Farm Animals

In the United States alone, approximately 27 billion pounds of beef are produced per year. Beef production starts at the cow-calf stage. The cycle from breeding to calving to slaughter takes about...

Rearing calves can be a challenging process, so pay special attention to the means by which you feed your calves. They have specific nutritional requirements and there are a few effective feeding...

Baby cows need to be fed if they cannot nurse, if they are removed from their mothers at birth or if they are weak due to dehydration from scours. Sometimes the calf can suck a bottle nipple, but...

Good calf weight gain is important when calves are first born, when they're putting on fat reserves for winter, and when they're being prepared for sale or slaughter. Cattle growers want calves to...

To bring top market price and the best quality of meat, bull calves must have their testicles removed. Banding is the modern way to complete this procedure.

Colostrum, the first milk from a cow after birth, is a nutrient rich yellowish fluid that will help the calf become strong and give its immunities a boost. Whether you feed colostrum from a cow...

Salmonella is an intestinal bacterium that affects cattle of all ages, especially those who are pregnant, young or stressed. Being familiar with signs and symptoms of salmonella in calves can help...

Calf scours is a term used to describe diarrhea in young calves. The cause is different infectious agents and bacteria (according to Utah State University's Clell V. Bagley). It is a serious...

There are many in the farming industry that find themselves caring for an orphaned beef calf. In some cases, this may occur due to the death of the dam during birth or from her inability to...

A calf will consume 1 to 2 gallons of mother's milk a day. If you are raising a dairy calf that has been pulled from its mother or a beef calf that has been orphaned or abandoned, there are two...

Cows give birth and suckle live young like other mammals, usually one calf at a time although twin births occasionally occur. A healthy cow with good nutrition in pregnancy can usually birth her...

Halter breaking a calf - steer or heifer for the show ring can be a really challenging but also a rewarding experience.

The gestation period for cattle varies, but usually lasts 276 to 283 days. Calf gender, age, breeds, and multiples are among factors affecting gestation length. Getting cows pregnant once a year...

Calf scours can make your calf sick. It is important to stop the scours and replenish the fluid your calf is losing. There are a few good home remedies people have been using for hundreds of years...

Drenching a calf is the process of administering liquids to a calf via the mouth. Livestock producers find this method a quick manner to give medications to a calf. Using drench devices takes less...

To raise prime beef, begin with young cattle bred specifically for beef production such as the Black Angus or Hereford breeds. These beef breeds tend to fill out and achieve ideal weight for...

When a cow dies after giving birth, it is up to the rancher to feed the calf until he's old enough to survive on solid food.

Part of caring for a livestock project related to 4-H or FFA is the grooming routine you will follow. This includes feed additives, washing the animal, clipping and training the hair.

When one of your calves has a seizure, it can be alarming. Several disorders can lead to seizures, and a seizure is almost always a symptom of an underlying illness. This means that to treat the...

People may wonder why anyone would want to bottle feed a baby calf, but sometimes it makes sense. On dairy farms thousands of calves are fed in this way twice a day, because the mothers are...

this instruction gives general information on how to make ear muffs for a calf. A new born calf can be sensitve to severe cold and frost so you want to keep those ears and head covered. Why not...

I recently received an email from eHow member foxtrott inquiring about how to understand cows. The following steps are the answers to foxtrott's questions. Thanks for your inquiry foxtrott.

It is not necessarily a catastophe if a mother cow rejects its newborn calf. If you know how to bottle feed the baby, it can grow up to be an even healthier calf than the mother-fed calf.

It’s always preferable that a calf is raised by its mother. Sometimes calves may be lost and separated from their moms. Other times the calf’s mother may have died in childbirth or...

Blackleg (Clostridial myositis) occurs in young sheep and cattle; however, it occurs more frequently in cattle. Blackleg presents itself as an inflammation in the muscle tissue. The blackleg...

It's amazing that a mother cow knows exactly what to do when her calf is born. Sometimes the mother cow shuns the calf, they become separated in large herds or the mother dies, leaving a calf...

Reindeer require less food than cows or other types of livestock, and the species does well in colder climates. Reindeer are often used for special events and Christmas celebrations because they...

There are different methods from removing the horns, or dehorning, a bull—the simplest being using a polled (without horns) bull as the sire when breeding your cattle. When this is not an option,...

It is not uncommon for a cow to encounter problems during the calving process. There are times that it may be necessary for you to pull the calf to ensure it is delivered alive. Before pulling a...

Mother Nature bestows instinct upon animals, enabling them to birth babies without human assistance—most of the time. Occasionally, even Mother Nature can use an extra hand. Cattle, for example,...

A calf that has been orphaned at or soon after birth requires some special care for survival and good health. Every orphaned calf should be given colostrum, which will provide important...

Fortunately, birthing a calf is a procedure that cows have been doing by themselves for centuries. However, if it is your first time or your cow's first delivery, there are several things to watch...