How to fatten a bull: an effective diet and content features

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 20:55

Of course, cattle (cattle) in livestock complexes, on farms and in backyards are bred primarily for milk production. Heifers in such farms, respectively, are especially valued. But bulls, with the right approach to business, can be a good source of profit for the farmer. Such animals, even dairy breeds, not to mention meat, are able to gain large muscle mass. However, you can grow strong, muscular cattle on the farm, of course, only if you know how to feed bulls correctly.

There are several technologies for growing cattle for meat. In any case, a special diet will need to be developed for animals. We will talk about how to fatten gobies later in the article.

How to choose a breed?

Fat for meat on farms in our country, in most cases, bulls of dairy breeds. Only some of these animals, distinguished by good breed characteristics, are left on farms as producers. The latter are further used to replenish the herd with new calves. They are slaughtered only when they lose theirthe ability to reproduce strong he althy offspring.

Sometimes farmers breed bulls especially for fattening. In this case, of course, calves of meat breeds are purchased. These bulls gain weight very quickly. At the same time, they can significantly exceed their dairy counterparts in body weight.

The best meat breeds of bulls for fattening today in Russia are:

• Hereford;
• Shorthorn;
• Charolais;
• Aberdeen-Etruscan;
• Kazakh white-headed.

How to choose a bull?

Of course, the fattening calves themselves must be chosen correctly. First of all, you should make sure that the exterior of the animals matches their breed. In any case, when choosing a bull for fattening, you should pay attention to:

• presence or absence of the umbilical cord;
• the condition of the animal's teeth;
• calf behavior.

The presence of an umbilical cord indicates that the sold bull-calf is no more than 10-20 days old. Farmers do not advise buying such calves for fattening. The optimal age of bulls purchased for growing meat is considered to be 1.5-2 months. In too young calves, the body is still quite weak and fragile. Therefore, such an animal, when changing the conditions of detention and environment, can easily die.

It is not difficult to determine the age of a bull by its teeth. They grow in such animals in the following order:

• from birth -4 dairy;
• 1 week old - 3rd and 4th pair of incisors;
• 2 weeks old - 3rd pair of primary molars;
• at 3-4 months - the incisors reach their full development;
• at 4-5 months - the toes and the inside of the middle teeth begin to wear down, permanent back molars appear.

At the age of 1-2 months, bulls are active and fun. They show curiosity to approaching people and approach without fear. Affected calves look lethargic, continue to lie down and show no interest in a stranger. It will not be difficult to distinguish such an animal from a he althy one.

Should I castrate?

Beginning farmers who decide to make a profit selling meat are usually interested not only in how to feed bulls. Many beginners would probably like to know whether it is necessary to castrate cattle, as, for example, the same pigs. This procedure is not carried out for bulls grown for fattening. After castration, calves gain weight worse, consuming more feed. In addition, this procedure can adversely affect the quality of bull meat. Instead of muscle mass, the animal will gain excess fat.

Gobies are usually castrated only after their skeleton is fully formed. That is at the age of about 12 months. This procedure is usually carried out only in two cases:

• if there is a possibility of unwanted insemination of cows (for example, joint grazing);
• due to being too active andthe hooligan nature of the bull itself to make it easier to care for him.

To what age to grow?

How to fatten calves for meat quickly, so it's understandable. To do this, you first need to purchase thoroughbred animals. Gobies, and especially meat ones, can grow very large. It is believed that the optimal age for slaughtering cattle is 15-20 months. By this time, bulls usually reach a weight of 400-500 kg. Longer cattle raised for meat are usually not kept. After 1.5 years, the mass of bulls begins to increase rather slowly. At the same time, animals consume more feed.

What conditions should be created on the farm?

Let's talk a little lower about how to feed bulls at home for meat. To begin with, let's figure out what conditions of detention need to be created for such animals. Gobies raised for meat should, of course, live in a clean, well-ventilated barn. Each fattening animal should have an individual spacious paddock. Bedding in the barn is supposed to be changed daily.

In the winter season, the barn with animals must be heated. The floor in the barn for meat bulls is made inclined to drain sewage. Of course, the barn, among other things, must be equipped with a ventilation system. Also, windows should be provided in the barn for good lighting.

How to fatten bulls: techniques

Conditions for cattle grown on the farm should be good. But even more important is the development for animals.appropriate caloric intake. Most often, standard technology is used for fattening bulls. But sometimes farms can also use:

1. Intensive method. This method is the best answer to the question of how to fatten a bull in a short time. With this technology, calves are raised from two weeks of age to 14 months of age. During this period, bulls usually gain weight of 450 kg.
2. Average method. In this case, calves are fattened from 2 weeks to 18 months. The live weight of cattle by this time can reach 500 or more kilograms. A feature of this technique is that the share of concentrated feed in the daily diet of animals when using it is no more than 40%.
3. Growing method. This technique is also a good answer to the question of how to properly feed bulls. When applying this method, four-month-old calves are acquired for the farm. Animals are kept until slaughter on farms for up to 18 months and a weight of about 500 kg.
4. Silage-concentrate method. In this case, the calves are raised on corn silage. Such food gives a daily increase of 550 grams even in the absence of concentrates. The latter are usually introduced into the diet when using this technique 35-55%.
5. Concentrated haylage method. This type of fattening is well suited for small farms. The diet of cows in this case is based on haylage. The ratio of such feed and concentrates in the menu of animals using this technique is 60:40%.
6. Technology on the bard. This by-product of distillation from alcohol mash is prepared from grains, lemon balm, starchy fruits, and potatoes. Bard is fed fresh to gobies. The daily portion of stillage for each calf can be up to 50 liters.
7. Technology on pulp. In this case, foods such as legumes, grass meal, cereal hay are introduced into the diet of calves. The maximum daily dose of the pulp for bulls is 4 kg.

