Top 2 systems and 2 best ways of keeping and breeding livestock, technology

The maintenance and breeding of cattle is a costly and laborious occupation, but profitable. Almost all rural residents raise cows on their subsidiary plots. These animals give up to 20 liters of milk per day. In winter, cows are kept in stalls, in summer they try to graze in pastures. The main thing is to provide cattle with quality feed. In summer, cows eat grass (up to 55 kg per day), in winter - hay (20 kg per day).

Content

1 Containment systems
- 1.1 Stall
- 1.2 Pasture
2 Content methods
- 2.1 Tied
- 2.2 Loose
3 How to breed cattle
4 Inventory

Containment systems

The system of breeding and keeping cattle (cattle) depends on many factors. Each farm or cow owner independently decides this issue, based on resources, the number of animals, the ability to organize grazing or provide feed.

Stall

There are such types of stall keeping of cattle:

Year-round stall. This technology is used if the nearby lands are plowed up and there is no possibility of grazing cattle in the meadow in summer. They build a house (barn) for the animals and make a walking area. The cows are fed with imported feed. In the summer they give fresh grass, root crops, in the winter - hay, straw, silage, vegetables.
Stable-pasture. With this technology, starting from spring, cows are grazed on pasture, and at the end of October they are transferred to winter stall keeping. It is used in farms with at least 0.5 hectares per animal. A cow weighing 505 kg eats up to 55 kg of green grass per day. This amount of feed is enough to produce 15-18 liters of milk per day. The pasture should not be more than 2 km from the barn.

Pros and cons

the ability to breed animals near large cities;

minimum costs for the delivery of the final product to the consumer.

additional costs for imported feed;

increase in the cost of final products.

Pasture

Types of pasture technology for keeping cattle:

Year-round pasture. In short, with this technology, cows are kept on pasture all year round. For shelter from the rain, animals are made sheds. The technology is used in regions with warm winters. This method of breeding allows you to get cheap products.
Stable pasture. With this technology, in the spring, when the grass reaches a height of 10-15 cm, the cows are driven out to the meadow. On the pasture, animals are grazed until frost. This method of breeding cattle requires the construction of a cowshed for winter stall keeping and the arrangement of a walking area for the exercise of animals in the cold season.

Pros and cons

favorable influence of grazing in the meadow on the high productivity of cows;

minimum feed costs (in summer);

rehabilitation of animals grazing in the fresh air on the green grass.

seasonality of pasture use;

the need to monitor the condition of the vegetation in the meadow (sow the grass in time).

Content methods

Cattle are kept on farms in different ways: on a leash or not. Each farm chooses its own method of keeping animals, based on capabilities, feasibility and resources.

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The essence of the loose cow method, advantages and disadvantages

Tied

With this method, the cows are kept in barns in individual stalls on a leash. The animals are untied (tied) in two cases: if you need to take them out to a pasture or to a walking area.

Leashes can be chain, yoke or fully automatic. The length of the stall is about 2 meters and is designed in such a way that the hind legs of the animal are on a metal grid. This is done so that excrement falls through the slatted floor. If there are no grates, then the manure is regularly removed by hand.

Animal feed is distributed to individual feeders and nurseries. There are two ways to distribute grass, hay and vegetables: fully mechanized and manual. Milking cows using milking machines or manually in buckets.

Pros and cons

allows you to ration feed for each animal;

increases the productivity of cows.

high labor intensity;

the need for regular cleaning of stalls from manure.

Loose

With this method, the cows are kept loose on the farm. Animals live in groups, can freely move around the barn and the walking area, eat from a common feeder. During milking, cows are led into individual milking parlors. With group loose housing, a maternity ward is necessarily organized, where females are transferred before giving birth.

Pros and cons

saving space, the ability to keep more animals in the barn;

the costs of feeding feed are reduced;

a minimum of staff is required to care for the animals.

there is no way to control how much feed each cow eats;

it is necessary to divide animals into different age groups.

How to breed cattle

Farms and livestock organizations are engaged in cattle breeding on an industrial scale. Anyone with a house and land in the countryside can have a cow.

In order to keep cattle, you need to build a barn, provide animals with feed in summer and winter.

In the summer, cows must graze in pasture. One animal needs an area of 0.5 hectares per season. A cow eats about 55 kg of grass per day. If there is no such plot in private ownership, then you need to negotiate with local governments and graze cattle on specially designated grazing meadows. Typically, in every rural area, cows are grazed in a herd, with livestock owners acting as shepherds in turn.

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Breeding cattle will require significant financial investments. You will have to buy a young cow (price - from $ 200) and build a cowshed (barn, barn). It is important to choose the right breed (dairy, meat and dairy, meat).

The animal must be kept indoors throughout the winter. During the warm period (from May to October) the cows are grazed in the meadow. True, animals should spend the night in a barn. In the barn, you need to install a nursery, feeders, drinkers. It is recommended to change the bedding, remove manure, and lay new straw on a daily basis. Animals are milked, as a rule, three times a day.

Expert opinion

Zarechny Maxim Valerievich

Agronomist with 12 years of experience. Our best summer cottage expert.

If you wish, you can create a small farm for breeding cows. First, you need to agree with the local administration on the lease of land for a cowshed and pasture. At the planning stage, it is recommended to consider ways of marketing the finished product.

The main thing when breeding cattle is to provide a forage base. In summer, animals must graze in the meadow.Desirable vegetation - leguminous and cereal grasses 15 cm high. For the winter, animals need to prepare hay (about 4 tons), straw, and silage. Vegetables and grain mixtures can be used as top dressing. It is important to provide animals with clean drinking water. A cow drinks about 30-50 liters of liquid per day. Milk yield depends on water supply.

Inventory

Cattle breeding begins with the construction of a cowshed and equipment, equipping the premises with all the necessary items, fixtures and fittings. Manger, feeders, drinkers should be installed in the stable.

It is recommended to purchase milking buckets, pre-milking cups or a milking machine first. Scrapers, brushes, long-handled scoops are used to remove manure. You need to buy a pitchfork for hay, shovels, scoops for feed, graters for root crops. When breeding cattle, buckets and basins of different capacities are needed, baskets, wheelbarrows or carts for transporting grass, hay, grain, vegetables.