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Ranchers.net
First off - I don't know anything about keeping cows, so please excuse my ignorance
I've never had cows, just horses, but my senior horse is on her way out in the next couple of years, and I'm thinking about a cow or two as companions for my other horse. Ideally, I'd like to be able to keep this cow(s) for a year or two and then slaughter it for beef for my family and friends. I don't really want to get into breeding or bottle feeding calves at this point - I would just like to buy a young cow or two and raise them to slaughtering age. Is this an unrealistic idea? I'm not looking to make a profit - just hopefully raise my own beef without it costing an arm and a leg!
Also, I live in northern MN, so I would need to feed hay out during the winter - assuming I would feed good quality hay (same as my horse would get), what would be a good estimate of how much hay per cow/per day? I have roughly 4 acres of pasture for summertime.