Raising beef cattle is relatively easy compared to raising dairy cattle. Because beef cattle farming means raising cows to produce calves for sale, either as replacements or for slaughter.
And you don’t have to think much about many things like genetic improvement, increased milk production, etc.
You also don’t have to think much about the artificial insemination method because you can easily breed beef cattle with bulls.
Beef Cattle Breeding
The main purpose of raising beef cattle is to obtain offspring, which is mainly used for the meat market. However, here we describe more information about raising beef cattle.
Define your breeding program
There are two different options for raising beef cattle; using a bull or artificial insemination. We describe both methods here.
Choose Taurus
You should always choose a quality, healthy bull to improve your herd (because the bull you choose will provide half of your calf’s genetic potential).
Fertility and live calves are the key to profitability and a quality bull can help you achieve your goal.
Keeping and using a bull for breeding is a good idea if your herd has more than 10 cows.
In fact, one healthy bull is enough for 25 cows. But sometimes bulls with high fertility and high libido can raise about 50 cows or up to 50 cows without reducing the fertilization rate.
Typically, a bull reaches its peak fertility at 20 months (although age may vary by breed of cattle) and remains fertile for up to 6-7 years.
Artificial insemination
Artificial insemination is an effective way to raise beef cattle if your herd is too small.
AI is also a very good option if you don’t want to deal with bulls and also if you don’t want to bear the extra cost of raising bulls. You can hire an AI specialist to breed cows.
Raise cows
You need to know when your cows are in heat and you need to keep a record.
The breeding of beef cattle is carried out by artificial insemination 12 hours after the appearance of signs of estrus in the cows. You can call an AI specialist and he/she will do the rest.
But if you keep a bull in your herd, you won’t have to worry about when your cows will start hunting. The bull will do the rest, you just need to know when your cows hatched.
Observe the animals during the breeding season
You need to monitor your cows and bulls during the breeding season. Too many bulls in the herd is not a good idea.
Because if you keep too many bulls in the herd, there may be more fighting than mating. You also need to monitor the cows in your herd.
Your cows have successfully hatched in the last 24-48 hours if you notice their tails stretched or twisted when walking.
Keep records
You should always keep track of everything from estrus to successful breeding of cows.
A few tips for raising beef cattle
Breeding bulls after 2-3 months will be fine if you don’t want year-round breeding.
Bulls can be aggressive at times, so it’s a good idea to keep them separate from the herd. All my wishes!
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