What Do Beef Cattle Need in Captivity

Raising beef cattle for profit can be a satisfying enterprise. All the same, in that location are a number of management skills that each beef producer should take to be successful. Each livestock enterprise has dissimilar resources: land, labor, capital, feed, and management. To raise beef cattle sustainably, you must manage these resources.

In improver to managing resources, new producers must ask themselves, What practise I need to become started? This question involves considerations for the type of animals a producer wishes to raise every bit well every bit where to observe these animals, how to select them, and what equipment volition be needed for the performance. Producers also need to consider how they will feed their animals and what health care practices they will apply to go on the animals healthy. Savvy producers will let markets identify the type of animals they should raise in order to generate a profit. This fact sheet may exist used equally a guide for beef cattle producers just getting started in the industry to larn:

How to decide what blazon of animal you should raise
About the unlike breeds and how to select the right one for you
Where to buy your animals
What to wait for as the ideal characteristics
What equipment y'all'll need to heighten your animals
How to breed and raise your beef cattle
What to feed and how to care for your animals' health
What it takes to market your animals

What Type of Animals Should I Raise?

The start thing to make up one's mind when starting a new beef cattle enterprise is what type of animals to enhance. This decision should directly reflect the markets a producer has available to sell beef cattle and consider the resources available on the farm and the producer's private goals.

Beef cattle may exist used to produce meat or generate seedstock (breeding animals). The intended markets may dictate what breed or breeds are all-time suited for the functioning. Some producers choose to breed females to produce calves to sell for convenance stock or market place animals. Other producers may prefer to buy weaned animals, likewise known every bit feeders, to heighten to market weight.

Producers should start by determining if they wish to raise purebred or commercial stock. A purebred operation typically raises animals of one brood. Often a purebred operation volition accept all registered animals that tin can also be sold through purebred sales. A commercial operation may have unregistered purebred animals, or they may accept crossbred animals. Crossbred animals have the benefit of hybrid vigor, which is simply the ability of crossbred offspring to increase in productivity over the average of the breeds that were part of the cross. This means that a crossbred calf could grow faster, or a crossbred female could produce more milk for its offspring.

Selecting a Brood

Each livestock breed has different traits for which they are recognized. Breed associations can provide information on those traits and help you lot narrow your decision regarding what brood or breeds fit best with your operation. Beef cattle breeds are ofttimes divided into maternal (cow) and terminal (sire) breeds. Maternal breeds are typically moderately sized and recognized for their ability to enhance healthy calves. Terminal breeds are generally a fleck larger in their size and commonly used for meat production. In add-on to these ii classifications, composite breeds of cattle besides exist.

Composite breeds are cattle breeds that are generally made up of maternal and concluding breeds and often combine genetics for specific environments or markets. While many producers utilize both maternal and last breeds in their systems, composite breeds have been established and are recognized by their pedigree. Many breeds exist in the United States. The more common breeds are listed in the table beneath.

Maternal

Angus
Hereford
Shorthorn
Red Angus

Terminal

Charolais
Gelbvieh
Limousin
Simmental
Maine Anjou

Composite

SimAngus
Maintainer
Braford
Beefmaster
Limflex

Angus Photograph credit: Michelle Kunjappu, PA Beef Producers Working Group

Hereford Photo credit: Michelle Kunjappu, PA Beefiness Producers Working Grouping

Photo credit: Michelle Kunjappu, PA Beef Producers Working Group

Photograph credit: Dave Hartman, Penn State Extension

Where Can I Purchase Animals?

Animals can be purchased through several different means. Many sales are held across the state throughout the year and may offer simply 1 breed, a variety of breeds, or even crossbreds for sale. Another selection would be to locate reputable breeders and buy directly from their subcontract. A broad diversity of animals may be available at a local auction barn; however, let the heir-apparent beware. Animals sold through this venue are more than probable to take health issues.

Choose breeding males that will complement the outstanding traits in your females and ameliorate their weaknesses. Always use the best bull y'all can beget to improve the genetics in your herd. The male has a great influence on your herd considering his offspring could remain in the herd for a number of years.

