Methods for fattening thin cattle on natural pasture
Grazing fattening refers to a fattening method based mainly on the use of natural pasture. The grazing fattening method has the advantages of low feeding cost, good fattening results, and easy promotion in the vast farming and pastoral areas; it is an effective way to improve @#@228@#@ economic returns and to speed up the pace of rural and pastoral areas becoming prosperous and well-off. During a grazing fattening period of about 150 days, thin cattle of local breeds gain 0.5-0.7 kg per day, beef-type crossbred cattle gain 0.58-1.2 kg per day, the average total weight gain per head is 100-180 kg, and the economic return per head increases by 300-400 yuan.
1 Selection of cattle for fattening
Select 2-6 year old, large-framed, healthy and disease-free Charolais, Limousin, Simmental and other beef-type crossbred bulls for grazing fattening. Culled bulls, infertile cows, low-yielding dairy cows, and draft cattle that have lost their working capacity can all be fattened by grazing before culling to increase meat yield. Young and adult cattle have a strong ability to graze and give good fattening results. Old and weak cattle fatten less well, but after proper conditioning they can also achieve fairly good weight gain. Cattle that are too old, have no teeth, or have severe digestive system diseases or infectious diseases have no fattening value and should be removed.
2 Deworming and stomach strengthening
Cattle should be dewormed and have their stomach function strengthened before grazing fattening. Because cattle eat grass and frequently come into contact with the ground, they are often infected with various nematodes in the digestive tract, and are also susceptible to external parasites such as lice, mites, ticks and @#@261@#@; deworming should be carried out together with stomach strengthening to improve weight gain. At present, there are many kinds of deworming drugs, among which Chongkexing (trade name Alijia), developed and produced by China Agricultural University, is the first choice deworming drug. This drug can simultaneously expel dozens of nematodes inside the body of livestock and poultry as well as internal and external parasites such as lice, mites, ticks and fly maggots outside the body, with a remarkable effect on fattening. The dosage is 1 bag of powder or 2 capsules per 3 kg of body weight (containing 10 mg of active ingredient), administered orally or mixed into the feed. Deworming is best carried out in the afternoon or evening, so that the cattle pass the parasites during the daytime the next day, making collection and disposal easier. Before dosing, it is best to withhold food for several hours and provide only drinking water to improve the drug's efficacy. For cattle with indigestion and diarrhea symptoms, Jianwei San can be administered orally once a day, 250 g each time, for 2 consecutive days. For individual thin and weak cattle, after oral administration of Jianwei San, yeast powder can also be given orally once a day, 250 g each time, or 50-100 yeast tablets can be fed to regulate gastrointestinal function.
3 Grazing fattening techniques
The grazing fattening period generally starts in late May and ends in late October. Grazing methods can be adapted to local conditions; farmers mostly use small-herd grazing for fattening, with about 10 head per herd being suitable. In summer, the weather is hot and there are many mosquitoes and insects, which affects cattle grazing and feed intake. Therefore, summer grazing should avoid hot weather as much as possible, using the method of going out early and returning early in the morning, going out late and returning late in the afternoon, and resting at noon. Graze twice a day, from 6-10 a.m. and from 3-7 p.m., for 8 hours of grazing per day, and drive the herd into sheds or tie them under tree shade to rest at noon. Provide drinking water once after each return from grazing. During grazing, cattle should be given clean drinking water, not stagnant water or water from ponds; do not graze in low-lying areas either, to prevent cattle from being infected with liver flukes. At the same time, pay attention to preventing exposure to the scorching sun and rain. In autumn grazing, keep good watch over the herd; do not let cattle damage crops and vegetable plots, and prevent diarrhea and death caused by accidentally eating vegetables and crop fruits. There should be no cows in the fattening herd, so as not to affect the bulls' feed intake and fattening. If there are many cows, they can be grouped separately. Fattening cattle must not be used for work, to prevent loss of condition and reduce the fattening effect.
4 Do a good job of supplementary feeding
Cattle raisers with the conditions can adopt the fattening method of grazing plus supplementary feeding, and the weight gain effect will be better. Supplementary feeding can be carried out within half an hour after the evening return from grazing. Each head of cattle should be supplemented daily with 3-5 kg of green grass, 0.5-1 kg of corn, 0.3-0.5 kg of cottonseed cake, 50 g of salt, 50 g of urea, and 20 g of growth promoter. When supplementary feeding, feed the green grass first, then mix the concentrated feed and various additives evenly and mix them into the green grass, feeding until full. Under the conditions of grazing plus supplementary feeding, improved beef cattle can gain 1.5-2 kg per day, and local yellow cattle can gain 1-1.25 kg per day.
5 Market at the right time
Beef-type crossbred cattle are mostly born in March-May. After one winter and spring of raising, by May of the second year at 1 year of age, their body weight can reach about 250 kg. From the start of grazing fattening in late May to the end of the grazing fattening period in late October, the fattening cattle can be marketed when their body weight reaches 350-400 kg. If they are not marketed at this time, they can enter the barn-feeding fattening period from late October, and after 2-3 months of intensive fattening, be sold when their body weight reaches 500-550 kg, which can obtain fairly good economic returns.