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Cattle Diets and Nutrition
Domestic bovines don't eat just grass: the diet of a bovine is surprisingly complex and involved with the variety of feeds in the form of forage, grain and byproducts available. But in order to determine the diet of a bovine one must understand the nutritional aspect of the bovine as well--an aspect that has its complexities and variations as well. If you are looking to learn and ask questions about the diets and nutrition of cattle, you've come to the right place.
1,811 Questions
Yes, eagles can eat cows. However, they typically eat the cow once it is deceased. They usually will not attack a cow to kill it.
During what time did hundreds of thousands of cattle die on the open ranges from Canada to Texas?
Great Die-Up
How much feed do i need to make a one ton cow?
1 ton = ~2 200 lbs. Are you sure you want to "make" a one ton cow? That's a very big cow by any standards. I've yet to hear of a cow getting up to that weight, as most cows average around 1 500 lbs, more or less. Bulls get up to 2 200 lbs or more, depending on the breed. British bulls like Angus or Hereford often get up to 2 200 lbs or more, and they take more feed than a cow does.
Now as far as how much feed, this all depends on what age you are wishing to start at. A weaner heifer calf (6 months old @ ~500 lbs) gains anywhere from 0.5 to 2.5 lbs per day, with a daily intake (as-fed) between 12 and 14 lbs per day. To complicate things, her rate of intake increases as she gets older, but the rate of gain stays relatively the same throughout her growth period to maturity.
So lets make this simple scenario: you purchased a 500 lb heifer calf with a relatively stable rate of gain of 2 lbs per day with a daily intake of 13 lbs per day. So, she would reach 600 lbs in: 100 lbs/2 lbs per day = 50 days. In 50 days, in order to have gained 600 lbs (look at the previous calculation: in order to get to 600 lbs she has to gain a hundred pounds from the start: 500 lbs + 100 lbs = 600 lbs) she has consumed 50 days x 13 lbs per day = 650 lbs of feed. And so it continues to reach your target weight of one ton:
50 days to reach another 100 lbs.
Rate of intake for a 600 lb heifer = 15 lbs. 50 days x 15 lbs/day = 750 lbs of feed.
Rate of intake for a 700 lb heifer = 17 lbs. 50 days x 17 lbs/day = 850 lbs of feed.
Rate of intake for an 800 lb heifer = 19 lbs. 50 days x 19 lbs/day = 950 lbs of feed.
Rate of intake for a 900 lb heifer = 21 lbs. 50 days x 21 lbs/day = 1050 lbs of feed.
Rate of intake for a 1000 lb heifer = 23 lbs. 50 days x 23 lbs/day = 1150 lbs of feed.
Rate of intake fo a 1100 lb heifer = 25 lbs. 50 days x 25 lbs/day = 1250 lbs of feed.
Here her rate of intake starts to decrease as she has reached her target size, and now is just simply putting on fat. So, the feeding period increases to 100 days as her rate of intake has decreased from 2 lbs/day to 1 lb/day.
Rate of intake for a 1200 lb heifer/cow = 26 lbs. 100 days x 26 lbs/day = 2600 lbs of feed.
Rate of intake for a 1300 lb heifer/cow = 27 lbs. 100 days x 27 lbs/day = 2700 lbs of feed.
Rate of intake for a 1400 lb heifer/cow = 28 lbs. 100 days x 28 lbs/day = 2800 lbs of feed
Rate of intake for a 1500 lb heifer/cow = 28.5 lbs. 100 lbs x 28.5 lbs/day = 2850 lbs of feed.
In total, you are going to feed about 17,600 lbs of feed in order to get a 1,500 lb cow. The reason I stopped there is because most calculations for feed and nutrient requirement tables stop at 1500 lbs. If you are going to make a 2,200 lb cow let me advise you that you are going to make a morbidly obese cow if you keep adding more weight on her, which is not healthy for any cow of any size or breed. Therefore, should you decide to make your 2,200 lb cow, the grand total amount of feed you are going to need is 22,000 lbs.
Now this is not in a real world. In the real world you have to contend with diet changes in changes of feed associated with changes of season, weather, climate changes (drought or excess moisture), and risk of illness or infection in the heifer. These calculations do not take any of that into account; it only has isolated the number of feeding periods, the growth of the heifer and the amount of feed (of the same diet) needed to reach the projected 1 ton cow.
How much beef nut to feed cow?
None. Cows eat grass, hay, silage and grain, not any sort of animal meat like "beef nut."
Silage making is the process by which green/immature plants are harvested, stored and allowed to ferment for the purpose of feeding the fermented vegetation to livestock. This feed was originally loaded into silos to allow to ferment, but today can also be stored in large sealed plastic bags.
Why do people rub cow's stomachs when they are showing them?
Rubbing the stomach makes the cow stretch its head, giving it better posture while showing.
What is the best cattle to raise for profit?
