Cattle Diets and Nutrition

In their udders.

Goats milk may cause some irritation to their digestive system as it is very rich. It is not best to feed them goats milk, however, if you do feed them very little or add water to it.

There are some Holstein cows that are almost all white, but other than that, there's no other commonly-known breed of dairy cow that is all white.

If you were in the US then it was 8 cents.

No, It is not. As my mother always told me, "When in doubt, throw it out" and I would do that with lumpy evaporated milk. Makes me shudder just thinking about it.

Technically yes, 'sour milk cheese' is a kind of cheese made from the curds created by souring milk, either naturally or by introducing lactic acid bacteria to it. Cottage Cheese is an example of the latter.

Humans cannot eat livestock feed at all. Livestock feed, especially for cattle, is unsuitable for human consumption and adds no nutritional value to humans if a human were, in fact, to eat it. Feeds have been created and formulated to suit a ruminant, not a monogastric (certainly not a monogastric that does not have a functioning cecum, unlike the horse or the pig) to take advantage of the biochemistry of the microbes within the rumen that help a cow give more milk or a beef steer put on more muscle prior to slaughter.

The false claim that it would feed more people if livestock feed were fed to humans instead does not take into account the little processing that is done to such feeds in comparison with what must be done to "meet the grade" for human food standards. A cow can easily and much more efficiently digest and utilize an entire wheat or corn plant, for instance, because they are built to be roughage digesters. We humans, on the other hand, are only interested in the portion of the grain or corn kernel that gives us the starch component of our foodstuffs. That means that we are only interested in around 10 percent portion of the entire wheat or corn plant. That's a big difference compared to the 50 to 60 percent of the plant that a cow would be interested in: this comprises of not just the grain portion, but the leaves and the upper part stems as well. With that 10 percent of the plant, that grain that is harvested "for human use only," we have to throw away another five to eight percent--being the hull, bran and germ of the wheat grain, and the large cob which the kernels are attached too--away before it can be processed further into something which we will readily eat. So, all in all, we humans are really only interested in only a part of the wheat grain, and not the entire seed like a cow would be. When you feed a cow a pound of wheat, the only processing that may be done to it is grinding or rolling to break the hull. That's it. Additionally, the entire two thirds of a cereal grain plant (or 7/8's of a corn plant) can be harvested, chopped and ensiled to make silage, no further processing required.

This brings us to another issue that is often overlooked: By-products. When a company or industry is processing grains, lentils, oilseeds or pulses into a useable product for human consumption, there is always a part of the seeds or grains that must be discarded as waste or garbage, as mentioned above. All of this "garbage" can't be fed to humans because we humans won't eat it, either because it doesn't have the aesthetics-factor, the good-tasting factor, nor the tenderness, relatively-easy-to-chew factor. So where does it go? It could go to the landfill, or the compost heap, but so much of it is produced on a daily basis that both the landfill and the compost heap will be overwhelmed. The best solution for such by-products is to give them to the very organisms that can utilize them and produce products which we always vote for with our money at the grocery store: that's right, the livestock. Livestock, including dairy cows and beef cattle, can easily and often eagerly consume these by-products (as part of their ration, of course) to produce milk and meat, respectively.

"Waste" products have never nor will ever be produced for the purpose of feeding livestock. They amount to nothing to the industry which generates such waste, and are often treated as such: simply more garbage to throw away. The crops from which they originate have originally been grown "solely for human consumption," however the by-products which are left over go to feed livestock. Thus, there is no such thing as a crop grown solely for human consumption, nor solely for livestock feed, nor is there such a thing as a crop being grown or used to be fed as "waste" feed to livestock. To drive the point home further, everyone one of us, no matter what fad diet, culture or religion we follow that may or may not force us to consider to not consume any animal products, contributes to and encourages the livestock industry as a whole, no matter what we choose to eat.

Feed that is high in energy, protein and calcium. This includes grains, grass, and high-quality hay and silage.