Standard technology: feeding

Methods of rearing calves for meat, thus, can be used different. But still, it is the standard technology, according to many farmers, that is the best answer to the question of how to feed bulls. When using this technique, animals can receive all three types of feed:

• juicy - root crops, silage;
• concentrated - grain, feed, bran;
• coarse - hay, haylage, grass.

When using this technology, bulls can be fed individually, in groups, dosed or ad libitum. The main thing is to ensure that each animal without fail receives the required daily amount of feed. This will guarantee rapid weight gain. Actually, the calculation of the amount of feed is made depending on the age of the animal.

Four different diets

There are four stages of fattening when using standard technology:

• dairy;
• main;
• growing;
• intense.

Milk Stage

So, how to quickly fatten a bull? What should be the diet of animals at first? Meat calves are usually not separated from their mother for a long time. Dairy bulls are artificially fed. After all, the milk of their mothers is sold or fed to the owners.

In any case, very young calves should receive colostrum during the first month of life. The scar of such gobies is not yet too well developed, and therefore they are not able to digest grass. For the first week and a half, calves eat only colostrum. Its daily dose for each animal is 10 liters.

Subsequently, s alt is gradually added to the colostrum. From the third week of life, cereals, as well as barley flour, are included in the diet of calves, diluting it with colostrum to the consistency of porridge. After another two weeks, calves begin to gradually wean from milk. At the age of 1 month, it is replaced in the diet of young animals with reverse. This product is also given to babies in the amount of 10 liters per day. At the same time, potatoes are gradually introduced into the menu of gobies. Grass and hay are not given to cattle during the milk period.

How to fatten a bull for meat: the main stage

This period is the shortest, but the most important in fattening calves. It lasts on farms for 4 months. During this time, the bulls build up muscle mass, the quality of which will subsequently determine the commercial properties of the meat.

Calfs can be fattened during this period:

• onhaylage;
• silage and haylage;
• on silage, haylage and root crops.

In the first case, the daily diet of animals includes:

• hay - 2 kg;
• silage - 10 kg;
• s alt - 30 grams;
• concentrates - 3 kg;
• phosphates - 40 g.

The second fattening method involves the following diet:

• hay - 2 kg;
• silo - 10 kg;
• silage - 4 kg;
• concentrates - 3 kg;
• s alt - 30 g;
• phosphates - 40 g.

When using the third technology, bulls are given:

• hay - 5 kg;
• silo - 8 kg;
• vegetables - 5 kg;
• concentrates - 3 kg;
• s alt - 30 g;
• phosphates - 40 g.

Those who are interested in the answer to the question of how to properly fatten bulls for meat should also know that at the main stage, among other things, animals are usually given prebiotics. Most often, these are Monosporin and Laktobifadol. Such additives contribute to the rapid digestion of concentrates. As a result, the body of calves quickly adapts when switching from milk feeding to an adult diet.

Growing stage

This period is also very important for those who wondered how to properly fatten a bull inhome conditions. During this period, nothing new is introduced into the diet of calves. That is, the animals continue to be fed according to the scheme chosen at the previous stage. Only the amount of food fed is changed during the growing period.

So, when using the haylage scheme, the amount of concentrates is reduced to 2 kg per day, s alts are given 40 g each, and phosphates - 50 g each. When using the second method of silage, bulls are offered 14 kg per day, haylage - 5 kg, concentrates - 2 kg. Other products and supplements are offered in the same quantities. When applying the third method, the following is introduced into the diet of calves:

• hay - 3 kg;
• silage - 5 kg;
• silo - 10 kg;
• root crops and vegetables - 6 kg.

Concentrates, s alt and phosphates are given in the same quantities.

Intensive Stage

This fattening period lasts 3 months. At the end of this stage, the bull is slaughtered. With intensive fattening for cattle, the same feeding scheme is maintained as in the previous two periods. But at the same time, part of the rough and succulent feed is replaced with concentrates. In addition, at this time, bulls are offered pulp and bard. These products are also a good answer to the question of how best to fatten bulls for meat. As already mentioned, sometimes they are used even for the entire period of growing calves for slaughter. Silage in the feeders of animals during the period of intensive fattening should be constantly.

Grazing

The technology described above is the best answer to the question of how to fatten a bull for meat in the winter season. Aboutthe same technique is used by many farmers in the summer. However, most livestock breeders still believe that beef bulls, like dairy cattle, are very useful to drive out to pastures in the warm season.

Green fresh grass contains a lot of nutrients, carotene and various vitamins. When using this fattening technology, farmers usually drive their cows out to pastures for at least 20 hours a day. Additionally, cows, of course, are offered concentrates and root crops.