Beef Cattle Flashcards

1
Q

Purpose of the industry?

A
  1. produce young animals for slauhter
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2
Q

How are you successful in the beef cattle industry?

A
  1. High carcass quality = good price
  2. Good food conversion efficiency
  3. Maximum growth rates
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3
Q

What is the largest cost to the beef cattle industry?

A

feed costs for both breeding and growing animals = largest cost

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4
Q

How can you farm?

A
  1. intensively = rear quickly, lot of high energy cereal based feeds
  2. extensive route = cheapest food route = grass and rear slowly
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5
Q

What are the governing bodies?

A
  1. AHDB =England = beef and lamb: Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board
  2. QMS = quality meat Scotland
  3. Welsh beef
  4. all work to same purpose
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6
Q

What defines traditional British beef breeds?

A
  1. Small mature size = low maintenance
  2. Early maturing = reach fat stage earlier
  3. Hardy- climate and environment
  4. good suckler cow
    e. g. aberdeen angus, welsh balck, belted galloway, beef shorthorn, hereford ,
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7
Q

Examples of continental breeds and difference vs british

A
  1. Large mature size (700-800kg cow)
  2. late maturing: fat deposition stage later = can push high concentrate diet
  3. More carcass
  4. really good terminal sire (offspring into foodchain)
    continental = Limousin, charolais, belgian blue, british blue (origionates from belgum)
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8
Q

what must every beef cow have?

A
  1. passport: (online mostly now)
  2. when animal born
  3. breed
  4. dam and sire
  5. record movement
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9
Q

Suckler herd aims:

A
  1. low input
  2. mostly forage supplement with additional food in late gestation and early lactation
  3. aim: cow stable body condition: 2.5 (mature)/ 3 (1st/ 2nd calving)
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10
Q

What is the boggest problem for autumn calvers

A
  1. turned out onto good grass at spring when calf 6 months old = less demand
  2. stop get fat in grazing period
  3. need: high stock density and graze tightly
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11
Q

What makes a good suckler cow

A
  1. docile temperament = easy management
  2. milky dams with excellent mothering qualities
  3. longevity
  4. Grow fast and early sexual maturity
  5. excellent grass conversion ability
  6. Hardiness and adaptability
  7. Good modern conformation with length and width
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12
Q

When are calves weaned?

A

6-8 months

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13
Q

Target for efficient cow at point of weaning

A
  1. at point of weaning (about 200 days)

2. calf weighs half as much as she does

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14
Q

When does calving occur?

A
  1. spring calving
  2. autumn calving
  3. some e.g. east anglia moving to winter calving as grass all dried up in June
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15
Q

Pros and cons of calving in spring

A
  1. Cow only needs extra winter feeding in last month or 2 of pregnancy = not have to put much food into her as only maintenance requirements
  2. once calf born = fresh grass growth
  3. calf off in autumn, winter then 1 yr at spring it will utilise this for growth
  4. good summer grass = higher fertility when breed again
  5. outside when calving typically
  6. harsh winter can upset pattern if you can’t turn them out
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16
Q

Pros and cons to autumn calving

A
  1. cow good condition at point of calving as summer grass
  2. could be over conditioned which could lead to dystocia
  3. easy supervision as bring in typically for calving
  4. lactating over winter so higher winter feeding costs
  5. need to feed more over winter too to gain good fertility
  6. autumn born calves usually higher price
17
Q

What is weaning good to control?

A
  1. Body condition score of your cow
  2. cow starting to get thin = take calf off early
  3. if cow too fat = take calf off late
18
Q

Better to wean abruptly or over time?

A
  1. abruptly.

2. remember to keep a few fields away not just one or 2

19
Q

Veal

A
  1. small market in UK
  2. Crates banned in UK, must be in groups
  3. Dairy bred males
  4. milk throughout, until slaughter
  5. must have access to hard feed and straw to address iron deficiency
  6. if not = anaemia
  7. slaughter at 6-7 months, 300 kg
20
Q

cows with a white head have what breed in them?