There is no standard answer to this. In India there are cows available ranging 5 Liter a day to 40 Lit a day. It depends upon the breed, fodder provided and upkeep of the cow. However to be on a safer side for planning purposes etc you may plan 20 Lit a day.

To a certain extent yes. Normally they grow around it, not actually in it.

I would stay away from small mushrooms growing around it though.

Not all mushrooms are edible. Not all are psychedelic. Some are just plain poisonous.

Catastrophic liver failure might result from eating various mushrooms.

Permanent Brain-damage might result from eating psychedelic mushrooms.

Because it's high in protein, high in calcium, is loaded with vitamins and is relatively low in fat (even 'full fat milk' contains less than 5% fat.

The process of milk is not directly linked to the cow's digestive system, no matter what colour of hide the cow is: black, brown, red, white, black-and-white, yellow, orange, etc. Milk becomes white because of the blood that supplies the cells in the alveoli that are found in huge masses in the udder. Milk has similar components to blood, except for hemoglobins and red blood cells which make blood red. These components that are fed to the milk secreting cells by the capillaries are what makes the milk white. Other contributors to the whiteness of milk are proteins called Casein that are found in milk.

They will drink beer.

But you should insist they buy their own.

The left Abdomen

Yes, but not all cows are fed corn; those cattle that are raised where corn is scarce are fed barley or oats. Corn and other grains are primarily fed to finishing cattle in feedlots to fatten them up in less space of time than it takes them to fatten up on grass in the pasture. Though pasture finishing is cheaper with less inputs put into finishing cattle, it takes twice as long and uses more land to finish feeder/stocker cattle than grain does. Corn and other grains are higher in energy and proteins that allow the feeders to gain quicker, but that high energy ration has its trade-offs. Cattle are ruminants with stomachs designed to eat poorer-quality forages that what is normally found in grains, such as grass and legumes. The rumen has a neutral acditiy of a pH of 6.5 to 7, maintained by the activities of the microorganisms in the ruminal digestive tract that help digest the fibrous tissues the animal consumes. A quick introduction of grains throws this balance off, increasing acidity to a pH of 5 to 6, which invites bacteria to produce lactic acid which further decreases pH. Acidosis, which this condition is called, causes decrease in consumption and pains in the belly. If this condition isn't treated the acid could cause ulcers in the rumen which invites infection since the bacteria is allowed access to the damaged ruminal membrane. Furthermore, the rumen eventually stops contracting, and the animal eventually dies. To prevent acidosis, medicines and antibiotics must be put into the feed to help prevent incidences of acidosis. Also, animals fresh off the pasture must be introduced to their new diet slowly to allow the microbial activity to adjust to the new diet.

In a silage pit or as bales

Yes, most hamburgers are made primarily of beef, which is the muscle from a cow. However, there are also patty-shaped products similar to hamburgers that are made from chicken meat, turkey meat and from soy or black beans (veggie burgers).

They would if they could. Lettuce is just another green plant to a cow, and it'll chow down without thinking more about it. As an aside, but on a related note, we don't feed cows lettuce. That's because lettuce is sold to people, and also because the nutritional value of lettuce is low. It's trace elements and fiber are what make it attractive for us, but would make it a less-than-best choice for a cow. Cows would rather eat grains if they have a choice. And a lot of what they are fed are enriched grains.

On average a full grown cow produces approximatley 150 Lbs or 68Kg of manure per day with a average of 65% to 70% of this being water.

Cows are mammals. After they have given birth they have evolved, like every mammalian species, to give milk to their young. We have just "improved" the Dairy Cow so that she can give way more milk than her calf needs so we can drink it.

Fattening beef cattle depends on what diet you want them to fatten up on, their age, their breeding, average daily gain, rate of intake, and target weight you want to have them slaughtered. Grass-finished cattle take a month or so longer to fatten up than grain-finished cattle. But both types of finisher cattle should be on a high-energy, high-protein diet to gain weight quickly. For grassers this would be young, vegetative grasses that are almost at the stage of inflourescence but the long stems that haven't quite popped up yet. It will take about 6 months for the cattle to reach target weight. For grainers, a diet of 80 to 90% diet of grain is the common way (the feedlot way) to fatten cattle within a period of 3 to 4 months. However, if you wish you could finish your cattle on a 50-50 or 40-60 diet of grain and forage, respectively or vice versa, to get a stronger tasting, yet juicy steak.

