Critical Guide On Raising a Calf for Meat Correctly
1. Critical Guide On Raising a Calf
for Meat Correctly
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Raising a calf takes some time for it to achieve its full growth. It takes about
five months to stay with its mother until it is separated. If the beef calf is an
orphan, you have to supplement the mother cow's milk with whole milk and
feed it using a baby bottle. It will take about eight weeks before it can start
eating grass, hay, or calf feed. It will take you about two years to raise a calf
from the time of its birth up to the time it is slaughtered for meat.
Depending on the kind of meat, the calf is raised not later than six months
if you want to have it as a veal. If you want to have baby beef you will have
to raise it for at least six months to less than a year, outside the one year
period, its meat develop into a regular beef. Due to the time frame that it
takes in raising a calf for beef, you need to feed it properly and adequately
until the optimal size is reached.
2. Raising a calf also involves considering the method of caring, feeding and
raising it. One method that has gained recent popularity is the organic
method wherein no chemical additives are used in calf feed. Likewise, the
grains which are to be fed to the cattle should be produced in an organic
manner. There should be no artificial supplements that are fed to the calf.
Range-fed method is also similar to organic method which means that the
calf is fed on grasses and grains solely. These methods produce healthy
cows which a lot of smallholders or those who raise a calf for personal
consumption prefer. However, these methods may not be ideal for
commercial cattle raisers since it may be difficult to have a good yield
without these supplements. Raising a calf for commercial purpose means
fattening up the calf well and that is why enhancers are often used. Natural
method is another way of raising a calf wherein neither antibiotics nor
growth-promoting products are given to the calf.
Providing the calf shelter, a land to graze on, and fencing your land is
necessary so that it will grow safely and comfortably. Raising a calf under
stressful atmosphere and conditions will affect it's growth and weight. You
should also provide a warm and dry bed or accommodation for your calf
and feed it with hay. You might need to feed it with commercial milk once it
is separated from its mother. Likewise, when the calf is beginning to grow,
you have to teach it how to drink water from a bucket since it is not yet
familiar with this process of drinking. As your calf grows, you then
gradually feed it with commercial concentrates together with some hay.
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Remember that raising a calf involves treating it and handling it with care.
Carefully observe the calves everyday regardless of their number. Look for
signs and symptoms of diseases or parasites that may affect them. Early
3. detection will spare you from further costs. Sometimes it can even cause
deaths of your calves and this means profit loss. You have to keep track of
the calf's weight and height so that you will know if it is growing properly
and healthily. Make sure that you are knowledgeable in raising cattle so
that you will not operate your farm at a loss. Talk to experienced local cattle
raisers and read books on cattle farming.
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