Be conscious of selecting and keeping good productive females that will produce and wean one calf per year without assist and maintain their body condition without becoming overly sparse or fatty.

Option Principles

There are two methods to select livestock: animal performance and visual appraisal. Animals should first be selected on performance (e.one thousand., how well calves grow or how much calves counterbalance at weaning), and and so the college-performing animals should exist evaluated visually.

Performance choice principles evaluate measurable traits such as birth weight, weaning weight, yearling weight, or meat yield and quality.

Producers who evaluate growth traits should adjust weaning weights to account for the sex of the dogie, age of the dam, birth weight, and weaning weight. Weaning weights are typically adapted to 205 days of age.

Progressive cattle producers with registered animals tin can enroll their herd in convenance clan databases to obtain expected progeny differences (EPDs). These EPDs use genetic linkages to assess genetic merit for growth, carcass, and maternal traits. EPDs let producers to evaluate animal genetics without environmental influences.

Commercial producers can utilize functioning information when selecting a new balderdash. More than information on expected progeny differences can exist found by contacting breed associations.

Visual animal appraisal evaluates aspects such as structural correctness, muscling, torso capacity, and brood character. Evaluating structural correctness allows producers to identify animals with defects that are not apparent through performance evaluation.

Purebred producers who raise registered stock should become familiar with breed characteristics associated with the brood they raise, such every bit:

ear length and shape
color and distribution of color
polled status
defects that disqualify animals from registration

These depicted bulls exhibit the ideal characteristics of convenance males .

Angus bull. Photo credit: Michelle Kunjappu, PA Beef Producers Working Group

Hereford bull. Photo credit: Michelle Kunjappu, PA Beefiness Producers Working Grouping

Equipment Needs

After the appropriate animals are chosen for the operation, the equipment necessary to maintain those animals must be gathered. Beef cattle operations can be depression input just nonetheless demand a diverseness of equipment. Basic equipment includes feeders, water tubs or watering systems, and wellness care equipment. Because safe is a concern when managing these large animals, beef cattle operations should also accept equipment for handling cattle.

Feeders

Feeders should be used to prevent animals from eating off the basis. Well-designed feeders will also forestall animals from wasting feed past spilling it onto the ground. There are potential health concerns when cattle eat off the footing, including parasite infections; however, feed costs stand for the chief input price on any beef cattle operation and as such, feed waste is a driving cistron for feeders.

Feeders tin can exist simple like racks to agree circular bales. Photo credit: Bigstock.com

Many dissimilar sizes and styles of feeders are available for beef cattle. Some feeders tin arrange feeding both hay and grain, while others may be designed to feed only hay or just grain. Producers should be sure that all animals have access to the feeder if feeding at specified time frames. If animals have complimentary-option access to the feeders throughout the twenty-four hour period, smaller feeders tin can be used.

Feeders may too include unproblematic troughs to hold supplemental poly peptide, energy, or minerals for grazing cattle. Photo credit: Michelle Kunjappu, PA Beefiness Producers Working Group

In confinement finishing systems, beefiness cattle may be fed a more complete mixed ration in a bunk. Photo credit: Michelle Kunjappu, PA Beef Producers Working Grouping

Beef cattle of all classes should always have access to a good-quality mineral mix formulated for their production needs. Nigh producers provide beef cows and grazing cattle free-choice minerals when on pasture, while others limit-feed minerals daily in a grain mix.

Fenceline-fashion feeders allow producers access on one side to identify feed and grain into the feeder while animals access their feed on the other side. Walkthrough feeders permit producers to walk downward the middle of the feeder. Grain can be placed in a trough on either or both sides and hay is shared in the central walking area. Producers should be careful not to contaminate feeders with manure-covered footwear.

Larger operations often feed hay in the form of large round or foursquare bales. Many styles of hay feeders be, just the inverted-cone-style feeders are often recommended for beef cattle equally they usually waste material the least amount feed waste.

