A Detailed Guide to Cattle Farming Methods and Key Technical Points

Cattle are a common cattle breed in our country, hardy and easy to raise, with a robust build, a gentle temperament and good meat quality, so many farmers choose to raise them. How to raise cattle is best?

How to raise cattle

1. To raise cattle, you must first choose a good farming site; the chosen place should have high terrain, level ground, good lighting conditions, and no major noise or pollution sources nearby.

2. The cattle shed can be built using wooden stakes, wooden boards, plastic sheeting, grey bricks, sand and mud, cement and so on. The size of the cattle shed should be determined by the number of cattle raised; generally, one adult cow occupies an area of 1.5 m to 1.8 sq m.

3. After the cattle shed is completed, the floor should be disinfected with lime, and the walls and ceiling can be disinfected by spraying; after disinfection is complete, ventilate to exchange the air.

4. After the cattle shed is completed, the cattle pen also needs to be simply constructed. The cattle pen should be 3 to 4 times larger than the cattle shed all around, the floor of the cattle pen should be covered with sandy soil, and the surroundings should be separated with wire mesh to prevent other livestock from approaching the cattle shed. Water troughs should be placed in the cattle pen to make it convenient for the buffalo to drink.

5. Choose high-quality cattle breeds. The bull must be strong, with a straight back and waist, and no sign of sagging in the abdomen; the bull's testicles must be well developed and its coat smooth. Besides the above conditions, the cow's teats must be well developed, the udder large, and the teats even in size. The ratio of bulls to cows is 1:3.

6. After cattle are transported back to the cattle shed, they should be kept for temporary rearing, with the time controlled at 3-5 days. During this period, food supply only needs to be maintained at 70% to 80% fullness, and the cattle should be given more water to drink, with a small amount of salt added to the water. If the cattle have a poor appetite, a little medicine to aid digestion can be added to the water for the cattle to drink. If problems such as diarrhea or refusal to eat occur during temporary rearing, a veterinarian should be sought promptly for treatment.

7. After temporary rearing is finished, the cattle are put into the pen for raising. In addition to ensuring enough food every day, clean up the manure daily, and disinfect the feed trough and water trough regularly, once every 10-15 days. Deworm the cattle twice a year, generally in spring and autumn.

8. Feed three times a day, once each in the morning, noon and evening. The cattle's forage and feed should be diversified. Concentrate feed, roughage and green succulent feed should be matched; energy feed and protein feed should be matched; grass species of the grass family and legume family should be matched. Diversified forage and feed allow nutrients to complement each other, and can also improve palatability and promote appetite. Since multiple feeds need to be matched, when the composition of the daily ration needs to be changed, it is also much easier than a sudden change from a single feed.

9. During the first 5 months of pregnancy, cows should be fed mainly with roughage, with an appropriate match of a small amount of concentrate feed. After the cow enters the middle and late stages of gestation, the amount of concentrate feed should be gradually increased to ensure sufficient intake of protein, minerals and vitamins in the feed. After a cow has conceived successfully, it should be raised in isolation separately to avoid miscarriages caused by cows colliding with each other.

10. Before cattle are fattened, a comprehensive inspection should be carried out, and thin, sick cattle should be culled and dealt with promptly. At the same time, they should also be scientifically grouped according to age, weight, sex and nutritional status, with group raising and group grazing. During the raising period, fattening cattle should mainly be fed concentrate feed, with roughage as a supplement, and the amount of feed should be gradually increased according to the principle of from less to more; the crude fiber content in the daily ration should be controlled at above 30%.

In cattle farming work, only by providing good nutrition, matching feed reasonably and raising scientifically can you produce high-quality, good cattle.