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Anyone else raise your own beef?
NeoBlackdog
Member Posts: 17,184 ✭✭✭✭
We've been giving our three feeder calves (Aberdeen Angus) beer mash from a local brewery and holy cow (no pun intended) does it make 'em tender/tasty. Last years calves were the first ones we tried it on and WOW what a difference from straight grass fattened beef. We get it in the food grade plastic drums right now are putting out about 5 gallons a day for the three calves. Our neighbor told us it was far and away the best beef he's ever eaten.
The mash is a waste product for the brewers so they're happy to have someone take it off their hands. If you've got some you're feeding I'd suggest finding a brewer nearby and seeing if you can take their mash off their hands.
Comments
I had a buddy who worked at Blitz Weinhard in Portland who did the same thing, it was good, and the cows loved it.
Blitz! There's a brand I haven't thought of in years! I'm bettin' they could make a resurgence what with Bud shootin' itself in the foot.
From my perspective "straight grass fattened beef" ain't all that great so ANY high protein additional feed shows distinct improvement. We fed DDG(dried distillers grain) or gluten pellets(residual from corn sweetener production) for over a decade before going out of the beef cattle business. Many advantages over straight corn/soybean meal processed feed.
In reference to how fat and tender they turned out, just take a look at the generic beer belly, lard butt drunk and think about how little work he does. Those calves were just laying around in the shade with smiles on their faces getting fatter and more tender by the day.