What is the Average Hanging Weight of a Beef Cow?

As a beef producer, it’s important to understand the concept of hanging weight and how to estimate the amount of meat you’ll harvest from a beef animal. When selling cattle by the pound, hanging weight specifically refers to the weight of the animal after slaughter but before any further processing. Knowing the average hanging weight for cows helps set realistic expectations for meat yields.

Key Factors That Determine Hanging Weight

Several key factors influence hanging weight:

• Breed – Beef breeds like Angus tend to have higher hanging weights than dairy breeds like Holsteins.

• Sex – Steers and heifers have higher hanging weights than mature cows

• Age – Younger cattle have higher hanging weights than older cattle

• Degree of Finish – Well-finished cattle with adequate fat cover produce higher hanging weights.

• Gut Fill – Cattle weighed with less gut fill have higher hanging weights

• Pregnancy Status – Open cows have higher hanging weights than pregnant cows.

Understanding how these factors impact hanging weight is helpful when estimating expected yield.

Average Hanging Weights by Type of Cattle

Here are some general hanging weight ranges for common cattle types:

• Fed steers and heifers – 600-850 lbs

• Cull cows – 500-650 lbs

• Bulls – 750-900 lbs

• Dairy steers – 550-700 lbs

Of course, these are just averages. We’ll take a closer look specifically at beef cows next.

What is the Average Hanging Weight for Beef Cows?

For beef breed cows, hanging weights typically range from 500-650 pounds on average. Here are some hanging weights for beef cows based on various factors:

• Younger beef cows, around 2-6 years old, often have hanging weights from 550-700 lbs.

• Older beef cows, over 8 years old, tend to have lower hanging weights, from 500-600 lbs.

• Heavier beef cows, over 1,300 lbs live weight, may reach hanging weights of 700+ lbs.

• Lighter beef cows, under 1,000 lbs live weight, will likely produce sub-500 lb hanging weights.

• Well-finished cull cows normally have hanging weights on the higher end of the range.

• Thin cull cows will fall on the lower end for hanging weights.

Estimating Hanging Weight from Live Weight

A beef cow’s hanging weight is typically 55-60% of her live weight. Some rules of thumb:

• For a 1,200 lb beef cow, expect a hanging weight around 640-720 lbs.

• For an 800 lb beef cow, estimate a 450-480 lb hanging weight.

• For a 1,500 lb beef cow, project a hanging weight from 825-900 lbs.

To be more precise, work with your processor to determine dressing percentage, which is the ratio of hanging weight to live weight. Then you can calculate:

Hanging Weight = Live Weight x Dressing Percentage

Let’s say you harvested a 1,350 lb Angus beef cow with a 61% dressing percentage:

Hanging Weight = 1,350 lbs x 0.61 = 823.5 lbs

This provides a more accurate estimate than using a rule of thumb.

Estimating Meat Yield from Hanging Weight

Next, you need to estimate meat yield from the hanging weight. About 25-30% of hanging weight is lost as fat trim and waste.

For our 1,350 lb cow with an 823.5 lb hanging weight:

• At 25% waste, meat yield = 823.5 lbs x 0.75 = 617.6 lbs

• At 30% waste, meat yield = 823.5 lbs x 0.70 = 576.5 lbs

We can expect this beef cow to produce about 575-620 lbs of packaged meat. Having a good grasp of potential yields and the factors impacting hanging weight allows cattle producers to set realistic expectations and price animals fairly when selling by the pound. While hanging weights and yields vary, focusing on sound herd management and nutrition is the best way to optimize the amount of beef harvested from your cattle.