How Many Years Can a Cow Breed? A Detailed Explanation of Breeding Management Points
As people's quality of life continues to improve, the demand for beef is also growing, which has likewise promoted the development of the cattle industry. If you want to gain more profit, you need to raise cows for self-breeding and self-rearing. So, how many years can a cow breed? What are the breeding management points?
1. How many years can a cow breed?
About 3-4 years. The breeding period of a cow depends specifically on its breed and growth condition. The quality of the cow's genes, whether its milk supply is sufficient, and the health condition of the breeding bull will all affect its breeding years.
2. What are the key points of cow breeding management?
1. Feeding management
When calves grow to 6 months of age, focus on improving body capacity, promoting rumen function, and increasing the survival rate. With colostrum feeding, high-quality forage supply, and refined management, the calf survival rate can reach over 95%. For growing heifers, growth and breeding should be the goals; medium-level concentrate and roughage not only ensure nutritional supply but also save feed. After 18 months of age and a body weight above 350 kg, prepare for breeding. Before and after calving, breeders should pay attention to nutrient supply to improve the conception rate. Perinatal cows should be raised independently with full-process management, and postpartum disease prevention and control should be done well to ensure the cow's health.
2. Supplementary feeding techniques
Because roughage supplies relatively little protein and energy, cattle should be given timely supplementary concentrate during growth to ensure healthy growth and balanced nutrition. For 60 d before calving, base cows should be given 1.0-1.5 kg of concentrate per day; for 120 d after calving, give 1.5-2.5 kg of concentrate per day to facilitate milk production and increase the conception rate. The main components of the concentrate are: corn, soybean meal, and wheat bran; among them, corn 53%, soybean meal 20%, wheat bran 25%, limestone powder 1%, and salt 1%. In winter, when green feed is scarce, breeders should pay attention to vitamin A supplementation.
3. Mechanical equipment management
Feed processing usually requires the help of related mechanical equipment, such as: sheds and straw. Breeders should combine specific environmental requirements and, adhering to applicability requirements, keep winter pens warm and insulated to prevent calves from freezing. Mechanical equipment can be shared by several breeders.
4. Cattle herd management techniques
Adopt group grazing, with groups such as calves, growing heifers, and pregnant cows, and at the same time formulate grazing plans according to pasture conditions to ensure each cow has sufficient forage. Once sick or weak cattle appear, they should be dealt with as soon as possible to save feed and management economic input and improve the cow's breeding ability.
5. Late gestation management
In the late gestation period of the cow, that is, the 6th-9th month of pregnancy, the fetus grows and develops quickly and needs more nutrients from the mother, while the cow also needs to accumulate certain nutrients in her body to ensure lactation after calving. At this time, the daily ration should be prepared according to feeding standards, and it should mainly be green feed with an appropriate amount of concentrate. For the concentrate, choose locally abundant agricultural and sideline products, such as wheat bran, cottonseed cake, and distillers' grains, etc., and then mix in a small amount of grain feed such as corn. Special attention should be paid to the supplementation of minerals and vitamins.
6. Perinatal feeding management
Adjust feeding according to the expected calving date and prepare well for calving assistance. When pregnant cows are given more concentrate, the amount of concentrate should be appropriately controlled 2-3 days before the expected calving date, and the concentrate can include a little more wheat bran, with reduced salt feeding, no sugar beet pulp or distillers' grains, and high-quality hay should be fed.
7. Lactation feeding management
Comprehensive feeding after calving, especially sufficient protein, minerals, and vitamins in the feed, combined with reasonable exercise, will help the cow's uterus recover quickly. Generally, the external opening of the cervix closes 4 weeks after calving, and it can fully recover in about 40 days, at which point estrus and breeding occur. Beef cattle have a relatively high conception rate 60-90 days after calving, so feeding should be strengthened one month before and two months after calving, with supplementary feed, so that the cow conceives again within 80 days after calving, ensuring one calf per cow per year, thereby improving the cow's breeding survival rate, reducing feeding costs, and increasing the economic benefits of cattle raising.
The nutritional combinations and feeding management of cows at different stages are different. We must continuously study and improve cow feeding management methods so that the management methods are more scientific, thereby effectively improving the benefits of the breeding industry.