If you are new to buying beef in bulk, you probably have a lot of questions about how exactly it works and what some of the various terms mean. When we first got started, we had no clue what any of it meant either! So let's quickly walk you through some of the basics.
When purchasing a cow for beef, there are typically 3 options-quarters, halves of whole beef. The question often is "How much actual meat will I get with this?"
Lets start with a couple of definitions
On The Hoof-when you hear someone talk about the weight of the cow being "on the hoof", it is referring to the live weight. How much does the cow weigh before it is harvested? Our cows typically will range between 1200-1500 pounds, depending on the age, breed and even sex of the cow as well as time of year it is harvested. Generally speaking, animals with higher live weights tend to have more marbling and higher amount of fat, which gives their meat a richer flavor and texture. Those at a lower weight might have less fat or fewer bones. This is not always the case, however, as some cows are just smaller breeds. Female cows are also typically smaller than steers but can still have great marbling and taste.
Hanging Weight-This would be the weight of the cow after it has been harvested. This will be after the loss of blood and after head, hide, hooves, organs, etc are removed. This is how you will typically hear us refer to our beef.
Cut Weight-this is the weight of the meat after it has been trimmed, packaged and labeled. This is the actual amount that will go in your freezer. This includes all the cuts of beef such as steaks, roasts, ground beef and stew meat.
How much meat will I actually get?
Typically, when we are communicating with you, you will hear us refer to the hanging weight of the beef. This is usually around 60% of the overall live weight of the cow. So if a cow is 1500 pounds "on the hoof", the hanging weight will be roughly 900 pounds. When we are doing half cows, this will be divided into two. (450 pounds hanging weight per half). Of this number, you will receive approximately 60% back for your freezer. So of a 450 pound hanging half, you will receive roughly 270 pounds of actual meat for your freezer. This can vary based on the cuts you choose.
Some people will choose to also keep the heart, tongue, liver and other parts of the cow. Note that these are not included in the cut weight and is extra meat for your freezer at no cost to you! BUT REMEMBER, there is only one of each per cow so request these items specifically if you would like them.
When you consider all the different ways you can use it, it’s easy to see why buying half a cow is such a popular option. It's cheaper than buying meat by the individual cut or at the grocery store, and a much healthier option!
At Milano Farms, we harvest and butcher locally sourced, sustainable cattle from our partner farms throughout Northern Michigan. We understand that feeding your family high quality food is important to you and so we have worked to bring you organic, healthy meats below grocery store prices. We believe that everyone should have access to healthy food and we do our best to bring that to you!All our meat comes vacuum sealed for quality and freshness, which helps to eliminate freezer burn and dehydration.
When you place your order and pay your deposit, we will email you a cut sheet and set up a time to call you to discuss your options. We will work with you to determine your families' cooking needs & preferences. Your order will be approximtely 20-25% steaks, 30-35% roasts and stew meat and 40-50% ground beef.
 | How does pricing work? All of our pricing is based on the hanging weight of the cow as compared to the live weight. The hanging weight is determined after the cow has been harvested and after the loss of blood, head, hide, hooves, viscera, organs, etc. so you are not paying for all of this extra weight. |
Current Pricing Half Cows are $5.25/lb. hanging weight. Average weight for half cow is approximately 450 lbs An average sized half cow at 450 lbs would be $2362.50 total Whole cows are $5.00/lb. hanging weight. Average weight for whole cow is approximately 900 lbs An average sized whole cow at 900 lbs would be $4500 total We accept Credit, Check or Cash. Your remaining balance is due upon delivery. |  |
How Do I Place My Order & Reserve My Beef?
Currently we are sold out of all our half and whole cows. Stay tuned to this area for updates.
We will begin taking deposits again toward the end of April.
We will begin taking deposits again toward the end of April.
Also see:
I get a lot of questions about winterizing our animals and how we go about that. The biggest question is if we use heat lamps and typically we do not (unless we have a lamb born in the freezing temps, then we will for a couple of days). Our chickens typically don't get heat lamps for a number of reasons that we'll discuss in this post. I will say that you must make sure you are getting birds that are good for your environment. In our extreme cold, we have to make sure that we have very hearty chickens! We like to stick with Rhode Island Reds, Isa Browns, Plymouth Rocks and this year have a few leghorns, austrolorps and a couple Jersey Giants. We stay away from the smaller more "show worthy" chickens and go with the tried and true when it comes to egg production, personality and heartiness.
