Owning and raising beef cattle could have been a good business idea. But you need to have good management system and good way to take care of beef cattle to make it successful. Owning a beef cattle require to do feeding, maintaining facilities, monitoring sign of illness from cattle, assisting with calving and performing artificial insemination if need are ways to take care of beef cattle. Here are 10 guide to take care of beef cattle for you. Also read how to do cattle farming for beginner.
1. Feeding and Nutrition
Feeding your beef cattle with a great quantity and quality of nutrients is a must thing to do to take care of beef cattle. A Good nutrients consisting of feed, water, mineral and vitamins. The nutrients requirements for each cattle is different according to their sex, age, weight, body condition, environmental temperature and stage of production. If you have any hesitation about the best nutrients for your cows, you should ask nutritionist because they are excellent resource and can provide specific information of the nutrients that cattle need and as part of take care of beef cattle.
1.1 Clean Water
You need to provide a clean water for your beef cattle all the time, they need a great amount of water and the need will increase around hot weather. Your cattle surely need a great access to a good and clean water. Because water is more important than their meals. You need to locate your waterer near the water source, because using a long hose could become troublesome especially if you live in the country where it has 4 seasons. Watering using a long hose could cause some trouble in winter. Give a conventional trough inside your beef cattle pen.
1.2 Salt
Beef cattle need some salts to meet their basic need, but they can’t store salt in their system which is mean they should ingest the salt manually for their health. You could mixed their drink on the feeder with some salt and place it near your beef cattle sleep. Because cow will have the easy access if they are sleepy on night. You can also mix some mineral into the salt, so when the cow is consuming the salt they also consumed the mineral.
2. Beef Cattle Facilities
Having facilities that is working and in good condition like fences and chutes will help reduce the stress of your cattle. When your facilities is broken and unmaintained, they will start to rust and even shew any sharp object and protrusions. It can be very dangerous for your cattle and could cause them some injuries. If you have medium to big farm cattle, you need some equipment to restrain cattle on most beef cattle operation. To have the function of minimize the stress and injury on beef cattle, the equipment should allow for secure and quick restraint.
2.1 Shelter
Shelter is one necessary facilities for your beef cattle, but they only need a minimal shelter. During the cold winter or hot summer, your beef cattle could find wind break or some shade on the shelter. A dry lot must have available in the shelter when the animal is in the shelter to keep them stay still. A shelter should build from a natural ingredients. A good beef cattle shelter should been builds with wood and metal material.
2.2 Handling Facilities
Handling facilities are necessary for all beef cattle operation no matter how many beef cattle you have. Beef cattle handling facilities are used to restrains your beef cattle movement during every practices for your beef cattle, either is vaccination, health treatment and also pregnancy analysis. Usually, handling facilities consists of a pen or a lot of pen to gather the beef cattle before you could do some practice with them.
3. Health Protection Practice
3.1 Health
Health is one of the three critical point for beef cattle that are easily identifiable. Beef cattle are susceptible to a variety of diseases, so owner should implement beef cattle health programs that address the prevention and treatment of disease. You could prevent the disease by good planning and management and give your beef cattle common vaccines and pharmaceuticals. You should have regular certified veterinarian to provide variety of services for your beef cattle operations. If your beef cattle is injured or terminally sick, you should use appropriate methods to humanely euthanise them. If they are perish you should properly dispose them.
3.2 Calving
When your beef cattle is on calving season, they need to be observed regularly checked because they are on critical periods. The equipment for their calving should be properly utilized, since calving are another critical points for beef cattle. It is important if you could control your beef cattle calving season. If you want to start to control the calving season you could start from the 180-day breeding, into the 120-day breeding, then a 90 day breeding and the last one is a 60-day breeding season. If your beef cattle calve in 30 to 60 days before the most grass production, they usually will have more calves than they were who calve in other season. You should read effective ways to take care of cows after delivery for further information.
3.3 Weaning
Weaning season is the last of the three critical periods for your beef cattle. Usually the calf will get stress when they are on the weaning season. But for the beef cattle, weaning will allow them to transfer the nutrient they get to her own normal body instead of their milk, because they are meant to be a beef cattle not a dairy cattle. After weaning season, the beef cattle should be prepare for another mating season. You have to read this if you want to know about breeding dairy cattle.
4. Handling your Cattle
In order to take a good care of your beef cattle, you need to know how to handle them first. You can start to train your cow to respond to particular sounds. Cow is one smart animal and they have a good memories, train them to respond to particular sound is not hard thing to do. This training will help you to gather your cow, you need to make a sound that associate to gathering them. The most effective way is to repeat the sound and what action should the do until they get familiar with it.
Treat you beef cattle gently, don’t use any violence with them. Many people choose to use electric cattle prods to handle their cattle, but it will make the cattle behave recklessly and it is not a good way to take care of beef cattle. Using whip will also scare your beef cattle and it will be hard for them to trust you. What you need is a paddle, but you need to move slowly and carefully to lessen up their fear.