Livestock (also cattle) refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food or fibre, or labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning of "livestock" is common.
Livestock generally are raised for subsistence or for profit. Raising animals (animal husbandry) is an important component of modern agriculture. It has been practised in many cultures since the transition to forming from hunter-gather lifestyles.
‘Livestock’ are defined, in part, by their end purpose as the production of food or fibre, or labour.
The economic value of livestock includes:
Meat
the production of a useful form of dietary protein and energy
Dairy products
Mammalian livestock can be used as a source of milk, which can in turn easily be processed into other dairy products, such as yogurt, cheese, butter, ice cream, kefir, and kumis. Using livestock for this purpose can often yield several times the food energy of slaughtering the animal outright.
Fibre
Livestock produce a range of fibre/textiles. For example, sheep and goats produce wool and mohair; cows, deer, and sheep skins can be made into leather; and bones, hooves and horns of livestock can be used.
Fertilizer
Manure can be spread on fields to increase crop yields. This is an important reason why historically, plant and animal domestication have been intimately linked. Manure is also used to make plaster for walls and floors, and can be used as a fuel for fires. The blood and bone of animals are also used as fertilizer.
Labour
Animals such as horses, donkey, and yaks can be used for mechanical energy. Prior to steam power, livestock were the only available source of non-human labour. They are still used for this purpose in many places of the world, including ploughing fields, transporting goods, and military functions.
Land management
The grazing of livestock is sometimes used as a way to control weeds and undergrowth. For example, in areas prone to wild fires, goats and sheep are set to graze on dry scrub which removes combustible material and reduces the risk of fires.
If talking about its advantades and disadvantages, just read through:
Confinement at high stocking density is one part of a systematic effort to produce the highest output at the lowest cost by relying on economies of scale, modern machinery, biotechnology, and global trade. Confinement at high stocking density requires antibiotics and pesticides to mitigate the spread of disease and pestilence exacerbated by these crowded living conditions.[7] In addition, antibiotics are used to stimulate livestock growth by killing intestinal bacteria.[8] There are differences in the way factory farming techniques are practiced around the world. There is a continuing debate over the benefits and risks of factory farming. The issues include the efficiency of food production; animal welfare; whether it is essential for feeding the growing global human population; the environmental impact and the health risks
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
what is cattle rearing? ans 1
Cattle rearing involves the breeding, birthing, and general care of cattle, be it beef cattle or dairy cattle.
First of all, starting with beef cattle, you have your mother cows, and your bulls. Bulls mate with cows when the cows are in heat (estrus), cows settle (hopefully all of them), and the gestation period of 283 days begins with the development of the fetus. Most beef cows are bred around the same time (called the "breeding season") so they calve at the same time (called the "calving season.") After ~283 days (depending on the breed), the cow gives birth to a new calf, which gets up within 10 to 20 minutes after being pushed out the birth canal and begins suckling milk from momma. Calves stay on the cows for 6 to 10 months before being weaned and separated from their mothers (sometimes for a short period of time, most often forever). These calves (especially steers [castrated males]) are sold to another farm or feedlot where they are fed a forage-based diet so they grow. After they have reached a target weight (usually between 800 and 1,000 lbs) they are put on a grain diet for a few months as "finishers." They are then slaughtered for meat.
For the last part, there is starting to be more and more steers being grass-finished instead of grain finished. So, they are simply put on pasture until they reach a target weight of around 1200 lbs before they are slaughtered for beef.
With dairy cows, the breeding process above is similar to beef cows, only with a few differences: Dairy cows are bred during any time of the year (in other words, there's no defined breeding or calving season), they are artificially inseminated (semen from a dairy sire which has been frozen is deposited in the cow's uterus by humans), and their calves are taken away from them when the calves are an hour to a day or two old. Calves are bottle fed by hand in a separate barn away from their mothers. Cows that have given birth to a calf are lactating, and it is this milk that is collected for human consumption. Dairy cows typically are "allowed" to lactate for 10 months of the year, before getting 2 months off to dry up before giving birth to a calf again. As with beef cows, dairy cows are bred 45 to 60 days (~2 months) after giving birth to a calf.
As with the beef steers, dairy steers are sometimes slaughtered before they reach 6 months of age as veal; others are raised til they're older and slaughtered as dairy beef (like beef steers are).
However, with the heifers (young females) that are born, many cattle herds (including both beef and dairy) keep many as replacements. However, only 20% of the herd's best heifers are kept as replacements, and the rest are sold to other farms or to be used for beef.
Cows (and bulls) don't last forever in a herd, so when they develop problems, be it health, physical or even psychological problems, they are "culled," or sold and shipped away from the herd to be slaughtered for sausage and hamburger.
Pros:
1. pride of ownership
2. ability to care for animals, even if they're bigger'n you
3. contribute to feeding people (as meat)
4. can be raised in areas where crops won't grow (particularly for beef cattle)
5. a way of running your own business (particularly if it's your herd your raising/managing)
6. keeps the grass down
7. best way to get free fertilizer for your garden and potted plants
8. gain knowledge in animal biology and reproduction
9. best way to be around baby animals (calves are really cute!)
10. can be raised where minimal management is necessary (beef cattle only)
Cons:
1. concerns with greenhouse gas emissions (particularly for intensively managed cattle such as dairy and feedlot)
2. intensive management requires more labour and capital (dairy and feedlot, again)
3. need lots of money to get started (esp. w/ dairy)
4. not ideal for those who feel intimidated by cattle's huge size (they are bigger than you!)
5. require constant feeding and watering (more so w/ condensed operations like dairy and feedlot)
6. requires planning for grazing, breeding, calving, etc.
