3 Ways to Feed Cattle

2024 Author: Jason Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 10:50

Feeding is both the most important and confusing part of raising livestock. This is due to the many types of animal feed and various alternatives, and methods for raising livestock. Feeding livestock can range from feeders to dairy products or just grass, and can combine two or all of these methods, depending on the breed of livestock you have.

Simply put, there are rules for feeding different types of livestock, depending on their gender, age, and what they are used for (meat, dairy and/or farmed), the way they are raised, the weather climate in which they are kept, and so on. Food formulas even change with the changing seasons every year. If they are fed the wrong food (like cucumbers) then their feces will smell.

For the purpose of this article, only general ways and methods of raising cattle will be written. This is because there are many variables that affect how, what, where and when livestock are fed depending on the factors mentioned above.

Step

Method 1 of 3: Assessing Your Cattle

Step 1. Design a feeding formula based on the livestock you have

Software is available for this, but manual handwriting is equally effective. There are feeding tables available at many university, college, and/or government agricultural programs (and can often be found on the Internet) and can be used to determine what feed you want to follow.

Step 2. Record and determine the feed for your livestock based on the following factors that determine nutritional requirements:

• The gender of your livestock

  

  • In general, buffalo, heifers (dairy cows), cows and steers (cows that have been castrated) require different nutritional needs.

    Cows are most difficult to define because they have distinct reproductive periods that determine when they need or need the most or less amount of nutrients in their diet (eg pregnancy versus lactation)

• Value body condition:

  

  Skinny cows require more nutrition and are fed more than fat cows

• Types of cattle raised:

  

  • Dairy cows generally require a higher share of nutrients than beef cattle.
  • Show Livestock Requires a portion based on how much weight can gain in a certain period of time before being displayed.
  • Backgrounded/stocker cattle require quality fodder: Feedlot cattle, on the other hand, require servings of high quality grain for several months before being sent to the abattoir.

• Whether the cattle you raise are being raised or are being cared for to keep their weight the same, subtract or add:

  

  • Raising cattle such as feeder/weaner/stocker steers, young buffalo, and feeder/weaner/stocker/replacement heifers requires more energy and protein than cows or buffalo that are only fed to maintain or reduce weight. However, if a cow is too skinny and needs to gain weight, it needs to be fed with the amount of food provided to raise a buffalo, steer, or heifer.

    Repositioned heifers need to be fed so that they grow to a healthy weight, but don't gain weight too quickly, as this will hinder their reproductive ability

• Breeding type:

  

  • One might think this is not important, but determining what breed of cattle you will raise will determine how and what food is needed to maintain health and/or reproductive capacity.

    American cattle Charolais, Simmental and Limousin need to be "pampered" more than British livestock such as Angus, Shorthorn and Hereford. The meaning of pampered, refers to the need to be fed additional supplements to a diet made from coarse or grass only compared to other animals that can survive on grass alone

• Animal feed convertibility:

  

  • This determines whether a bovine (including the bovine family) is "easy to care for" when fed a grass-based diet only and will gain or maintain weight on this type of diet, or whether it is "unruly" and consistently loses weight on a diet that same as in "easy to maintain".

    Most breeders, especially beef cow-calf, are cull hard-doers because they require more forage than other livestock that can grow well on coarse/grass alone

• The type of operation you have:

  

  Cattle raised in dry areas or feedlots require different portions than those raised on pasture. This is because cattle raised in feedlots have food brought to their place rather than letting them forage on their own when in pasture

• Climate/season:

  

  Winter feeds differently in spring/summer. For example, when you live in a climate where you always have winters below -10C and have an average of 3 feet (0.9 m) of snow per year, you need to have enough food to keep your livestock alive, warm, even through season happily. Spring and summer mean you are able to bring your cattle to graze for the 4 to 5 months of growing season available

• Location determines food availability, and how/when/where you can feed your livestock:

  

  • Each region has its own customs that dictate what you can feed your livestock, when and how. You may live in an area where fodder is always abundant and has high nutritional value. Or, you may live in an area where fodder is not very abundant and difficult to grow.
  • Not every state in America or province in Canada grows corn or makes corn the main grain to feed livestock (for example). You may have better luck getting or growing certain grains like barley or triticale over corn. Even grasslands differ from location to location. For example, parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada have better winters because grasslands are available around the clock (such as wheatgrass, fescue, blue grass and bromine) than summer meadows such as Bermuda or rye grass which grow better in Southern states like Georgia or Louisiana.

