How to raise Simmental cattle? Detailed explanation of key breeding techniques

The beef grade of Simmental cattle is noticeably higher than that of ordinary beef. The meat color is bright red, the texture is fine, it is elastic, the marbling is moderate, the fat color is white or slightly yellow, the fat texture has relatively high firmness, and the carcass surface fat coverage rate is 100%. Ordinary beef can hardly reach this standard.

Feeding techniques for Simmental cattle

For tethering and leading, to prevent a violent temperament, young bulls around 1 year old should be fitted with a nose ring, with the nose ring tethered toward the upper part of the head so that the bull does not feel inconvenience when eating. Breeding bulls should always be led with double ropes, that is, two people leading from the left and right sides of the cattle respectively, and the people and the cattle should keep a certain distance; for fierce breeding bulls, a hook stick must be used for leading.

In the feeding and management of breeding bulls, exercise is an important task. Proper exercise can ensure that breeding bulls move vigorously, have a gentle temperament, strong libido, and excellent semen quality, and can also prevent deformation of the limbs and hooves and obesity. Breeding bulls must be exercised once in the morning and once in the afternoon, and each exercise session should last about 1 hour.

Skin care. The dust and dirt between the horns, on the forehead, and on the neck of the bull should be brushed frequently to prevent the habit of rubbing against things to relieve itching and causing damage. The cattle should be brushed every day. This is not only to maintain skin hygiene, but also to enhance human-animal bonding, which is beneficial for feeding and managing them.

Breeding bulls often cannot be used for breeding because of hoof disease, causing economic losses. Therefore, the hooves and toes should be checked frequently for abnormalities, attention should usually be paid to cleaning off attached dirt under the hooves, and hoof disease should be treated promptly when found; in spring and autumn each year, hoof trimming should be carried out once each season and hoof shape corrected.

Site selection for Simmental cattle farms

The selection of a cattle farm site requires careful consideration, overall arrangement, and relatively long-term planning. It must be combined with agricultural and animal husbandry development plans, farmland capital construction plans, and plans for building residences, and must meet the needs of modern cattle farming. The selected site must have room for development.

1. High and dry terrain. A beef cattle farm should be built in a place with high and dry terrain, sheltered from the wind and facing the sun, with a relatively low groundwater level, a gentle slope, higher in the north and lower in the south, and generally flat overall. It must never be built in low-lying areas or at wind gaps, so as to avoid drainage difficulties, water accumulation during flood season, and difficulty keeping warm in winter.

2. Good soil quality. Sandy loam soil is preferable. Loose soil with strong permeability makes it hard for rainwater and urine to accumulate, and there is no hard crust after rain, which is conducive to the cleanliness, hygiene, and dryness of the cattle shed and exercise yard, and helps prevent hoof disease and other diseases.

3. Sufficient water source. There must be a sufficient water source that meets hygiene requirements, ensuring water for production, daily life, and human and livestock drinking. The water quality should be good and contain no toxic substances, ensuring the safety and health of people and livestock.

4. Abundant forage. The feed required for beef cattle feeding, especially roughage, is needed in large quantities and is not suitable for transportation. A beef cattle farm should be relatively close to straw, silage, and hay feed resources to ensure forage supply, reduce freight, and lower costs.

5. Convenient transportation. The purchase of feeder cattle and large quantities of forage and feed, and the sale of fattened cattle and manure, involve very large transport volumes and frequent trips, and some transport must proceed regardless of wind or rain. Therefore, a beef cattle farm should be built in a place close to highways or railways with convenient transportation.

6. Sanitation and epidemic prevention. Keep away from major traffic routes, villages, and factories by more than 500 meters, and from general roads by more than 200 meters. It is also necessary to avoid slaughtering, processing, and industrial and mining enterprises that pollute the beef cattle farm, especially chemical enterprises. It must meet veterinary hygiene and environmental hygiene requirements, with no sources of infection nearby.

7. Save land. Do not occupy or occupy as little cultivated land as possible.

8. Avoid endemic diseases. Endemic diseases of humans and livestock are mostly caused by soil and water lacking or containing excessive amounts of certain elements. Endemic diseases have a great impact on beef cattle growth and meat quality. Although they can be prevented and treated, they will inevitably increase costs. Therefore, they should be avoided as much as possible.

