Types Of Cattle Feed

Her intake will decrease, and the quality of the feed she is consuming can decrease as well. While there are guidelines for nutrition you should follow, the feedstuffs you choose will depend on your farm and what is available.

Ensuring fertility is essential, especially for small-scale farmers who have only one bull to service a herd. Follow her adventures at www.freelancefarmerchick.com . In case of infertility, Troxel recommends having a breeding-soundness evaluation performed...

Domestication of cattle is relatively recent, occurring around 7,000 to 9,000 years ago. Neck humps tend to hold more muscle, while humps over the withers tend to hold more fat, which is a storehouse of calories to help the animals get through leaner...

You sent in a lot of great snapshots—both sweet and funny. They keep our forage fields from becoming overgrown. Courtesy Gina Z. Courtesy Lee B. Courtesy Janell J. Courtesy Kimberley C.

Courtesy Debi T. Courtesy Debbie T. Courtesy Chopping Block Farm Courtesy Anthony W. Courtesy @thurlow94/via Instagram Tags baby cows , calves , Lists Celebrate calving season with these baby cow photos from reader hobby farms.

Cattle that are raised in an environment similar to yours will do better on your farm. Still, there are a few breeds you might consider first. Go For The Beefy Build Smaller-framed, stockier cattle can turn forages into muscle better than the tall, long...

Allen Young, dairy specialist at the Utah State University Cooperative Extension, recommends providing up to 30 gallons of water per day and serving it at lukewarm temperatures if possible.

Calving and lambing in the pleasant months of September, October and early November is easier on everyone. A reduced conception rate in your ewe flock may be a result of fall lambing due to the challenge of overcoming the hardwired reproductive physiology.

I know they didn't mean bivalve mollusks. As I cleaned off my equipment, I had to ask Grandma: how does one cook testicles? All in a day's work! I proceeded this humid spring morning to surgically castrate three bull calves.

In a rotational grazing system, it's not as necessary to worm cattle as it is with continual grazing, as rotating helps minimize the parasite load. If you plan to feed the cattle grain—corn and soybeans, typically—check locally to see what's available.

There have been many discussions about straight chutes versus V-shaped, single-file chutes. When shopping for chute sections, look for ones that are easy to adjust. This type is strongly recommended.

All Meat Is Not Created Equal As we've heard multiple times before, grassfed beef tends to be lower in overall fat content, an important consideration for those consumers interested in decreasing fat consumption.

There are several ways you can start a cattle farm to raise cows for meat: Grassfed cattle: They eat nothing but forage for their whole lives. Dirty Water Animal waste is a primary concern of factory farms, because with large concentrations of animals...

The foundation cattle for the Florida Cracker Cattle Breed Registry were evaluated and selected in 1989 through 1991 from known herds that had intentionally been kept free of influence from introduction of other breeds.

One factor still being studied is whether colostral antibodies interfere with the immune response to a vaccination. Ultimately, Cook believes it's important to find ways to limit immune response.

If you're unfamiliar with how to collect or send in a sample, contact your local extension office for assistance. Creating conditions where cattle are able to find protection from the elements will help ensure a healthy body condition during the winter...

Too often, a small-scale farmer will get a few cows, let them graze a pasture to the end and wonder why they're not gaining weight like they should be. “That grassfed supplement mix did better than grains and was cheaper,” Buchanan says.

You'll probably need a safe, enclosed area in which to train your animal, either indoors or fenced tall and stout, so it can't leap out. Adding a bovine beast to your family is a huge commitment.

I can guarantee the first handful of milk fevers I treated, I administered the calcium so slowly I believe the farmers started to wonder what was the holdup. Baring other complications, most cows need treatment only once.

However, sometimes that membrane doesn't break or remnants interfere with breathing. Note that “adequate” rumen development is not optimal. “This amount of grain should likely be maintained at least until 6 months of age.” At this point, your...

After a week or so, if the cow appears to be drying up, let her go to pasture. Rub the calf's back and shoulders through the blanket to help stimulate its blood flow. Always get help to distract the cow until you can safely secure the calf.

One such tool, which measures how well your nutrition program meets the nutritional needs of your cow herd, is Body Condition Scoring. To avoid this common mistake, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln BCS scoring guide recommends assessing the cow when...

Nutrition Dairy cows have special dietary requirements that other cattle don't. Holsteins, for example, are known for larger volumes of milk but have a lower butterfat concentration than Jersey cows.

Many small farmers and homesteaders yearn for the bucolic sight of a beloved cow lazily grazing through bright-green pastures, but because of limited land and small-scale resources, they just can't justify including cattle on the farm.

“I love [OAD milking] because, honestly, if we had to continue TAD, I don't know that we would have made it. Begin by stretching out the time between milking sessions. Milking OAD might be a bit untraditional, but hobby farmers are inventive and adventurous,...

Wherever they're used, wee Jerseys sweeten the mix. While the “bigger is better” boom ultimately impacted this ancient dairy breed, enough bantam Jerseys remained to make selectively breeding them back to miniature frame a relatively easy task.

Subclinical diseases tend to cost farmers more than clinically ill animals, and many farmers don't even realize they're occurring unless they track their herd's production. If you do a good job, you don't easily see any results because there aren't any...