The amount of care and protection
required by cattle vary from one location to another. It is always important to
prepare and implement a comprehensive
cattle handling plan based on the weather and climatic conditions of your
area. In addition to meeting their dietary and health needs, you also need to
keep their living environment clean and comfortable. Also, you must concentrate
on some simple points to take adequate care of your cattle.
Dietary Needs: As the stomachs of your cattle have four chambers, it
becomes essential to provide them with adequate diet and nutrition. Normally,
their dietary needs can be met by providing adequate hay and pasture. Also, you
can consider feeding them grain as grain is high in energy.
However, you must
decide the amount of feed required to keep your cattle healthy based on the
animal’s weight. It is recommended that you must feed about 2% of the animal's
body weight in dry matter on a daily basis. The hay, pasture or grains also
need to be complimented with mineral and salt block, and kept dry using some
type of cover.
Sufficient Fresh Water: Each farm animals needs adequate amount of
your fresh water on a daily basis. Sp you must ensure sufficient fresh water
supply to keep the cattle healthy. On an average 20 gallons of fresh water is
required for a mature cow, bull or steer. However, you must concentrate on
supplying the water manually and avoid installing automatic water systems.
Maintaining the Pasture: As a large portion of the dietary needs of
your cattle will be met through pasture, you have to ensure that the pastures
are both plentiful and good quality. If the pasture is of poor quality or
insufficient, you must provide each animal with hay weighing 2% of its body
weight. However, you must check the fields thoroughly and remove all those
plants that can be harmful or poisonous for the animals. If you are finding it
difficult to identify the poisonous plants, you can get a complete listing of
these plants from your local agriculture office.
Shelter: Along with sufficient diet and fresh water, the cattle
must be provided with healthy and comfortable living environment. A
run-in-shade or 3-sided shelter can be built on the fields for each animal. The
shelters will make it easier for the cattle to get out of the inclement weather
whenever they want. But you must check the shelters regularly, and ensure that
these are properly ventilated and waterproof. You can even use
cattle corrals to keep the shelters safe and comfortable. However, you
need to avoid installing barbed wire fencing as the wires can be dangerous for
your animals.
Healthcare: In comparison to
other farm animals, cattle can be halter trained and handled more easily. You
can simply brush the animals on a daily basis to get them used to being
touched. The brushing will further make it easier for others to handle them in
future. However, you must ensure that the animals are up to date on all
vaccinations required in your area. It is also important to consult a veterinarian
on matters related to your animals’ health.