Water

H2o is possibly the most important food considering information technology impacts feed consumption. Poor-quality water or not enough water can subtract feed intake and effect in decreased animal performance. Producers tin supply water using anything from buckets to troughs to automated watering systems. Every bit with feeders, many dissimilar styles are bachelor. The key is that water should be fresh, clean, and available at all times.

Automated frost-costless waterers may be used on pasture or in confinement for cattle. Photo credit: Betty Cameron, Bedford County Sheep Producer

Permanent spring improvements tin provide a yr-round water supply for beef cattle on pasture. This system has additional crushed rock around it to forestall excess mud accumulation in the surface area. Photograph credit: Melanie Barkley, Penn State Extension

Simplistic float tank trough systems can be hands moved depending on cattle location. Photo credit: Melanie Barkley, Penn State Extension

Pasture Systems

Many beef cattle, particularly mature cows and bulls, graze pastures throughout the leap, summer, and fall. Producers should pay close attention to pasture height in an attempt to maximize forage utilization. Pastures should be subdivided to provide an adequate amount of forage for the grazing time, often four to five days. Animals should be moved to a new section of pasture by the time forage has been grazed downwardly to four inches in height. Rotating pastures ensures the nutrients from manure are spread out and that cattle utilize available resources efficiently. Continuous grazing can crusade fodder stand damage in overused or loftier-traffic areas and encourages weed growth in other less-desirable areas of the pasture.

A good-quality perimeter argue contains livestock inside the pasture and keeps predators out. Many producers prefer loftier-tensile fencing with some wires electrified. Subdivision fencing divides larger fields into smaller areas to ameliorate manage forage growth. Subdivision fencing for beef cattle can often be a unmarried strand of polywire with step-in posts to reduce input costs. Most cattle will respect ane strand if it is electrified.

Pastures should as well provide access to h2o. This ranges from temporary systems that motility with the animals to permanent systems. Many producers choose to install underground systems that can be accessed throughout a pasture system to reduce the labor of hauling h2o. Depending on the system and region, it may exist necessary to access electricity to heat waterers in cold months.

Health Care Equipment

Routine health care employs practices to forbid disease. Mutual practices include tagging, vaccinating, dehorning, castrating, and deworming. These practices require basic equipment such as tags and tagging pliers, syringes and needles, elastrator bands, a band expander tool, and a drench syringe or drench gun. Tagging is considered a health care piece of equipment because tagging is of import to identify treated animals.

Producers may likewise wish to dehorn their cattle to preclude horn growth. This is often performed with an electric dehorner shortly after the horn buds break through the skin. Dehorning prevents future injury to other animals and handlers.

Hoof trimming is another wellness intendance equipment item. Hoof trimming is not considered routinely necessary in most beef cattle operations. In add-on, about beefiness cattle must exist put in a tilt table in order to have their hooves trimmed for the safety of both the trimmer and the animal. Therefore, many start cattle producers will contact a professional person should hoof care exist necessary.

A bander can be used to castrate immature males. Photo credit: Michelle Kunjappu, PA Beef Producers Working Grouping

Other Types of Equipment

Larger equipment may be used by beef cattle operations to allow producers to handle or manage animals more efficiently. Producers can use a scale to monitor brute growth performance at weaning and other times throughout the twelvemonth. A scale should also exist used to counterbalance animals to calculate the correct dosage for medication treatments. Iii types of scales are frequently used by livestock producers: beam, dial, and digital.

Equipment for beefiness cattle production should include these items necessary to maintain herd health, like this drench for deworming animals. Photograph credit: Dr. Tara Felix, Penn Country Extension

Most feeder calves and finished cattle are bought and sold on a weight basis. Therefore, because the economic science in beefiness systems are based on pounds of calf to sell or weight of finished cattle, scales are an of import part of cattle operations. Scales can also assistance monitor weights at critical times throughout the twelvemonth, such as breeding, weaning, and then on. All scales should exist tested to ensure accuracy. Simple scales can be placed in line in a handling arrangement.

