Our steer Romeo has a new home as of this morning: The freezer.
Romeo got his name from being born on Valentine's Day last year. However when we castrated him, it was under hasty and pressing conditions (we didn't yet have the calf pen built, so had to cobble together a pen made of hay bales and smuggle him in without his mother noticing). Bottom line, the banding wasn't as complete as we'd hoped. Romeo grew into a bull
Despite his attempts whenever a cow or heifer went into heat, none of the ladies ever fell pregnant, so that was good. He was shooting blanks, but he was still shooting. And, since Romeo's attitude was getting more and more bullish, we knew it was time to take care of that.
So this morning we got him into the pen on the side of the barn without much trouble. Once there, however, Romeo decided to wrench the gate off its hinges and get out into the driveway so he could schmooze with the girls over the fence.
Fortunately we were able to re-hang the gate and lure him back in without much trouble, and then I stood guard for an hour until the butcher showed up. It was a good thing, too, because let me tell you, Romeo was acting like a bull the whole time.
Even as I type this, the butcher is finishing up the job (bleeding, gutting, skinning) before taking him to the meat shop where he'll hang for ten days or so. We'll have the meat back in about two weeks.
Yeah, it's a lot easier to keep a bull in a freezer than on the hoof.
I am always happy to read about home grown produce and grass fed beef. Clean and healthy as opposed to gambling with supermarket purchases! Too many additives, hormones, sprays, diseases.....you name it!
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's a lot easier to keep a bull in a freezer than on the hoof.
ReplyDeleteTruer words were never said.
A freezer with beef is better than money in the bank.
The “banding by feel” calves are the ones that turn into bulls. Romeo lived up to his name!
ReplyDeleteJust in time since beef is supposed to go way up this fall. Heifers weren't sent to the butcher this year very much, but bred instead. That's why Tyson shut down it's beef processing plants. Nothing to process. 18 months to replenish herds. Optimistically.
ReplyDeleteI'll have venison.