Cattle Diets and Nutrition

Cows love all sorts of treats, but should only get them in moderation. Some like candy like chocolate, others like grain, alfalfa cubes, vegetable waste off the kitchen table or garden, etc.

Goats cost 1/5 of the feed and labor of cows. They are good for meat, milk and milk product.

Of course! It is the results of digestion of plants. Not all plant material is digestible and a large percentage of it passes directly through the system. It is also true of any animal that eats plants, including humans. And cow dung contains enough material to make a usable fuel for fires and is common for cooking and heating in third world countries.

Corn is high in energy and protein which helps the steer gain weight faster. Feed that is higher in energy than a cow needs for maintenance stores this as fat. This is what helps steers gain weight quickly and is also what is commonly called as "fattening."

nectarines peaches apples watermelon any type of melon

Yes. At this age the baby teeth are coming out and being replaced by adult teeth. This is very similar to humans, except this is occurring at the "teenager" stage of a cow's life, not at a child's stage like in humans.

Yes, and they'll kill them too by eating these small trees. To prevent them from doing so, fence off the trees so that the cows cannot reach the trees at all.

Cow dung fertiliser is important in helping to improve the structure of the soil(aggregation). Animal manure has been used for centuries as a fertiliser in farming, improving the soil structure so that it holds more nutrients and water and becomes more fertile. Animal manure also encourages soil microbial activity which promotes the soil's trace mineral supply, improving plant nutrition. It also contains some nitrogen and other nutrients itself which assisst the growth of plants.

A cow, be she beef or dairy, can give 12.0 tons of excrement per year per 1000 lbs. In other words, a 1000 lb cow will accumulate 12 tons of manure per year. A cow that is larger than that, like 2000 lbs, will give more; around twice as much.

Beef cows are put on feed for 3 to 4 months prior to finishing. Most cows may not need to go through the feedlot to be finished because either they are simply too wild or are fat enough to be able to go straight to the slaughter facility. These are female mature bovines who have had a calf we're talking about here, by the way, not "cows" in general or colloquially speaking.

IF, however, we are referring to "cows" as far as colloquialism is concerned, this really depends on the age of the "cow," breed/type, and whether that "cow" has been backgrounded for several months before put on the feedlot or not. Majority of steers and heifers (proper term instead of "cows"), once weaned at around or between 3 to 6 months of age, will go onto a backgrounding operation first before being finished in the feedlot. Backgrounding usually takes around 8 months to a full year before they are heavy enough or at the right condition and frame size to be put on full-feed. Calves that have been weaned much later (such as around 8 to 10 months) will either go through a short phase of backgrounding or go directly to the feedlot to begin finishing. Steers and heifers will spend anywhere from 3 to 8 months in the feedlot to fatten up and be at the right condition and/or frame size to be ready for slaughter.

Most cattle are held in a dry lot (or corral) to be finished. They have minimum exercise, which tends to help them gain weight easier and quicker and finish sooner. It is up to you if you wish to have them on a pasture as well or instead, if you want to minimize the work load that is involved in finishing beefers.

Herd health is one management practice that is important for finishing beefers. If you are feeding them a grain-based diet for a few weeks, keep an eye out for sickness like acidosis, bloat, founder, etc. Most folks that fatten beef cattle on a smaller operation than those large feedlots are able to feed hay and allow the cattle access to grass along with the grain, to minimize these illness issues. But be aware of them, as you will have to have handling facilities set up so you can run them through and medicate them with some medicine to prevent acidosis.

Grain-based diets include 85% grain like corn, oats, barley or wheat, and 15% forage. However, there's also nothing wrong with feeding your beefers 20 to 25 lbs of grain per day (for each animal), and allowing them full access to hay or pasture. Corn and barley are the best grains for fattening up beef cattle, if oats or wheat is too expensive or not available. The grains should not be fed whole, but should be cracked, rolled, or milled so your cattle can get the optimum nutrition from them to gain weight in a short period of time. Most feedlots feed the cattle grain to not only gain weight, but to get rid of the yellow tinge in their fat that has come from a grass-only diet, since the more conventional (and often uneducated) consumer won't buy beef that has yellow fat in it. As a smaller operator, this should be the least of your concern. Often the yellower fat is more healthier than the whiter fat that comes with grain finishing, and having a slight yellow tinge to the beef shouldn't hurt anything.

Besides the feed they are given, make sure they have access to water and shelter as well. Water is very important for them (as it is for all animal life), as well as shelter when inclement weather rolls through. A mineral block is also great for them to have, and highly recommended. Make sure they also have a high point for them to sleep or play on, like a big mound of dirt (called a cattle mound), because cattle love to be on top of hills. It also keeps them out of the mud and muck in the corral and offers them a dry place to sleep.