7. not ideal to raise cattle in areas where crops for human consumption can also be raised
8. requires good knowledge with biology, reproduction, general animal husbandry, etc.
9. when you get livestock, you'll get deadstock (have to pay vet bills for illness/injury too)
10. can never stay clean when working with cattle!
First of all, starting with beef cattle, you have your mother cows, and your bulls. Bulls mate with cows when the cows are in heat (estrus), cows settle (hopefully all of them), and the gestation period of 283 days begins with the development of the fetus. Most beef cows are bred around the same time (called the "breeding season") so they calve at the same time (called the "calving season.") After ~283 days (depending on the breed), the cow gives birth to a new calf, which gets up within 10 to 20 minutes after being pushed out the birth canal and begins suckling milk from momma. Calves stay on the cows for 6 to 10 months before being weaned and separated from their mothers (sometimes for a short period of time, most often forever). These calves (especially steers [castrated males]) are sold to another farm or feedlot where they are fed a forage-based diet so they grow. After they have reached a target weight (usually between 800 and 1,000 lbs) they are put on a grain diet for a few months as "finishers." They are then slaughtered for meat.
For the last part, there is starting to be more and more steers being grass-finished instead of grain finished. So, they are simply put on pasture until they reach a target weight of around 1200 lbs before they are slaughtered for beef.
With dairy cows, the breeding process above is similar to beef cows, only with a few differences: Dairy cows are bred during any time of the year (in other words, there's no defined breeding or calving season), they are artificially inseminated (semen from a dairy sire which has been frozen is deposited in the cow's uterus by humans), and their calves are taken away from them when the calves are an hour to a day or two old. Calves are bottle fed by hand in a separate barn away from their mothers. Cows that have given birth to a calf are lactating, and it is this milk that is collected for human consumption. Dairy cows typically are "allowed" to lactate for 10 months of the year, before getting 2 months off to dry up before giving birth to a calf again. As with beef cows, dairy cows are bred 45 to 60 days (~2 months) after giving birth to a calf.
As with the beef steers, dairy steers are sometimes slaughtered before they reach 6 months of age as veal; others are raised til they're older and slaughtered as dairy beef (like beef steers are).
However, with the heifers (young females) that are born, many cattle herds (including both beef and dairy) keep many as replacements. However, only 20% of the herd's best heifers are kept as replacements, and the rest are sold to other farms or to be used for beef.
Cows (and bulls) don't last forever in a herd, so when they develop problems, be it health, physical or even psychological problems, they are "culled," or sold and shipped away from the herd to be slaughtered for sausage and hamburger.
Pros:
1. pride of ownership
2. ability to care for animals, even if they're bigger'n you
3. contribute to feeding people (as meat)
4. can be raised in areas where crops won't grow (particularly for beef cattle)
5. a way of running your own business (particularly if it's your herd your raising/managing)
6. keeps the grass down
7. best way to get free fertilizer for your garden and potted plants
8. gain knowledge in animal biology and reproduction
9. best way to be around baby animals (calves are really cute!)
10. can be raised where minimal management is necessary (beef cattle only)
Cons:
1. concerns with greenhouse gas emissions (particularly for intensively managed cattle such as dairy and feedlot)
2. intensive management requires more labour and capital (dairy and feedlot, again)
3. need lots of money to get started (esp. w/ dairy)
4. not ideal for those who feel intimidated by cattle's huge size (they are bigger than you!)
5. require constant feeding and watering (more so w/ condensed operations like dairy and feedlot)
6. requires planning for grazing, breeding, calving, etc.
7. not ideal to raise cattle in areas where crops for human consumption can also be raised
8. requires good knowledge with biology, reproduction, general animal husbandry, etc.
9. when you get livestock, you'll get deadstock (have to pay vet bills for illness/injury too)
10. can never stay clean when working with cattle!
Source(s):
Raised cattle.
earn prophit by cattle rearing
There are many things that you can do to earn significant profit with farming activities and one of these is cattle farming, which is also known as the process of rearing cattle. Rearing cattle basically means keeping cattle, which includes different kinds of beasts of burden such as cows, oxen, and sheep for production of milk and meat. Many cattle farmers engage in this because the industry is profitable, progressive, and the work to be done isn't as rigorous and demanding as other farming activities. If you're interested in learning about the different aspects of cattle farming, this article should be your first step to getting a clear idea of what you're getting into.
When rearing cattle, one of the most important objectives is to determine what produce you are going to supply by breeding and raising your herd. According to most cattle farmers, rearing cattle for their meat is much easier as compared to other types of cattle such as dairy. You as the cattle farmer will instantly receive income once the cows have been sold for slaughtering and/or bought for breeding purposes.
Another important factor to rearing cattle is the choice of cattle breed, and in most parts of the country, these are the most popular:
o Droughtmaster
o Local Indian Dairy
o Friesian-Sahiwal Cross
o Brahman
o K-K (Kedah Kelantan)
o Local Indian Dairy
o Friesian-Sahiwal Cross
o Brahman
o K-K (Kedah Kelantan)
As you go along, you will discover many books that will teach you the basic and advanced tips and strategies on how to effectively breed and rear cattle for profit. This means learning the basics on how to raise cattle, how to breed cattle, and even how to sell cattle to either corporations or direct consumers. All in all, you need to have a stable and solid business plan when dealing with business transactions to be able to receive profit worthy enough of your efforts and investments.
So what do you need to do to successfully rear cattle? You need to have not only the animals but the equipment, the habitat, and the necessary medications in case something happens to any of the individual cows. Knowledge on selection and breeding is also essential if you want to raise a herd of high quality and impressive cattle. In order to do this, you need to balance selection of genetics with your hands-on skills in managing your very own herd. Once done properly and consistently, you will surely have a herd that many consumers will keep an eye on.
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