So why do we not use heat lamps...For starters, chickens aren't humans. What feels cold to you, isn't cold to them. Where our body temperature is typically around 97-99*F, chickens naturally run 104-107*F, making them much warmer naturally, and why I believe they actually do better in the cold than in the heat.
Because of the way their bodies are designed, chickens are well suited to acclimate to the changes in temperatures. When they eat, their digestion turns them into little heat producing machines. Their skin releases the heat, getting trapped around their bodies between the skin and their feathers. You will often see chickens poofing their feathers up in the winter and that is to keep the warmth close. On extremely cold nights, you can give your chickens extra food to increase their metabolism and help them stay a bit warmer. I've heard it said that chickens are "little fuel furnaces wrapped in heavy winter coats" and that pretty much sums it up.
Because chickens are able to adapt so well, putting a heat lamp in can cause several issues. First and foremost is the dangers of it. In 2017, when we were first starting with chickens, we had a small outbuilding that used to be a kids playhouse back in the 60s.It was super cute and had great rom for baby chicks. We had a heat lamp that we felt was chicken proof. It was well secured as to not fall and since all we had were chicks that were a few weeks old, they couldn't fly. We were wrong! The full story is here but the short story is that the heat lamp overpowered the wiring in the wall, starting a fire inside the walls of the coop. I managed to save all the chicks but inhaled a lot of smoke in the process and the coop was a total loss. We learned a lesson that day and fortunately all we lost was the coop in the process! If you go to Pinterest you will find a whole Pinterest board of well meaning people who love their chickens and made a huge mistake by using heat lamps.
Another issue with heat lamps is that it doesn't allow the chicken to adapt to the temperatures naturally. If a heat lamp bulb goes out in the middle of a cold night, you risk losing the entire flock because they weren't adapted to the temperatures. By allowing our chickens to do what chicken bodies are designed to do, we have managed to take our entire flock through the extreme temperatures of the last few nights, including one that reached -41*F!!!!
Something else that surprises people is that we no longer provide water to our chickens most of the time. I know that a lot of people say that their chickens hate the snow but we have found the opposite. If we leave a waterer in the coop, the chickens won't go outside at all during the winter. We believe the chickens NEED the sunlight, especially here in the great white north were sunshine is such a rarity in the winter, and that if we don't provide water inside the coop, the chickens will naturally go outside and eat the snow, thus getting all the "water" they need as well as some sunshine. We also found that if the waterer is put outside the coop, the chickens typically will still eat the snow instead of drinking the water, which led us to the idea to not put a waterer at all, as long as fresh snow is available. Water and cold temperatures inside a coop can actually cause problems for chickens and create a more perfect environment for frostbite. When you combine the moisture from the chickens droppings as well as from them breathing, having extra moisture from water can be detrimental. I know that in our chicken coop, even the cleanest bedding can get pretty drenched from the waterer!
One last tip for keeping the chickens warm is to NOT clean out their coop frequently in the winter. This method, known as the "deep litter method" allows you to clean the coop in the late fall then not again until the weather starts to warm up. You will continue to layer fresh litter (whatever your choice for that is. We simply use pine flakes fro Tractor Supply) every couple of days (or as needed) on top of the old litter and droppings. As the droppings and flakes decompose, heat is released, raising the temperature inside the coop by a few degrees over that of the outside. That temperature change is all that is needed. The best management of deep liter method is to turn the litter every few days so that air is getting into it and helping to break it down. The chickens will do a great job of this if you throw meal worms or chicken scratch down as well, but they can't do it all alone!
So that is a quick rundown of how we deal with chickens in the winter. Other ideas that you may need to look into depending on your situation are to create wind breaks, insulate the outside of the coop with hay bales (NEVER inside) and to check for any drafts. Our coop hasn't had a need for any of this at this point so they aren't areas I will be discussing in this post. Our coop isn't pretty. It's an old shed that has some nesting boxes for eggs and some roosts on the wall. No fancy lights (which we will talk about in the future), no cute little chandeliers. In fact there isn't even electricity in it, unless we run a huge extension cord. It's minimal but functional and our chickens are happy and protected!
Lastly, remember that heat rises so make sure that you provide your chickens with plenty of roosting places up high for them to get as high up as possible.
I'd love to hear how your weather is and any other ideas you may have that you use with your flock!