Feed the cattle according to the target weight gain you wish to achieve. Most commercial feedlots feed the cattle until they have reached around 1400 to 1800 lbs and have an over-conditioned look to them (they look quite round and fat, from the shoulders all the way to the hind quarters). You, as a smaller operator, can feed your cattle up to whatever weight you wish, keeping in mind the breeds you have you are finishing on. Continentals tend to finish at a heavier weight than British breeds, but take longer to put more fat on. British breeds gain fat quicker, and so have to be finished at a lighter weight. Those cattle that have Continental and British breeding in them tend to be in the middle of the road. A smaller operator tends to finish his cattle at a terminal weight of around 1000 to 1200 lbs. If you have a lot of mouths to feed, you may want to feed to a heavier weight.

Finally, manure management is also an important part of the management practices of finishing beef cattle. Manure accumulates over time in the corrals, especially if they are kept in the corrals for a few months before being sent to be "harvested," and needs to be scraped out with a loader bucket on a tractor or bush hog. Often you can scrape it into a pile so that your next set of steers or heifers to be finished have a nice place to solicit on, or hire manure spreader trucks to spread it out on your fields, or have someone buy the manure to have it spread on their fields. Either way, getting rid of all that excess manure build-up is important.

not necissarily, but in the states, that's the only place youll find it in the wild. It can be grown unnaturally in a number of substances including brown rice and soil designed for growing fungus

Cattle are located at farms and ranches. You can also find them in lots of states in the Midwest.

Cud is partially digested forage. A bolus of cud is brought up from the reticulo-rumen by regurgitation; the rest of the other partially digested forage is kept in the rumen.

No. This is a myth that has been passed along by drug addicts that have been trying to find unique ways of getting the necessary ingredients for illegal drugs like methamphetamine, also commonly known as crystal meth.

Cow manure contains lots of macro nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen that are very important in aiding the growth of plants. It is a natural and very cheap source of fertilizer, and thus is used more often than man-made pellet fertilizers.

Gas build up in the rumen which cannot be released by eructation. The bubbles or foam that builds up--which is a result of a cow eating too much grain, clover or alfalfa when they're really hungry--cannot be popped or released, which prohibits the animal from burping and releasing the gas in the rumen.

These gas bubbles that form are formed by the quick digestion of high-quality proteins in the animal's rumen. When digestion occurs at too fast a rate, gas builds up quickly making it very painful for the animal. This is mediated by tubing the animal with dish soap (detergent) or mineral oil to help pop these bubbles and release the gas. A trocar is used only if the situation is dire to the point that tubing with mineral oil or detergent isn't as effective enough to quickly release the gas built up in the rumen.

Sweet corn is soft from the day it blooms. "Cow" corn is hard it's entire lifespan. Corn feed is a better way of stating it. Hard corn "corn feed" is also packaged as popcorn. Just a little better cleaning.

A cow uses its strong rough tongue to grab and teeth to shear (which are only on the bottom row). Then the product the cow eats goes into the rumen to be fermented. It then is regurgitated and chews as cud. The cud is reswallowed, refermented in the rumen, then goes through the rest of the digestive tract for nutrients to be absorbed into the cow's system, before exiting as feces.

Space for beef cattle should only be of concern if they're raised in some level of a confined environment, whether it's in a barn or a corral. Cows (mature females), bred heifers and feeders to 1100 pounds on a paved lot area without a shed or barn is 80 square feet per head. With a shed or barn it's ~50 square feet. This same group of animals on a dirt lot with and without a shed need ~300 square feet per head (however the Ontario Agriculture site states that cattle within this group require 250 to 500 square feet if on a dirt lot with a barn or shed, and 600 to 800 square feet without a barn or shed).

For cattle kept in a barn, space requirements are 30 to 40 square feet per head without a yard, and 20 to 30 square feet per head with access to a yard. Shed area is around 30 square feet per head.

Calves 400 to 800 pounds have smaller-area housing requirements.

You can't be in it for the money. That's the first thing you should know. Don't get in the business of raising cattle if you're not going to enjoy or love it. Raising cattle, nowadays, is getting to be more of a hobby than a business, but really, in order for it to be a successful business you have to make it into a hobby.

The second thing is that you have to know what you're doing, how to do it and when. You gotta have enough land, feed, and water to raise them. Knowledge in bovine behaviour and basics in bovine reproductive and ruminant digestive physiology will also help. Patience and a willingness to work hard is also something you should have if you want to raise cattle. And money: especially for start-up costs.

if they can't break down the food ,the other stomachs will do the process