Step 3. Assess your condition and weight

Assessment of body condition can be done through several steps such as in the article How to assess the body condition of livestock. Weights can be weighed using a weight tape or weighing scale made for handling facilities.

• Heavy tape is only used on tame animals that allow you to touch them.

  

Method 2 of 3: Assessing Your Fodder/Feed

Step 1. The type of food you have or give your livestock will determine the ration you should follow

The main foods to feed your livestock include:

• Straw (grass, pods, or a mixture of grass and pods)
• Grains (corn, oats, barley, oats, rye, and triticale)
• Silage (corn, barley, winter wheat, rye, winter rye, triticale, oats, prairie grass)
• Total Mixed Ration (TMR) - given to dairy cows and contains a mixture of alfalfa hay, barley/maize/oat seeds, and silage corn.
• Grass, the cheapest and most efficient "feed" that can be given to livestock. All you have to do is put up the fence posts and how many cattle are grazing!

Step 2. This is very important, especially going into winter, testing your fodder

You can have feed that looks good but will only fill the stomach where your livestock can die of malnutrition. In order for feed to be used and considered sufficient for livestock, it must have sufficient energy (Net Energy [NE] and Total Digestible Nutrients [TDN]), protein (considered Crude Protein (CP)), fiber (with a value of Neutral Detergent Fiber [NDF] and Acid Detergent Fiber [ADF] content), and humidity (about Dry Matter [DM]).

• The more energy and protein food you have, the better it is for high-demand livestock such as weaner calves, substitute heifers, lean cows, and lactating cows.

  As the fiber content increases (derived as a percentage of the ADF content), the energy content decreases, reducing the value of your fodder. The exception to this is if you are feeding cattle that are too fat and need to lose weight

• The moisture content of a food often determines how much bovine you will eat in one day. The higher the moisture content, the more the bovine will eat.

Step 3. Pay attention to the color of the food

Straw can be judged "good" by naked eye if it is green. However, sometimes the better quality hay is brownish.

Step 4. Smell the food to see if it contains moss or dust

Cattle will lift their nose at food that contains moss and dust. Mossy food can cause miscarriage in cattle and heifers.

Step 5. Look at the amount of twig material in the straw

Quite often a good indication of hay is that it is high in fiber and low in energy when there is too much twig material in it. This is an indicator that the previous hay has been cut too late from the season and is deprived of its nutritional value.

Step 6. The type of hay/grain/silage given to livestock has its own level of nutritional value

Grains are generally the foods that have the highest levels of TDN and CP, followed by silage, then hay. There are more differences in each type of food than there are differences between foods themselves.

• Barley and wheat have higher TDN and CP than corn. Corn tends to have a higher ADF than barley.
• Silage barley had higher TDN and CP than silage corn.
• Legumes, if cut and collected at the right time, tend to have a higher CP and TDN percentage than grass hay. However, this can be traded if the grass hay is harvested at the right time and the hay pods are harvested late in season.

Method 3 of 3: Design a Ration for Your Cattle

Step 1. Know and calculate the daily requirement of your livestock

Generally, breed cattle will eat 1.5% to 3% of their weight with DM rations per day, on average a day requires 2.5% of bovine weight in DM ratio.

• To calculate the approximate average requirement of bovine use the method below:

  • Body weight (in pounds [lb] or kilograms [kg]) x 0.025 = Total Rated per Day.

• Remember that a lactating cow will consume 50% more than usual. This means that if he normally eats 2.5% of his body weight in DM ratio per day, he will eat 5% of his body weight in DM ratio per day.

Step 2. Segregate your livestock based on body condition, nutritional requirements, pecking order status, and age

Lean cows should be separated and placed with heifer substitutes because they are both bovine breeds and require equal portions of food. Fat cattle and cattle weighing above normal conditions can be placed together to maintain/reduce weight. Buffaloes and steers can be housed together too.

Livestock in the lowlands tend not to get the good stuff first than those in the highlands. These animals often have the least weight gain and must be separated from the herd in order to obtain the same nutritional requirements as the more dominant breeds also compete for it

Step 3. Determine the weight gain/loss you want for your livestock based on the factors mentioned above

Energy is the main value of food that determines whether your animal will grow/gain, stay or lose. Feeds that are high in TDN content (at least 50%) will increase the weight of your livestock. Foods that are high in Feed DF (Digestible Fiber) and ADF are excellent for cattle that need to reduce or maintain them.

• You will need to focus on gaining weight if you are feeding growing calves and substitute heifers and buffalo or lean cows.
• Dry pregnant cows of normal to above average weight should be fed to maintain or slightly reduce weight during their dry period.