British breeds fatten quicker than Continentals will. So starting British breed-type cattle when they are but 18 to 20 months of age on a high energy ration will get them to gain enough meat on them but not too much fat. Continentals genetically are built to be lean, so you could start them whenever you like, like right after they are weaned on a grain-based diet or a diet of 50% forage 50% grain to get them to gain weight. Continentals will finish at a heavier weight than British breeds will, so also bear that in mind when choosing which breeds to fatten up for your freezer. Crossbred calves that have British and Continental breeds in them can be started either way, but the British influence will have them still fatten quicker, so backgrounding them until they are 18 months old would be a wise decision.

When cattle (cows) are slaughtered, their flesh becomes food called meat. This can include steaks, ribs, shanks, roasts, hamburger, sausage and many other "cuts." Other parts of the cow used for food include all of the internal organs, while the bones are used to produce broth, marrow and gelatin.

Dairy cows are tended and milked; that milk then produces many "dairy products." In addition to the milk itself, dairy products include cream, butter, whey, cheese, yogurt, kefir, and numerous other milk-based foods.

This all depends on what that "cow" is being fed for. Since most everyone likes to refer to "cows" as a general term for a bovine of any age, sex, and use, this question will have to be answered as such.

Usually, in most cases when trying to increase weight on a bovine like a heifer or a bull, but do not want to feed so much that they are gaining weight too quickly, thus putting too much fat on them which would impede their breeding ability, then it's best to feed only 1% of their body weight per day, as-fed. This amount also goes for feeding cows (and I'm referring to those mature females that have had at least 2 calves) that are also needing to gain weight for the next calving, or are being fed grain because the hay is of poor quality and they are in need of supplementation; or that the cows simply cannot live off of hay or grass alone and require supplementation anyway--this depends on breed. Remember, when feeding grain to animals like those described in this paragraph, always make sure they have a roughage source as their main feed source.

When feeding calves that are growing and being used for beef, like in pre-weaning operations or backgrounding operations, cattle should be fed corn at 2% of their body weight per day as an as-fed ration. This is so that it encourages higher weaning weights, boosts growth rates and ADG (average daily gain), and meets their energy and protein requirements so they can grow to healthy, "soggy" calves. Again, grain should not be fed in these types of operations as a sole food source; they should be fed hay or allowed to graze on pasture in addition to the grain supplementation.

When finishing cattle, some producers like to increase the average daily intake of corn to 3% of the animal's body weight per day as-fed. Some may want to feed corn as a 85%-grain-25%-roughage diet to increase weight quickly and put more marbling on the finishers, depending on what the market demands for the type of beef cattle they produce/sell, or what their customers want when selling beef through direct sales. Others would finish an animal at this rate but have the animal eat hay or graze grass ad libitum (free choice) to make the beef more flavourful and not so bland and fatty if they were fed just grain the last 3 to 4 weeks prior to slaughter. Other producers would keep the grain intake at only 2% or 2.5% of the animals' body weight per day, as-fed; some not at all.

The main rule of thumb though, when feeding cattle grain, is to feed them according to the reason you want to feed them grain. Thin cows require more supplementation than normally conditioned or fat cows. Heifers and bulls that are underweight need supplementation. Lactating cows require supplementation if they're lactating at a time when grass won't provide enough nutrition for them or when there's no grass at all. Dry pregnant cows don't require the amount of supplementation that growing animals or lactating cows do. Growing animals like young calves, pre-weaned calves, weaners that are being backgrounded, feeder calves, etc., require some form of supplementation to help increase weight gain and ADG. Breed also plays a huge role in determining whether feeding grain is necessary. For all cows that are requiring weight gain or are needing extra supplementation for lactation, feed only 1% of their body weight, as-fed, per day.