Livestock Feeders

Feeder cattle are those which do not have the right weight and overall condition to make the grade of slaughter which they have the potential of doing. Thus, they need to be fed till they reach the size which will make them eligible for the slaughter grade which their keeper was aiming at. When choosing feeder cattle, one must select based on classifications and grades in accordance with weight, sex, size, conformation, etc.

Age is one important factor used to classify cattle. Until a year of age, they are called calves, then for one to two years they are yearlings, then they proceed to being short-yearlings, long-yearlings, and finally two-year olds. Cattle more than three years old are not considered for anything other than as feeder cattle.

Another factor for classification is sex. Stags, bulls, cows, heifers, heiferettes, and steers are the different groups of cattle. Bulls are uncastrated male cattle of any age, while a steers are male cattle castrated before reaching sexual maturity, and stags are male cattle castrated after sexual maturity has been reached. Cows are mature female cattle who's had one or more calves, and a heifer is a female under three years age. Heiferettes are young cows with not more than one calf.

Weight is also use to classify cattle. The animal's age will determine its weight. Heifers and steers are light, medium or heavy, while stags, cows and bulls have no weight classification. A heavy yearling feeder steer could weigh 800 pounds, when a steer calf might weigh 500 pounds. A two-year old steer should weigh about 1100 pounds.

The grades according to which heifers, steers, cows are classified are choice, good, commercial, utility, standard, prime and inferior. Bulls and stags are generally not judged by these grades. Those feeder heifers and steers which have a are very smooth and have body conformation are prime cattle and sell for a high value for commercial feeders. Good cattle will have less muscling and less smooth and will be a good choice for slaughter cattle. The practical grade of livestock feeders is choice, and these cattle are better in overall finish, conformation and quality. These have long bodies, long rumps, and medium depth. The practical feeder cattle will be from the superior grade of purebred ancestry of beef cattle. The standard feeder livestock are upright both at the top and in the underlines, with well-defined hip bones, light hind region and narrow back. These cattle are usually slaughter cattle. Utility cattle are those which are thin-muscled, small in stature, have narrow shallow structures with long legs. Commercial cattle are those which are too mature to make the standard or good grade and have angular, rough, thin-muscled bodies. The inferior cattle will just be graded inferior.

The cost of feed, future markets, amount of time when you'll feed the cattle, difference in prices between various grades of feeder cattle and between slaughter and feeder cattle are points to be considered before selecting the feeder cattle you want.