A

Hereford

21
Q

Rose

A
  1. reared as veal
  2. but not milk throughout
  3. wean off milk after few weeks and put onto starchy feeds (maize, silage, cereal and straw)
  4. slaughter at 10 months 400 kg
  5. must be group housed
22
Q

selling and transport rules

A
  1. illegal to sell calf less than 7 days
  2. illegal to resale within 28 days
  3. illegal to transport less than 10 days
  4. illegal to transport less than 14 days old if distance greater than 8 hrs
  5. Navel MUST have healed
23
Q

Creep feed

A
  1. start 1 month- 3 months before calf weaned
  2. helps reduce stress at weaning
  3. growth into calf
  4. pressure off cow lactating if grass bad if calf is eating food.
  5. conserved grass stores low after bad year = pressure off cow if low straw/ silage
24
Q

orphan calf, what stage do you change milk: forage ratio?

A
as a rule of thumb:
% weight gain from dam's milk
1. 1 month of life 100% milk
2. 3 month = 66%
3. 6 month = 33%
25
Q

Intensive rules

A
  1. finish 12-14 months
  2. not allowed bulls outside if public footpath
  3. so usually insdie
26
Q

Extensive rules

A
  1. slaughter at 18/24/30 months
  2. more concentrates 2 ish months before slaughter
  3. 30 months = niche markets = only grass fed
27
Q

clean slaughter policy

A
  1. must be clean, especially on belly as this is where knife goes through. = usually reared on bedding to keep clean. otherwise can be rejected
28
Q

if feeding on barley cereal what are key facts

A
  1. intorduce over 3-4 weeks to stop acidosis
  2. straw crucial
  3. mineral and vitamin supplements
  4. barley must NEVER run out must be truly ab-libitum = could cause acidosis if runs out and gorge
  5. safety = entire bulls = should never go into pen.
  6. must have warning signs in case someone comes on farm
  7. less popular as must invest specific safety precautions
29
Q

What is bull steer problem?

A
  1. one bull bullied
  2. ridden by several other bulls
  3. pain, exhaustion, death, bruising
  4. remove the one that gets ridden
  5. keep group no larger than 20 cattle
  6. 4 m square per animal
30
Q

Issues with barley ab lib

A
  1. carbohydrate overload: bloat, rumen acidosis, liver abscessation
  2. Hypovitaminosis A (blindness)
  3. Lameness (conc too high or run out) dermatitis if wet bedding
  4. Pneumonia
  5. abbatoir reports helps identify any issues
31
Q

How much weight gain should you expect of a suckler calf? e.g. how heavy 6 month old calf
DOSE

A
  1. 40 kg birth
  2. 1 kg a day
  3. e.g. 6 month old: 40 kg birth, 180 kg = about 220
32
Q

what are common finishing weights for heifers and steers

A
18 months: 
Heifer = 360 - 480Kg (autumn born = lighter weihgt
Steer (bullock) = 530 kg
22-24 months
steer: 560 kg
33
Q

what do cobwebs and rust in a shed indicate?

A
  1. lack of air movement

2. rust = condensation = poor ventilation. tiger stripes = stipes of rust = water running down

34
Q

Killing out perfect in beef animal

A

about 55% (just over half carcass weight

35
Q

What factors influence killing out percentage

A
  1. Nutrition - high roughage diet = lower KO% as gut more full. close to slaughter = mroe concentrates
  2. Gender bull< steer = heavier skull and skin
    Heifer> steer = greater fat content
  3. Age older> young as more fat
  4. breed: traditional> continental> dairy cross> dairy
36
Q

What section of the animal is Class A, B and C

A
  1. about 1/3rd each
  2. Class A = rump, loin, round
  3. Class B: ribs, chuck
  4. C = brisket, flank