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Understanding Cattle Rearing Systems

This document discusses terms used to describe cattle and systems for managing dairy cattle. It defines terms like calf, cow, bull, heifer, steer, and yearling. It describes the three main systems for managing dairy cattle: intensive, extensive, and semi-intensive. The intensive system involves rearing cattle indoors and feeding by hand or machine. The extensive system involves grazing cattle outdoors with some supplementary feeding. The semi-intensive system involves rearing cattle both indoors and outdoors. It also discusses selecting breeding animals based on conformation, pedigree, and performance, and mating cattle naturally using a bull or artificially through artificial insemination.

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Alliyah Khan
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63 views17 pages

Understanding Cattle Rearing Systems

This document discusses terms used to describe cattle and systems for managing dairy cattle. It defines terms like calf, cow, bull, heifer, steer, and yearling. It describes the three main systems for managing dairy cattle: intensive, extensive, and semi-intensive. The intensive system involves rearing cattle indoors and feeding by hand or machine. The extensive system involves grazing cattle outdoors with some supplementary feeding. The semi-intensive system involves rearing cattle both indoors and outdoors. It also discusses selecting breeding animals based on conformation, pedigree, and performance, and mating cattle naturally using a bull or artificially through artificial insemination.

Uploaded by

Alliyah Khan
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Cattle Rearing

Grade 9
Terms used to describe cattle:

• Calf: Young born to the female animal


• Cow: A female that has calved
• Bull: Male which is used for breeding
• Heifer: A female that has not calved
• Steer: A male castrated before mating (usually around 12-18
months)
• Stag·: Male castrated late in life (usually around 24-36 months)
• Yearling: Cattle between one to two years of age
Systems of Managing Dairy Cattle
Each type of farmer will utilize one of three systems to manage
his stock. The systems employed are:
1. Intensive
2. Extensive
3. Semi-Intensive
Intensive System
• This is one in which cattle are reared indoors and are hand fed
or fed by machines.
• This system is used by local farmers who only have a few
cows.
• Much capital is expended to provide a high protein diet and
facilities for housing and disease control.
Intensive System
Extensive System
• The extensive management ispopular among all cattle farmers
in Guyana.
• Cattle are reared on pasture or outdoors all the time. In this
system, cattle graze outdoors and some supplementary feeding
is done.
• Most large scale cattle farmers in Guyana utilize this system. A
large herd of cattle is given the range of the pasture.
• This approach to management however, is usually very
unscientific since there is little or no record keeping. The
pastures for the most period are over-grazed and calf mortality
is usually high
Extensive System
Semi-Intensive
• Most specialized dairy and beef farmers utilize this system.
• The cattle are reared both indoors and outdoors.
• Management, feeding, breeding and disease control practices
are more economical and record keeping can be more efficient.
• Pasture grazing and/or zero grazing is practised by farmers and
yields tend to be very good.
Semi-Intensive System
Breeding and Reproduction
• Breeding and reproduction of cattle are done to increase the
stock number, and for milk and meat production. Farmers are
however, advised to breed for good genetic qualities in order to
improve the quality of their stock and production.
SELECTION OF BREEDING ANIMALS
The cow or bull is selected on three factors:
• conformation
• pedigree
• performance
Conformation
• Conformation refers to the physical appearance of the animals.
The ideal characteristics are:
• the animal should have a big stomach to hold lots of food
• the cow should have a well-developed udder for storing milk
• the teats should be well formed
• the top line of the animal should be straight, and the pasterns
strong
• the bull should have well-developed testicles and be aggressive
Pedigree
Pedigree is used with reference to the parents or ancestors of an
animal. Records must be there to show whose ancestors were
good producers of milk, butterfat and calving rate. Records will
also show the health of the parents.
Performance
Performance describes such attributes as growth rate, milk yield,
reproduction rate and number of calves weaned by individual
animals. Records will give a clear indication of what the off
springs are likely to be.
Mating
Cows are usually bred naturally by using the bull, or artificially,
that is, by the process of artificial insemination.
They are two types of Mating :
1. Natural Mating
2. Artificial Mating
Homework
• Define Natural and Artifical Mating
• State the steps involved in Artificial Mating
• State the advantages and disadvantages of AI
• Brieftly explain Embryo Transfter

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