How to Raise Black Angus Cattle: 8 Steps

Table of contents:

How to Raise Black Angus Cattle: 8 Steps
How to Raise Black Angus Cattle: 8 Steps
Anonim

The Black Angus is a cattle breed that can be bred in different contexts, from the farm, where the cattle can look after themselves very well, to the feedlot, or in the enclosures where intensive livestock farming takes place. Each individual producer has their own way of breeding Angus and no system is the same as another. Therefore, there are only the basic principles to set up an Angus cow and calf farm, but not to prepare the cattle for production. The details of how you choose to breed Angus are up to you.

Steps

Raise Black Angus Cattle Step 1
Raise Black Angus Cattle Step 1

Step 1. Buy and start an Angus farm, choosing the quality based on the activity you are going to undertake

Raise Black Angus Cattle Step 2
Raise Black Angus Cattle Step 2

Step 2. In accordance with the business plan created before starting the farm, prepare for the breeding, calving and weaning seasons

Depending on the commercial activity, perhaps it will be useful to synchronize the breeding season to the natural times of the cows, or to go in time with the markets that involve, for example, the sale of bulls and one year old heifers or with the markets of the spring cattle.

  • Make calving season a time when births, pregnancies and newborn calves can be managed, even in adverse weather conditions.

  • Managing the calving is a fundamental aspect to ensure a high survival of the calves from birth to sale. During the calving season, cows and heifers should be checked to see if there are any symptoms of dystocia or calving problems. At the same time, it is necessary to check if the calves show possible signs of cold stress, diarrhea, injuries, pneumonia or any other health problem. If the birth takes place in the pasture, the risk of diarrhea decreases, but in spring it can be a problem due to the probable snowfalls, especially if you live in mountainous areas or in places where spring snowstorms often occur. Having adequate shelter, good bedding and large quantities of forage is very important during this difficult time of year.

    • Know when a cow or heifer is ready to give birth. It is important to understand when and if a female needs assistance.
    • Prepare the equipment needed to treat dystocia, health problems, or any injuries. Also, you should have the vet's phone number handy.
    • Separate the pregnant cows from the calves. It is easier to separate pregnant cows from those that have just given birth by taking them to a new pasture, and not vice versa. This way the cows that are about to give birth will not steal the calves of the others. It happens from time to time, when the hormones are unleashed during this difficult period of the year.

  • The breeding season should come after a few months (80 to 90 days) from the birth and lasts from 45 to 60 days to ensure the fertility of the herd. It should coincide with the calving schedule so that each year the cows and heifers give birth to calves at the same time without any discrepancies.

    • In order to manage the farm, careful evaluation is needed. Do you want to use artificial insemination or do you prefer conception to occur naturally, or do you intend to resort to both solutions?

      • If you choose natural fertilization, get a nice Angus bull that is able to improve the genetic value of your herd.

      • If you prefer artificial insemination, choose an Angus male with proven superiority thanks to the Predicted Differences in Offspring (DEP) method, which will improve your herd. It is good to have a quality bull to ensure that all cows are pregnant in time for the calving season.

        It is highly recommended that the sperm of all bulls be examined before the breeding season. There is nothing worse than finding out that the main reason why pregnancies are fewer than usual is because the bull or bulls are not compatible, have reproductive problems (fractured penis) or abnormalities (corkscrew penis or abnormal sperm production) that were not detected at the time of purchase

    • Weaning should take place when the calves reach 6-8 months of age.

      • By preparing your calves for weaning, you will minimize the stress on the calves during the weaning phase.
      • It is also advisable to wean calves and sell when the market price is high, not when it is low.
      Raise Black Angus Cattle Step 3
      Raise Black Angus Cattle Step 3

      Step 3. Check the health of the herd

      Unless you have an extremely closed farm (nothing and no one entering the herd from other farms, biosecurity, etc.), it is important for the health of the cows and calves to check their physical condition. To keep the herd healthy, therefore, it is necessary to implement an annual or biennial vaccination program for calves, bulls and cows. Consult with your vet to plan an accurate breeding health program.

      • The most important vaccinations include the Clostridium vaccine and vaccines for bovine respiratory syncytial virus, bovine respiratory disease, parainfluenza virus type 3, bovine viral rhinotracheitis and leptospirosis. In some areas, you may also need the anthrax vaccine if you are in locations that have long had problems with the spread of this bacterial infection.
      • It is best to vaccinate females at least 3 weeks before calving to minimize the need to vaccinate calves at the time of labeling and castration.
      Raise Black Angus Cattle Step 4
      Raise Black Angus Cattle Step 4

      Step 4. Check the power supply

      Feeding is a very important aspect in breeding. You can't have cows without having to feed them. Take advantage of the period from spring to autumn to make hay, store forage and / or grain in silos for livestock. Make sure you have enough soil to prepare forage for all animals and know how much cows and bulls consume on average. Sometimes it will be necessary to buy some feed, but most farmers prefer to avoid it, striving to produce the forage themselves.

      • Feed the cows according to their nutritional needs during the reproductive stages. For example, a cow consumes 50% more when she is nursing than when she is not producing milk. It is important to feed a diet that is high in calcium and protein to maintain good milk production. When the cow is dry (it does not produce milk), it is better that the consumption and nutrition are lower, but sufficient not to make her lose weight or to force you to feed her with feed that does not feed her adequately.