Treatment organisation equipment allows producers to more than efficiently handle animals. It functions past gathering animals into a group pen then funneling them into the chute. Animals walk single file down the chute, where they are held for routine health care or sorting. Gates at both ends of the system contain the animals while producers perform tasks. Gates can role by sliding dorsum and forth or up and down like a guillotine.

A head catch in the chute restrains the cattle for necessary procedures, while ensuring the rubber of both the cattle and the human being handlers. Photo credit: Dr. Tara Felix, Penn Land Extension

If the beefiness cattle functioning intends to use implants to increase growth performance of market animals, a handling system should exist used. In addition, if the operation desires to breed using artificial insemination, a treatment organisation is a must.

An alley allows the beefiness cattle producers to move several cattle at a time, making cattle handling easier and more efficient. Photo credit: Dr. Tara Felix, Penn State Extension

Reproduction and Convenance Seasons

Gestation length for beefiness cattle is about nine months, varying slightly among breeds and sires. However, the typical gestation length for most cows ranges from 282 to 288 days.

Cattle will cycle throughout the year. However, managing a defined breeding flavor will help improve the efficiency of the cow herd and marketability of the calves. About productive cattle operations maintain a single breeding flavour. While many operations breed animals to calve in the spring when weather is warming upwards, some may choose to calve in the autumn to accept reward of a less saturated calf market place. Purebred cattle used for seedstock are often bred to calve early on in the year, January or February, so that those animals tin can enter the breeding herd at heavier weights.

Estrus cycles and age at puberty vary slightly amid breeds. If breeding heifers (females that take non calved before), they should counterbalance at least 65 to 70 percentage of their mature weight past the start of the breeding flavor with a target of 85 percent of their mature weight at calving. Generally, information technology is expected that heifers will encounter this weight and be fix to breed between 11 and 15 months of age. Information technology is also advisable to breed heifers i cycle ahead of mature cows so that they accept additional fourth dimension to rebreed the following flavour.

Some producers will take this a step further and synchronize their females so that they are sure to brood the heifers at the desired time and the residual of the cows come into oestrus, or cycle, at the same time nearly a month subsequently. This synchronization is necessary for an efficient and effective artificial insemination procedure and is near oft accomplished with the utilise of a CIDR, although feed additive protocols exist for heifers. The CIDR contains hormones and is inserted vaginally into the females. Many protocols are bachelor for synchronization and beginning producers are brash to work with their veterinarian to constitute their own on-subcontract protocol.

In most instances, cattle give birth outdoors and, thus, calving season is timed to outset when weather warms upwardly and grass is available on pasture. However, some producers prefer to breed earlier in the breeding flavour in gild to market at specific times in the summer or fall. In other situations, producers may breed before so that calves are older and heavier while on pasture.

Producers wishing to calve before may need to house animals in a befouled, such every bit a bank barn, depending on the climate. Calving indoors can help prevent ears from freezing and ensure calf viability in colder temperatures.

Signs of Impending Calving

As a cow nears her time to give birth, she exhibits several signs that the birthing process will begin. Shortly before calving, the udder will begin to tighten. This tightening is the udder filling with colostrum. Colostrum is the outset milk and it contains antibodies that assist protect newborn calves from affliction.

When the cow is set up to requite birth, the muscles around her hips will begin to relax and may appear as if they are sinking. The vulva changes color and is most apparent with lighter skin colors. For example, a light pink colour will change to a darker pink color. Peradventure more than noticeably, the vulva will smashing. The udder will feel full and tight at this point. The moo-cow will also refuse feed and move away from the herd.

The first sign that the female is in labor is the appearance of the water handbag. Within a brusque menstruation of time, the front feet and olfactory organ of the newborn should appear. This will progress as the female person pushes to expel the newborn. One time the calf is born, the mother should begin licking to dry out off the newborn and encourage the dogie to stand and nurse.

