie]

Of course, meat goat production can work well on small acreage, so long as you have excellent fencing.

http://www.hobbyfarms.com/livestock-and-pets/raising-meat-goats-25028.aspx

There are more people in the world eating goat than eating beef.

Bob

 

[DGBAMA]

Goat sounds funny, until you realize they are of the venison family, I would like to raise some myself.

 

[Knucklehead]

Rabbits and quail are easily raised and make some fine eating.

 

[DGBAMA]

We did a couple pigs a year, get them as the summer tails off, raise until early summer when they start to stink the pen. Never had to deal with the smell in the heat of summer.

 

[DGBAMA]

Rabbits and quail are easily raised and make some fine eating.

Would love to do rabbits.

 

[FmGrowit]

I'm going to raise wooly pigs some day. The Kobe beef of pork

 

[ArizonaDave]

I've heard of it, but never tried Yak. Seems like that's in the beef family though. Now I've heard goat is good, but haven't tried it yet. They're easy to raise. Just fence them good. They ate my apricot tree.

 

[Bex]

I'm a vegetarian......The cattle over here is all grass fed, and certainly is very much different than grain fed beef. Frankly, from a monetary point of view, goats are probably the most viable, and you'll get milk and cheese, as well. Sadly, I would name them, keep them as pets and bury them in the garden with little headstones when the time comes....

 

[DonH]

Been around cows all of my life and home raised, grain fed is the best. Miniature cows usually dress out better meat percentages and are cheaper to feed. I have not eaten minature cows, but a butcher friend does, I sell him hay. I will tell you that grass fed beef is not the way to go, if you want good steaks, I killed one last year and will not do that again. My butcher asked me to pickout the carcass from another 12 to 15 and I could, no body fat. The fresh meat smells like grass.

Grass fed fat is way better for you than grain fed. Lots of Omega-3 fats.

 

[DonH]

I'm going to raise wooly pigs some day. The Kobe beef of pork

I just got 5 Large Black hogs (heritage breed) on Saturday

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Grass fed tastes far superior to grain fed beef.IMHO. What could bemore easier than rasing some beef on grass? No feed costs and typically no vet bills due to not feeding grains.

And I just can't get this song out of my head...


Take out the papers and the trash
Or you don't get no spending cash
If you don't scrub that kitchen floor
You ain't gonna rock and roll no more
Yakety Yak... don't talk back!

 

[deluxestogie]

Another easy to raise possibility would be Soay Sheep:

They prefer browse (as opposed to grass), and produce excellent meat. They are primitive enough to shed their own wool, so they don't need to be sheared. And they look cool. Neighbors and tourists will gather just to watch them.

http://www.hobbyfarms.com/livestock-and-pets/soay-sheep.aspx

Bob

 

[Brown Thumb]

My problem is my kids will get attached to smaller animals.
As for pigs, that wont happen, my wife and her dad raised them for years. When he passed on My wife would stop over the house after work to make sure her brother was taking proper care of them. I don't remember how many there was. Well over a dozen full grown but the barn burnt down one night in the winter and the pigs could not get out. Damn it stunk for months even after they were buried. My wife was devastated.

 

[istanbulin]

So you're looking for a few Yaks. How much does it cost to buy a Yak ? I'm asking because it's quite exotic and may cost much. I found two farms around you and they're selling Yaks. At least, you may ask the price.

http://www.yaksofthepawilds.com/for-sale.html (Covington, PA)

http://www.alpacasllamaswoodsedge.com/tibetan-yaks-for-sale.php (Stockton, NJ)