        All cattle generally get 2.5% of their body weight from dry substances. Lactating females take 3.5% to 4% of their body weight from dry substances. The amount of intact food (before it becomes dry), consumed by cattle, basically depends on the humidity of the food

      Raise Black Angus Cattle Step 5
      Raise Black Angus Cattle Step 5

      Step 5. Manage the pasture

      Depending on where you are and the type of business you have started, you will need to know when is the best time to leave the cows on the pasture and when is the right time to change it. Unless you are doing Management-Intensive Grazing (MIG) or rotational grazing, it is best to graze the cows by changing places once every one to three weeks, allowing the pasture to rest for at least 30 days.

      • Don't let pastures be over-exploited. The more a herd of cows graze in a particular spot, the less productive it will be. Rotational (or intensive) grazing is a good management system to consider if you want to keep your lawn and pasture more even and healthy.

        • Knowing the range, the density of the animal population and the displacement capacity within your land will surely help you determine how many acres (or hectares per cow) you need to allocate to pasture.

          • UA means Animal Unit, where a 1000-pound cow (with or without calf) consumes approximately 25 kg of grass per day. AUD is the amount of feed a unit of animal consumes in one day. AUM is the amount of forage that an animal consumes in a month.

            Consult the page of the Zootechnical Registry of the Ministry of Health website and the zootechnical registry offices of your region, which are responsible for registering livestock settlements and managing the handling of cattle, sheep, goats and pigs

        • Combine the quality of the grass with the livestock you own or with the nutrient levels they need. High-quality pastures should be reserved for lactating cows, calves for rearing or fattening and also for bulls that need to improve their conditions. Low-quality pastures are for dry pregnant cows, for those who have just weaned calves, for cows that have calves of 3 months or more.
        • Keep an eye out for factors that undermine the quality of herd, such as gastric dilation syndrome, nitrate toxicity, weed tetany, and fescue toxicity. Make sure that these anti-quality factors do not occur in the pastures and livestock you manage.
        Raise Black Angus Cattle Step 6
        Raise Black Angus Cattle Step 6

        Step 6. Keep a record

        Keep a record of everything from calving to nutrition, health, feeding and pasture management. You never know when you might need it. Keeping a financial record will also help you tremendously in the long run.

        Raise Black Angus Cattle Step 7
        Raise Black Angus Cattle Step 7

        Step 7. Eliminate the cows and bulls that affect your herd

        Select them based on temperament, state of health, conformation, ability to raise and care for calves, fertility and forage convertibility.

        • Checking for pregnancy in females will help you determine if any of them should be kept or not. Rectal palpation is the cheapest and often the fastest way to check if cows and heifers are pregnant.
        • Checking the physical condition of the cattle will also help you determine which cows need to be kept and which not. It tells you which cows are too thin to give birth or to survive the winter and which cows need higher quality feed during the winter than others.
        Raise Black Angus Cattle Step 8
        Raise Black Angus Cattle Step 8

        Step 8. Sell the calves in the fall or spring at any market you choose to go to

        Advice

        • Angus cattle are very widespread in the United States and Canada and, therefore, there is a risk of buying low quality cattle instead of a good one. Use judgment and your knowledge of physical conformation to determine if the Angus cattle you wish to raise are the ones you intend to buy.

          Select, select, select! You don't have to keep cattle that don't actually prove to have the qualities you were hoping for

        • The Angus breed is very versatile and can be bred in almost any environment. However, hot and humid ones are not good for this breed of cattle. If you wish to breed this breed in a sub-tropical environment, you will need to manage it so that it can thrive well in this environment.

        Warnings

        • Watch out for the bulls. Don't trust them, don't turn your back on them, and never show fear, as this is a sign of weakness that can lead them to become irritated in your presence.

          It may be easier said than done

        • Angus cattle are very popular in North America, so it is very likely that the cattle you are looking for are in those areas. That said, you need to be very choosy to get the cattle you want to make up your Angus herd.

        • It can be a lot of "fun" to work with Angus cattle. There are some bloodlines of this breed that are very shady and wild (the EXT bloodline is the one you definitely need to stay away from !!), while others from Angus farms and cattle ranches are truly docile. Avoid hot-tempered specimens if possible.

          If the cows are very sensitive most of the time, kill them. It is not worth spending your life raising cows with unpredictable behavior, even if they raise their calves well

Recommended:

How to Buy Cattle: 8 Steps (with Pictures)

How to Buy Cattle: 8 Steps (with Pictures)

Buying livestock is one of the key parts of farming that also serves to increase your profits. It may be difficult to find the necessary details available or know what to look for when buying livestock, especially if you are still just starting out.

How to Read, Understand and Use Predicted Differences in Cattle Progeny (DEP)

How to Read, Understand and Use Predicted Differences in Cattle Progeny (DEP)

DEP can be complicated and confusing for beginners, to the point where it can become difficult to choose a bull for your herd. But, once you understand how to analyze DEP, it will be of great use to you in determining the choice of a breeding bull or thoroughbred cows for your business.

How to Recognize Pregnancy in Cattle: 4 Steps

How to Recognize Pregnancy in Cattle: 4 Steps

Knowing if a cow or heifer is pregnant is important because it can determine your profit. Free cows are considered useless because they consume food and produce nothing. Maintaining them is uneconomical and you will do well to get rid of them.

How to Breed Cattle: 6 Steps (with Pictures)

How to Breed Cattle: 6 Steps (with Pictures)

The reproduction of livestock is mainly oriented towards the meat market. Basically, it involves producing calves to sell for meat or to other farms. Steps Step 1. Start by opening a farm Step 2. Buy the cows and the bull Buy the breed that best suits your purpose.

How to Build a Cattle Enclosure: 15 Steps

How to Build a Cattle Enclosure: 15 Steps

Building an animal enclosure depends a lot on the type of livestock you intend to keep inside. There are several types. This article provides a simple overview of a typical stock corral. Feel free to start an article on any type of pen, divided by type or by livestock.