A visible water bag or feet indicate impending calving. Photograph credit: Dr. Tara Felix, Penn Land Extension

Typically, most beef cows calve on pasture and require lilliputian assistance. If assistance is required, inexperienced producers should consult a veterinary or an experienced producer for aid. Help may be required if a calf has not been delivered within half-dozen hours of the water bag appearing or if the cow is found straining and the h2o bag appears to have already been ruptured. Always use caution when trying to piece of work with or effectually laboring cows or cows that take recently delivered. Dams volition defend their young well against predators but may turn this aggression on an unsuspecting human trying to tag or examine a new calf likewise.

Pay close attention to newborns for the first couple days subsequently nativity. Mothers should exist attentive to newborns and willing to represent newborns to nurse. Newborns should stretch when they stand up and appear alert. Newborns that cry for their mother or rush to nurse every bit soon as they get up probable are not receiving enough milk. Weak calves may require feeding with a tube. Consult a veterinarian or an experienced producer for assist.

A good beef cow should immediately tend to her calf without interference. Photograph credit: Wendall Landis, Penn Country Beef Barn Manager

Feeding and Nutrition

All animals require h2o, poly peptide, carbohydrates and fats (to provide energy), vitamins, and minerals in their daily nutrition. These may come from a diversity of sources simply should be balanced to meet nutritional requirements. Food requirements change throughout an creature's lifetime and reflect its phase of production: growth, maintenance, breeding, pregnancy, or lactation (milk product).

Forages such equally pasture and hay oftentimes meet requirements for mature animals, only they may non see requirements for fast-growing animals. Therefore, additional protein or energy sources may demand to be added to the ration to meet requirements of young, rapidly growing cattle.

Additional protein requirements may be met with better quality hay or through sources such as soybeans, soybean meal, or distillers grains. Additional energy requirements may exist met with a variety of grain sources, but cattle are most normally fed corn because information technology is often the cheapest free energy source.

In near cases, pasture provides the most economic feed source for mature cows. Cattle should rotationally graze pastures to yield the best quality and quantity of grazing days. In full general, animals should enter a pasture when forages are 6 to x inches alpine. Animals should rotate out of a pasture by the time the fodder has been grazed downwards to 4 inches. This not only provides loftier-quality feed for the animals just also helps maintain healthy plants.

Grain supplements are nearly often used for growing cattle or in times of pasture shortage. Feeding grain to growing cattle increases weight gain. One common grain feeding practice is pitter-patter feeding, the do of supplying skillful-quality grain and/or hay to young calves while they are nursing. This boosts weight gains and trunk status, or level of fatness.

Health Issues

A skilful indicator of healthy cattle is their torso condition. Torso condition for beef cattle is scored on a nine-betoken calibration with i being emaciated and nine existence obese.

Breeding females should be maintained at an boilerplate body condition score of five to six. Animals with decreasing torso condition scores, or that are losing weight, indicate a potential health consequence.

The first step to keeping animals healthy is to prevent diseases from entering the farm. Implementing biosecurity practices can help keep diseases off the farm. Any new animal that arrives at the farm—and animals that get out the farm and render—should be quarantined from other animals for 3 to iv weeks. In improver, irresolute shoes and article of clothing after visiting locations where you had contact with other cattle can help prevent bringing diseases to your farm. Visitors to the subcontract should be asked to either disinfect their shoes or article of clothing plastic dispensable boots.

All producers should form a relationship with a veterinary. This veterinarian-client-patient relationship allows the veterinarian to become familiar with your farm management practices and your animals and to more quickly address any health issues within your herd.

Internal and External Parasites

While near beef cattle systems do not feel production losses straight as a consequence of parasites, it is partly because they are very easy to treat and prevent in beef cattle. Broad-spectrum antiparasitics can exist applied as a pour-on or an injectable product. Many beef cattle producers choose pour-on products considering they are easy to apply and fairly constructive.

Additional internal parasites that may affect beef cattle include worms and coccidia. External parasites that may affect beef cattle include flies, ticks, and lice. Consult your veterinarian for more information on private parasite species and their treatment.

