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Which is better for calves hay or grass?
If she was given a choice, she would eat grass over hay. But she likes to nibble on a bit of hay too. Hay is just dried grass, and is recommended to be fed to cattle if they are put in a alfalfa pasture or on a pasture with young, high-nutrient grass to help with digestion and to discourage bloat.
What do cattle do in summer?
Most cattle graze on green grass in the summer; some of the cattle that are used for dairy are put outside occaisonally to get some exercise and maybe eat a little grass.
What are the differences between pasture-fed and feedlot-fed cattle?
Besides how they are housed, where they live and what they are fed, there are almost no significant differences between them. The primary difference is how they are fed. Feedlot cattle are fed an 85% grain or concentrate diet (the rest is forage), and pasture-fed cattle are obviously set to graze grass on pasture.What's interesting in this respect is that feedlot cattle have been pastured before they entered the feedlot. These cattle have been on pasture pretty well since the day they were born, and remained so for a year and a half (~18 months) before being sent to the feedlot to be "finished" for beef. Even the weaned calves that enter the feedlot are put on pasture in the summer for 5 or 6 months, and in the winter or during the times when they cannot be on pasture they are fed a forage-rich diet. Pastured cattle will also be fed the same way if they do not have pasture to graze on, because not all areas can raise cattle on pasture all year round.The differences that may be seen is when cattle are mere days away from being sent to slaughter. Feedlot cattle are younger and somewhat fatter than pasture-finished cattle, being finished at around 20 to 24 months of age. Pasture-finished cattle are not as fat, but still well conditioned, but older. By the time they are ready for slaughter, they are around 28 to 30 months of age. Breeds and breeding matters little between feedlot and pastured cattle, feed efficiency is not breed specific, but individual-specific within and between breeds.
Will spreading fresh horse manure in a grazing pasture harmful?
No if you put a ligh layer over the pasture then no, this is actually extremly benificial to the grass (for horse manure is great fertilizer).
Where should you put a salt block for cows?
If cattle are being held in a drylot or corral, the best place is near the water source. However, if they are being grazed out on pasture and you want to have a more even grazing distribution, you could put a block out for them in the pasture. Make sure you move the salt lick station every couple of days so that they don't beat the grass down to dirt at that one station.
What is a pasture spring?
It could mean one of two things: A pasture spring could mean that there is a natural water source in the pasture, hence a spring. Think of the springs in the mountains where ground water emerges. There are springs also in pastures, particularly if the pasture is located in the mountains or foothills somewhere. The second thing is if I switched the words around to "spring pasture." This just means that new grass is emerging after the winter snows have melted. Spring pasture is when the grass is new and lush, and the perfect time to put the livestock out to graze.
Where were the Cowboys taking the cattle?
Where else but where they left them, out on the pasture or range where they belong. They're very tough animals and don't need to be put in a barn or shed every night.
Is it better to slash long winter grass before grazing cattle?
Not if you want them to do some stockpile grazing. Stockpile grazing is great to use during the early parts of spring when the grasses haven't quite come up yet. It helps put more manure on the pasture for the grasses to use, plus it eliminates most of the cover that might hinder the grass coming up. Of course, this all depends on where you live. If you are in an area where you don't get much snow--if any--and have long, dead, winter grass in the pasture you need to get rid of, you could mow it a bit, or graze your cows on it and let the cows get rid of it for you.
What are the functions of black angus cattle?
Angus cattle function the same way that all other cattle do: they are herbivorous animals that are used to eat grass in pastures or rangelands and put on weight to produce beef. Angus cattle are beef cattle, which means they are raised and killed for their meat.
How are beef cattle bred?
Put grass in front of cow and bull behind. The rest is simple. Some beef cattle are AI'd, but for most, it's best to let the bull do the work instead.
How do you take care of a beef cow?
Keep it in a pasture with plenty of grass. When the grass runs out, put her in a separate corral from the pasture and give her a bale of hay (once a day or whenever the bale runs out) until the grass has grown enough for her to graze on it again. Don't just keep one bale: keep lots of hay, because you can never have too much hay. Always allow access to water and salt mineral.
How can a cow wrap their tongue around grass stalks and pull them out to eat and not destroy a pasture?
It's all about the roots: 60 to 80% of the biomass (i.e., the roots) of a grass-plant is underground. Healthy root systems of grasses grows out and down in such a way that it firmly anchors it to the ground. Grass roots are fibrous, not tapered, so that it makes it much more difficult for the grazing animal to pull the grass out by its roots. Grasses have evolved over billions of years so that they are highly resistant to being pulled out by the roots when being eaten by grazers like bison, cattle, elk, sheep and goats. The root system of grasses grow as the pasture is being grazed properly, simply by letting cattle graze a certain pasture or paddock for a certain amount of time before being moved on to another paddock or pasture to allow the grasses to rejuvenate growth both above and below ground before being grazed again. What will kill grass is when it's being grazed too close to the earth, or an animal comes back and takes a bite from the grass that has just started putting new leaves out all the time. When this occurs, the root system dies, becomes more shallower and less robust because more energy is being put into growing new leaves than growing new roots. This is called overgrazing. However it's not all about overgrazing that will destroy a pasture. When a pasture is reseeded or re-sprigged and needs to establish itself enough to take on grazing pressures from livestock, it cannot have any animals grazing it during that time of establishment, nor should it be mowed or hayed. If an owner or grazing manager grazes their cattle when the grass has just started growing or just been recently sprigged, then the cattle WILL destroy the pasture. This is all because the root systems have not been given time enough to establish themselves enough to resist any sort of grazing pressure. If the owner prevents any livestock from being on the pasture nor does any haying or mowing while the new grasses are growing and establishing their new root systems for at least a year, then the possibilities of having a pasture destroyed by the grazing actions of the livestock will not be a problem. Thus it's all down to the responsibility of the owner to make sure they graze their cattle at the right time to ensure healthy, vibrant and vigorous grasses.
