A:    I don't know if there is an "ideal" weight. Usually the taller the frame the heavier the weight at slaughter. A beef animal that is ready to slaughter at 850 lb is a pretty small frame animal. Average slaughter weight for steers slaughter nationally I think is between 1180 and 1220 pounds. These would represent a weight were steers would be frame score 5.0 to 6.0. This is also a weight that they would have a good chance of grading USDA Choice. So the answer to your question, my best guess is that you could probably feed this steer to 1150 to 1200 pounds, especially if it is about a frame 5 calf.