Cattle should exist treated for internal and external parasites to proceed them healthy. Photo credit: Melanie Barkley, Penn Land Extension

Abortion Diseases

Perhaps more critical than the parasites themselves are the impacts they may have on reproductive performance. Several parasites that touch on cattle tin cause abortions. For case, anaplasmosis causes an anemia so astringent that cattle may arrest. It is most commonly spread by biting insects like ticks; however, because information technology is a bloodborne affliction, humans may play a function in infecting cattle by reusing contaminated needles and castration and dehorning equipment.

There are other abortion diseases that are caused by sexually transmitted diseases. These can include chlamydia and trichomoniasis. Buying bulls and replacement females from reputable farms or brokers and asking nigh the history of venereal disease can assistance prevent the spread of these disorders to your farm.

Several other diseases may likewise cause abortions in cattle. Some of the common diseases that crusade abortions can be prevented with a vaccine for viruses similar bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR). Piece of work with your veterinarian to constitute a good vaccination program for your beefiness cattle herd.

Foot Wellness

A major reason for implementing biosecurity measures is to foreclose highly contagious, difficult-to-eradicate problems such as hairy heel wart, likewise known as digital dermatitis. Many beefiness cattle producers are noting an increase in the prevalence of digital dermatitis in herds across the state. Digital dermatitis is difficult to eradicate and tin can crusade severe lameness. If your herd becomes infected, it is fourth dimension consuming and expensive to treat infected animals and eradicate the disease. Treatment requires hoof trimming and antibiotics, thus veterinary oversight is required.

In add-on to digital dermatitis, human foot health can exist impacted by poor nutrition. Cracked hooves or curved (sometimes called spooned) hooves are often a sign of a mineral deficiency. Ever provide a adept-quality mineral to beefiness cattle and feed according to the label instructions.

Marketing

A number of markets are available for beef cattle. When choosing a market, you must decide whether your operation volition focus on selling alive animals or marketing meat. Many producers in the eastern United States focus on direct marketing of their beefiness cattle as freezer beef or retail beef cuts due to the access to consumers. Alternatively, many larger producers may focus simply on selling finished cattle to a large meat packer.

Left: Many beef producers choose to sell beefiness by the side or the quarter. Photo credit: Dr. Tara Felix, Penn State Extension

Right: Steaks are a popular consumer selection, but selling individual cuts requires a proper license. Photo credit: Dr. Tara Felix, Penn State Extension

Keep in mind that state laws prohibit a producer from selling meat unless the creature was processed in a USDA-inspected facility. Therefore, the producers often sell calves alive and the customer would make cutting arrangements with the processing facility. Many producers too provide the service of delivering the animals to a local processing facility.

Other options for beef cattle include marketing convenance stock, feeder calves to the feedlot, or marketplace animals for junior shows. Breeding stock are typically purebred animals and may exist marketed directly from the farm and through a registered sale. Many states operate a bull test, allowing producers to pay to have their bulls developed alongside other immature bulls and enter a larger sale at the end of the exam. Work with your local extension educator to make up one's mind the best markets for your operation.

Determination

Raising beefiness cattle can be a rewarding farming enterprise. Very few beef cattle operations are identical to ane some other, allowing producers a variety of opportunities to develop a program that uniquely suits their lifestyle and farming enterprise. This brief introduction just touches on a few of the aspects to think about when because a beef cattle enterprise. Before beginning your own enterprise, seek the communication of your extension educator or experienced beefiness cattle producers in your area.

For more data about beef cattle, visit Penn State Extension Beef Cattle

Many opportunities exist for beef cattle producers. This publication covers bones concepts related to raising these animals. New and kickoff producers should seek further data on not merely basic production practices simply too nutrition, reproduction, and health in order to produce high-quality, good for you animals.

Then You Desire to Raise Beefiness Cattle? This fact sail may exist used as a guide for beef cattle producers simply getting started in the industry to learn:

How to decide what type of animate being you should raise
About the unlike breeds and how to select the right one for you
Where to purchase your animals
What to look for as the platonic characteristics
What equipment you'll need to raise your animals
How to brood and heighten your beef cattle
What to feed and how to care for your animals' wellness
What it takes to market your animals

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Source: https://extension.psu.edu/so-you-want-to-raise-beef-cattle-print