There is no definitive answer to this, as it contains many, many variables that have to be considered before realizing which type of cattle or which breed is best to raise for profit. There is no "BEST breed" nor "BEST cattle sector", because the people that raise cattle and where they live, the climate, vegetation, topography, soils, etc. differ from farm to farm and ranch to ranch, and so they type of cattle they raise also varies. It all depends on what YOU want to achieve, what your "dream herd" should look like, and how you want to raise your cattle. Maybe you shouldn't raise Angus; maybe they won't work for you like, say, Beefmasters will, or Red Polls or even Dexters. It also depends on what markets you want to aim for, whether you're more looking at selling your beef through direct sales to consumers looking for a healthier product, or you want to go the route that most everyone takes and sell your cattle at the auction or salebarn.
It also depends on how hard you want to work for your cattle, or if you want your cattle to work for you. There really is no best way to raise cattle for profit, because there really is no profit in raising cattle. Most folks nowadays are raising cattle just simply for the enjoyment as a hobby and have an off-farm job to help deal with the added expenses. If you're in the cow-calf business end of things, you still have to sell cull cows and bulls and 80% of their calf crop, but don't expect get a profit off them like you could 20 or 30 years ago. Actually, it's the same for all sectors: backgrounding, feedlot, commercial cow-calf, seedstock cow-calf.
You can get a bit more $$$$ in seedstock operations, but for a beginner it is not really ideal to start there. You have got to have a good reputation to sell your bulls and heifers, as well as know much more marketing techniques than you need if you raise commercial cattle. As a beginner you won't get much or any sales on your purebred bulls and heifers because your potential customers won't know you, nor can they trust you because you are "just starting out." You're better off going commercial if you want to raise cows & calves.
As for breeds, this is your choice. If you don't want to get on the black bandwagon, nor want to or can't get into dairy, have easy calving mothers, cattle that have great forage convertibility that will do well on just grass and hay with absolutely no grain or bread or other high-CHO supplementations, good mothering ability, good milking ability, etc., etc., you have a LOT of breeds to choose from besides Angus or Red Angus. In the commercial cow-calf sector, don't be afraid to choose crossbred cows as well. They often do better and meet your expectations better than most purebreds.
The sky is the limit. I suggest you check out the following related questions below for more information on what you want to go for. But keep in this mind: If you want to raise cattle for profit, you're better off making money off of selling quilts and baby blankets or fixing cars than you are raising cattle. But all the same...good luck cattle shopping!
How do you calculate average daily gain in cattle?
Simple really. All you need is a scale, and weigh your herd one day, then 24 hours later weigh them again. The difference of the average of your herd is the ADG.
But in more mathematical terms, ADG is calculated thus: weight gain / number of days on feed = ADG
How long can a cow live off hay?
As long as necessary. Cows can live off of hay for 6 or more months of the year when pasture is unavailable. Cows can even live off of hay all year round. But they can't live off of hay alone if you don't provide water and mineral with their feed.
How many bushels of corn does a cow eat in a year?
Many cows in the world will eat zero bushels per year per head. Cows in the states fed a supplement of corn may only consume five to ten bushels of corn a year per head. Still others that are in a intensive commercial operation may eat anywhere from 50 to 200 bushels of corn per year, if not more, and depending on the weight, class, age, breed and type of cows being fed, as well as what other feedstuffs are fed in addition to corn.
How often should you feed a poddy calf?
twice a day or once a day with powdered milk - if twice a day to less concentrated powdered milk in each bucket or bottle. They generally drink between 2 to 3 litres of milk depending on whether you are feeding them once or twice a day - specific directions are usually contained in bag of milk powder which is usually 20 kilograms in weight
Why do you need to feed cows corn?
Cows do not eat corn in their natuaral diet. They eat grass. Cows are being fed corn because it is cheap and plentiful. Because corn is not a natural food for cows, they need help digesting it and are fed antibiotics to keep their digestion healthy.
A cow patty or cow pie is a pile of feces that came from....you guessed it...a cow. Or any bovine, be it a bull, steer or heifer. They are a brown, round pile of cow feces that looks sort of like a pie or a patty.
How many cows are needed to feed 6 people for a year?
The average person consumes about 60 lbs of beef a year. By that math, it will take 360 lbs of meat. Dressing (the % an animal weight that is the bled carcass) is around 60%. Therefore, you can figure that a 1,250 lbs steer should yield 750 lbs. However, before you go in with someone on a carcass and each taking a side, remember that you are limited on cuts. Take a look at how much ground beef you want. That will be the first thing a butcher asks you.
How many cows per acre in california?
I would say where I live we have irrigation and really good soil and we could put about 1 cow per acre.
How do you train a calf to lead in a short amount of time?
A good lead rope and halter, a sturdy fence or post, and lots and lots of patience. Work the calf like you have all day or all year, not like you only have a couple weeks to train him.