Step 4. Determine and evaluate the protein content of the feed you feed your livestock

The younger and lighter the animal, the higher the protein required. Also, the more weight you gain per day, the more protein you will need. Breastfeeding cows also need more protein than non-lactating cows. Some examples are as follows (as in the table of this Beef Cattle Nutrition Workbook:

• 500 lb common form calf steer adds 2 lbs per day requiring 11.4% CP. If he has an ADG (average daily intake) of only 0.5 lb/day, he will need 8.5% CP. Similarly, a 300 lb MF steer calf with 3 lb/day ADG requires 19.9% CP.
• 1100 lb cows with an average ability to produce 10 lbs of milk/day require 9.5% CP. However, if the cow has more capacity to produce 20 lb of milk/day, she will need about 12% CP.
• To compare with lactating cows, dry, second-trimester 1100 lb cows require only 7.9% CP.

Step 5. Feed your cattle regularly

Once you know the breed of livestock you have, daily requirements, nutritional requirements, and average weight gain (if you are feeding growing cattle), then you can shape your diet based on where you live, what is available and what you want. give them.

Step 6. Forage should always be a priority for each animal

Exceptions can be made for cattle in pens raised on a grain diet for the last 3 to 4 months, but if you are going to slaughter bovine cattle, you do not need to give a diet too much grain, just enough hay or good quality grass with supplements. grains to increase the weight before slaughtering them.

Grass and/or hay is the best coarse type of food you can give your livestock, it contains sufficient nutritional value for your livestock to grow

Step 7. Balance portions and supply supplements when needed

If the hay is too low quality, use supplements with grains, protein to meet their protein and energy needs. If the grass or hay is of good quality, then there is no need for supplements to be given to your animal.

Step 8. Keep a record of weight gain, body condition scores, and general reactions to the types of food you feed your cattle

Also make a note of the nutritional needs of your cows based on their reproductive period.

Step 9. Keep water and minerals within reach at all times

Water and minerals are very important parts of the diet of bovine cattle.

Step 10. Get expert advice on your feed and how to feed it

A meat or dairy nutritionist can help you determine if you're doing the right thing or if there are improvements that need to be made.

Tips

• Minerals are also a must, and must contain not only the micro-minerals that livestock require (Selenium, Copper, Iron, Cobalt, Molybdenum, Manganese, etc.), but also important macro-minerals that are lacking or absent in the feed given (Macrominerals including Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Salt, etc.)
• Always keep the fodder diet on your livestock as much as possible. Because the cost is cheaper than grains or food mix purchased from animal feed stores.
• Buffalo should be in good quality food before calving season to keep their weight up. Do not feed too high energy because it will reduce fertility. However, he will need a backup of energy because he will lack time to eat when he is busy looking after his children.
• Livestock should always have access to clean fresh water.
• Slowly introduce whole grains or high-energy foods (about 1-2 lbs per day) to avoid bloating, excess grains or acidosis.

• Assess the body condition of your cows and heifers on the usual schedule (generally 3 times a year):

  • Autumn pregnancy check-up or winter feeding
  • The moment or moment before the birth of the calf
  • 30 days before the breeding season starts
• Keep an eye on current nutritional needs and use the feed type table to evaluate and determine what feeds are best for your livestock.
• Test your feed before starting winter feeding. That way you will know in advance whether you need supplements for your cows in winter or not.

Warning

• Don't assume your food is of good quality just because it looks good. Many people find their animals dying because their food has low nutritional value even though their animal has a full stomach. Sure they have a lot to eat, but is it worth it?

• Do not suddenly change the diet of livestock, especially when changing from hay to grain.

  • Acidosis is a common disease, it occurs when food is replaced so quickly that the microflora in the rumen does not have time to "change." This results in a sudden reduction in the pH level in the rumen and results in increased production of lactic acid bacteria, causing a reduction in the pH in the intestine. Animals will refuse to eat, have foul-smelling, frothy diarrhea, and will even die.
  • Bloat is another livestock disease that is dangerous when changing food suddenly. Swelling is when the rumen is unable to expel the gases formed from the fermentation process, and causes discomfort to the animal, and even compresses the lungs and diaphragm which will cause death due to suffocation. Bloat must be addressed immediately to prevent these kinds of consequences.
• Don't let your animal be skinny through the winter. Your feed costs will increase dramatically but it is better than losing your animal to a) cold or b) underfeeding.

• Do not let your animals out of fertile pastures (such as alfalfa or clover) when they are hungry, otherwise they will bloat.

  Make sure they don't starve when they put them out in the pasture, or have access to hay when they're out in the meadow, or both