Now more and more people leave large cities and go to the outback. The immigrants want to engage in agriculture, but still do not know much. For example, it is not uncommon when a cow gives birth, and the owner does not know what to do with offspring. Calves are raised by different methods, but in order to choose the best method for themselves, it is better to get acquainted with all existing ones.
Calf birth
By the time of the birth of the cow, the owners should be prepared. It would be better if the owners for this day take a day off. Most often, Burenka does not need help at the hotel, but it is better to play it safe. Sometimes deliveries are complicated, and you can’t do without the help of the owners and a veterinarian.
If everything goes well and the fetus is positioned correctly, then the cow can cope in 40-60 minutes. In heifers, the process may be slower. Soon after the waters leave, the hooves and then the head are shown. The woman in labor can rest a little bit, after which she plucks the fetus completely from herself with a bout. The cow licks the baby, and the farmer either leaves him with her or picks him up.
If the birth is complicated, it is advisable to call a doctor. Sometimes a too large calf gets stuck, then it needs to be pulled out on an attempt. With any complications, you need to hurry, as the fetus may die in the birth canal.
Growth periods
The development of cattle can be divided into periods. Growing a calf at different points in life has its own characteristics. The first period is a newborn. This is the most difficult moment in the life of the baby, because his relationship with his mother is completed, and he must begin to live independently. In order for the calf to be successful, it must be drunk with colostrum during the first hour after birth.
The second period of development is dairy. This is the time of drinking, in different farms it lasts from 2 to 9 months. Sometimes calves stop giving milk a little earlier or a little later. The next period of development is puberty. It starts from 9-10 months. During this period, the animal prepares for the future insemination procedure, its genitals are finally formed. At this time, calves and heifers should not be allowed into mating.
Then comes the period of final ripening. It is completed by 1.5-2 years. At this time, offspring can already be obtained from animals. After there comes a period of maturity, which ends by 10 years. A cow with the 8th-9th calving is already considered old. Bulls on farms are also rarely used for more than 10 years. But some owners have cows bearing the 15th or 17th pregnancy. Separations by periods of calf rearing are very arbitrary, there is no unequivocal opinion on their exact beginning and end.
Keeping calves under a cow
For beginners, this method seems the simplest, but it has its own characteristics. With this method of growing a calf, it remains under the cow. It is very convenient for the owner that the baby is always full, well-groomed and is supervised. There are practically no worries with the suction method of growing a calf.
However, this method has its drawbacks. The cow understands that the calf needs milk, not the mistress. Very often, a burenka begins to resist during milking, topple a bucket, to drive away owners with horns. Even after sowing the calf, the cow can hold milk for a long time. Sometimes this leads to mastitis.
The suckling method of keeping the calf is of little use for highly dairy cows. If a young dog produces 20, 30, 40 liters of milk, then no cub will be able to drink it. Then the cow will either reduce the milk yield or become ill. In the first case, the owners will receive at least half of the profit from the sale of products, in the second - they will seriously spend on treatment. By the way, when the calves are sucked, the shape of the udder of the cow deteriorates, its ligaments are stretched. Such an animal is much more likely to be injured in grazing.
Cold method
This method is often used for meat breeds of cattle, but sometimes it is also used in dairy farming. The cold method of raising calves is to keep them in special houses in the open air. After birth, the baby is given a little time to dry. After completing this process, the calf is sent to his personal home.
Weather does not play a role here, so the method is called cold. There is no heater in the house, only a layer of large sawdust or straw. Calves raised by this method usually have good health. Their diet should be more nutritious than that of babies on the farm, so more often, earlier accustoming to grain occurs. If the farmer adheres to the traditional feeding system, then spending on milk is very high.
It was noted that calves that were raised by the cold method are much less likely to get a cold. Also, they almost never have a deficiency of vitamin D.
Manual traditional method
This method is the second most popular after suction. When growing dairy calves on it, they are either immediately planted in a separate fence, or left with their mother for a week or two. The owner feeds the calves on their own, either from a bottle with a pacifier, or from a bowl or bucket.
The first 10 days of the calf's life are milked 5-6 times. After the kids are transferred to 4 meals a day, in this mode they live up to 1 month. Then the frequency of feeding is again reduced to 3 times. The first 10 days of growing a calf he is offered only milk. After this age, with the traditional nutritional system, he is given the opportunity to try swipes or liquid oatmeal.
At 3 weeks, the calf is offered a handful of crushed grain, most often barley. After a month, vegetables are introduced into the diet: potatoes, fodder beets, pumpkin, zucchini. If calving occurred in the spring or summer, then after 2-3 weeks the baby is often expelled to graze with his mother.
The experience of large farms
Modern dairy complexes use calf farming methods different from the village ones. Livestock specialists recommend accustoming future cows to grain as early as possible. This is done for faster and more complete development of the scar in heifers. Also important is the saving of milk, because farms deliver it to factories.
Immediately after birth, the calf is separated from the mother into a separate house. During the first hour of life, it must be drunk with colostrum ad libitum. In total, during the day, the calf should drink at least 2-4 liters, depending on its weight. On the 3-4th day, the baby begins to offer feed and limit the amount of milk. This is done so that he shows interest in dry nutrition. Such breeding and keeping of calves is accepted on farms.
From the 6th to the 10th day of life, the baby is given plenty of feed and 5-6 liters of milk. From the 11th to the 40th day of life, the calf is fed 6-8 liters. From the 41st to the 50th day, the baby receives 5 liters. From the 50th to the 60th, drinking is reduced to 4 liters. After 2 months, on most farms, calves do not receive milk.
All this time, starting from the 3-4th day, babies are offered compound feed. They can eat it as much as they want. Usually, by 2 months of life, heifers consume up to 2-2.5 kilograms of feed.
Features calves meat and dairy breeds
Animals of different orientations were bred each for their own purposes. Dairy cattle show excellent milk production, but it is not suitable for fattening. Of course, you can send Holstein cows for slaughter, but there will be little meat in them. It is much more profitable to keep such animals for milk production. It is also more profitable to keep meat breeds for fattening, because why on the farm is a cow giving 5-6 liters? She will eat a larger amount than the owner will earn on products received from her.
Therefore, meat-type calves are often raised for fattening. They are offered more high-calorie foods and are expected to receive high gains from them. Breeding calves of dairy breeds implies their earlier accustoming to concentrated nutrition. Future cows are not overfed, because of this they can go to the meat type.
Diet for growing heifers on a cow
In dairy farming, particular attention is paid to the early development of scar in animals. Heifers that are raised on a cow, feed is introduced into the diet from the 3rd day of life. Up to 6 months, its volume is not particularly limited. Hay will be offered to future cows in 60-90 days. After six months, feed is usually reduced to 2-2.5 kg per day, this is done so that the heifer does not become fat. Such a diet is kept with them until coverage.
Diet for growing bull for fattening
It is permissible for male calves to drink more milk than girls. Gobies are usually later accustomed to grain, and they eat it less willingly. Milk can be given even up to a year, if there is such an opportunity, but after 2-3 months the entire daily rate of the calf is given at a time. A month or two before slaughter, the bull is fed mainly with carbohydrate food, this is done to increase the gain.