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.
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