Key Technical Points and Feeding Management Methods for Beef Cattle Confinement

Confinement, barn feeding, i.e. no grazing, tethered feeding. Free-range has the advantages of free-range, and confinement has the advantages of confinement. Let's take a look at confinement beef cattle technology

Cattle barn construction standards

(1) The basic requirements for cattle barn construction are the principles of facing south with the back to the north, using local materials, and being economical and practical; if conditions permit, it can be built with a steel structure.

(2) The cattle barn adopts a semi-open double-row barn, with high brick-concrete walls, brick wall thickness of 240 wall, fully enclosed on the north side, open on the south side, and a total internal area of 304 sq m (38 m × 8 m), plain soil compaction, brick-paved floor (or cement laying), reinforced concrete foundation for the walkway, cement floor, and the roof dripping slope is generally not less than 25°, front and rear eaves height 3 m, foundation depth 0.8-1.0 cm.

(3) Door and window requirements. The cattle barn door is 2.2 m high and 1 m wide. The north wall is equipped with 6-8 windows, window height 1.5 m, width 1.5 m, and the windowsill is 1.2 m from the ground.

(4) Cattle beds and feed troughs. The cattle beds are paved with new bricks and equipped with stanchions; the cattle bed length is 2.0-2.2 m, width 1.0-1.2 m, and the cattle bed slope is 2%; the concrete feed trough has tiles attached to the bottom, the upper width of the feed trough is 0.6-0.8 m, the bottom width is 0.35-0.40 m, in an arc shape, the inner edge of the feed trough is 0.35 m high, and the outer edge is 0.6—0.8 m high.

(5) Manure and urine ditch. The manure and urine ditch is set at the end of the cattle bed near the wall. The width of the manure and urine ditch should be suitable for the normal pushing width of a conventional iron shovel, generally 0.25-0.3 m wide, 0.15 to 0.3 m deep, and with a slope of 5%.

Key technical points for beef cattle fattening

(1) Preparation of the cattle barn before fattening. Before confined fattening cattle enter the pen, spray the floor and walls of the fattening barn with 2% caustic soda solution or 20% quicklime water, disinfect utensils with 1% benzalkonium bromide or 0.1% potassium permanganate solution, and set up a disinfection pool at the barn entrance to prevent the introduction of epidemic diseases.

(2) Preparation of fattening cattle. Carry out deworming and stomach strengthening for fattening cattle. Spray the cattle body once head by head with 0.3% peracetic acid solution, and wipe the cattle once generally with 0.25% wax net emulsion to remove skin parasites. Administer 5 to 7 mg of tetramisole per kg body weight (or 6 to 8 mg levamisole) to expel internal parasites. Three days after deworming, orally administer 60 to 80 g of ‘artificial salt' per head to strengthen the stomach.

(3) Feeding management during the fattening period. For confined fattening beef cattle, insist on feeding 3 times in the morning, noon, and evening; first feed roughage, then feed mixed feed, and finally provide drinking water. Use crop straw, silage straw, ammoniated straw, distillers grains, corn, sorghum, wheat, soybean cake, salt, mineral additives, etc. for mixed feeding; dry powder feed must be mixed wet before feeding. Reasonably match concentrate and roughage, prepare according to proportions at different stages, and do not increase or decrease at will. On average, each cow is given 6 kg of concentrate and 7 kg of roughage per day. Moldy and spoiled concentrate and roughage must not be fed. If conditions permit, adding high-quality green forage grass gives better benefits, can save concentrate, reduce feeding costs, and increase economic benefits.

(4) Reference daily ration formula for fattening beef cattle. The reference standard for the concentrate daily ration formula for fattening cattle is as follows: corn meal 35.5%, soybean cake 5. 8%, distillers grains 28.1%, hay 29.3%, salt 0.3%, compound additive 1%; or concentrate 22.4%, distillers grains 25.1%, hay 9.1%, micro-storage straw 42.4%, compound additive 1%, appropriately selected according to different seasons. In winter, supplement an appropriate amount of concentrate and energy feed to improve the cold resistance of fattening cattle. Feeding frozen feed and drinking water is prohibited. In hot seasons, give cool water, generally providing drinking water 1 hour after feeding. Insist on brushing the cattle body once a day to promote blood circulation, increase appetite, and maintain the hygiene of the cattle body and barn. Feeding utensils must also be washed and disinfected frequently, and often observe the cattle's feeding, drinking, rumination, etc. If there are abnormalities, handle them promptly and accordingly, and do a good job in disease prevention and control.

(5) Timely marketing of fattening cattle. When fattening cattle reach 18 to 22 months of age, body weight reaches more than 400-450 kg, the whole body muscles are plump, subcutaneous fat attachment is good, and it is found that the cattle's feed intake gradually decreases and still cannot recover after adjusted feeding, this indicates that this batch of fattening cattle can be marketed, and timely marketing should be arranged as soon as possible to improve economic benefits.

Advantages and disadvantages of confinement

1. Cattle grow and develop quickly. Because wandering and foraging activities are reduced, the proportion of forage converted into beef increases, more beef can be produced per unit of grass, the feeding cycle can be shortened by half the time, turnover is fast, and benefits are high.

2. More manure accumulation. A free-range cow accumulates an average of 500 kg of manure per year, while under confinement it is 1000 kg.

3. Fewer diseases and high calf survival rate. Because free-range cattle are “exposed to wind and dew”, they are prone to infection with diseases, and sick cattle are not easy to detect in time, so calf death often occurs. Confined cattle can be carefully managed, do not drink dirty water, and have fewer chances of infection, so the mother is fat and the calf is strong, and the survival rate can almost reach 100%.

4. Promote the recovery of vegetation, resolve the contradiction between forestry and animal husbandry, help commercialize the forage industry, and drive the production of herbivorous animals toward intensive and large-scale development.

Advantages and disadvantages of free-range

1. Growth and development are slower, and cattle are relatively thin.

2. It does not require too much feeding management. Labor costs and feed costs are reduced.

3. Epidemic disease prevention and control is less or not easy, and once an epidemic occurs, it is difficult to control.

4. It is not conducive to intensive and large-scale development.

5. Because free-range feeding belongs to natural grazing, cattle have more activity space, so the meat quality will be better than that of confinement.