Farm layout for Simmental cattle

The layout of buildings within a cattle farm should be adapted to local conditions, convenient for management, conducive to production, and convenient for epidemic prevention and safety. It should be uniformly planned and reasonably laid out. It should be neat, compact, have a high land utilization rate, save investment, and be economical and practical.

1. Cattle sheds.

Our country has a vast territory, and the climate differs greatly between north and south and between east and west. In the three northeastern provinces, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, and other places, cattle shed design is mainly for cold protection, while south of the Yangtze River it is mainly for heat protection. The form of cattle sheds depends on the scale and method of raising. The construction of cattle sheds should facilitate feeding and management, lighting, summer heat protection, winter cold protection, and epidemic prevention. When building multiple cattle sheds, they should be arranged in parallel along the long axis; when there are more than 4 cattle sheds, they can be arranged in 2 rows side by side, aligned front and back, with a distance of more than 10 meters.

2. Feed warehouse.

The construction site should be chosen at a location relatively central to each cattle shed, and slightly elevated, that is, dry and well ventilated, and also convenient for transporting finished feed to each cattle shed.

3. Hay shed and hay storage.

They should be set up as much as possible in the downwind area, at least 50 meters away from surrounding buildings, and built separately, both to prevent scattered hay from affecting the appearance of the cattle shed environment and to achieve fire safety.

4. Silage pit or silage tank.

The principles for choosing the construction location are the same as for the feed warehouse. The location should be central and the terrain relatively high to prevent contamination by soaking from manure, urine, and other sewage, and at the same time transportation convenience when unloading should be considered to reduce labor intensity.

5. Veterinary room and sick cattle shed.

They should be set up at the downwind end of the cattle farm and in a relatively remote corner, to facilitate isolation and reduce the spread of contamination through air and water.

6. Office and staff dormitories

They should be set up outside the cattle farm on relatively high ground at the upwind end, to prevent air and water contamination and the spread of epidemic diseases. At the entrance of the cattle farm, a gatekeeper, disinfection room, and disinfection facilities should be set up.

Common diseases of Simmental cattle

Bovine pleuropneumonia (also known as bovine hemorrhagic septicemia) symptoms: there are three types clinically.

(1) Acute septicemic type: body temperature suddenly rises above 40°C, pulse quickens, appetite decreases, coat is rough and disordered, muzzle is dry, breathing is difficult, rumination stops, sometimes nasal discharge and tears are also present, diarrhea, feces may contain fibrin and even blood, and sometimes urine may also contain blood; death generally occurs within 24 hours.

(2) Pneumonic type: at the beginning of the disease, there is weakness, conjunctival congestion, accelerated heartbeat, elevated body temperature, and difficult breathing; symptoms of pleuropneumonia gradually become obvious, nasal discharge is bloody and red, there is a dry cough, percussion of the chest has dullness, and auscultation reveals gong-like sounds.

(3) Edematous type: sick cattle have edema on the chest, head, and neck; in severe cases it can extend to the lower abdomen, with swelling of the tongue and pharynx, red and swollen eyes, tearing, drooling, difficult breathing, and cyanotic mucous membranes; death often occurs due to suffocation or collapse from diarrhea.

Prevention: strengthen feeding management, improve the cattle's living conditions, ensure they eat well and sleep well, and avoid excessive fatigue in working cattle. In epidemic areas, inject cattle with bovine hemorrhagic septicemia aluminum hydroxide vaccine 1—2 times per year for 3—5 consecutive years. In non-epidemic areas, cattle introduced from other places must undergo isolation and observation for 1—3 months and can be admitted to the herd only after being confirmed disease-free. Diseased and dead affected parts must not be eaten and should be burned.

Treatment: when this disease is found, it should be isolated and treated early. For large cattle, use penicillin 1—3 million units, halve the dose for calves, and administer by intramuscular injection; alternatively, use 10% sulfathiazole sodium solution at 100—150 milliliters per animal by intramuscular injection, 2 times a day. Traditional Chinese medicine treatment is Coptis chinensis, Scutellaria baicalensis, Anemarrhena asphodeloides, Atractylodes macrocephala, Paeonia lactiflora, Magnolia officinalis, and Siegesbeckia orientalis 40 grams each, Schisandra chinensis, Fritillaria, donkey-hide gelatin, Alisma orientale, and Poria cocos 25 grams each, and hemp seed 13 grams as a guide, ground into powder and taken after mixing with boiled water, 1 dose per day, for 3 consecutive doses.

I hope the above introduction can be helpful to you in raising Simmental cattle