As people move from city life to country life, they become interested in raising livestock. The reasons can vary as to why people want to keep cattle, some people keep them as pets and others keep them because they want to make some money selling the products of the cattle.
Whatever the reason, raising cattle can be done by just about anyone who is in the business of ranching and someone who is willing to spend a great deal of their time managing and caring for their cattle. To raise healthy livestock, you need to provide the animals with proper care, such as feeding them nutritious food and clean water every day, building them a good shelter, and having them checked by a vet for health problems.
There are several types of cattle that you may want to raise as a beginning rancher. Some of them need more care than others and may be suitable for new farmers to breed. Three types of livestock that are suitable for beginning ranchers are goats, cattle, and sheep. Below are more details on how you can breed them.
Raising cattle:
Many farmers start out by raising cattle on their farm ranch. Cattle are stress free cattle to raise when well cared for. Their products, such as milk and meat, are in great demand in the markets for their nutritional benefits. When you have cattle, you will be able to provide your family with fresh milk daily and save a lot of money on milk purchases.
When starting to raise cattle, you must first choose the type of breed you want to raise. There are over 800 types of breeds that are found in 3 different categories known as Zebus, Hybrids and Taurine Cattle. Some breed types are good for milk production, while others are suitable for meat production.
When raising different types of livestock, a farmer must set up barns that separate those that eat grass and hay from those that eat fancy feed.
Since cattle are a grazing animal, you must have a large piece of land if you want to raise them. The land they graze on has to be well fenced to secure the livestock. For the fence, you can use electrical wiring or use a wood and steel fence. You should also prepare some necessary equipment for raising livestock, such as buckets, water containers, and feeders.
Even though cattle don’t require some type of shelter, that doesn’t mean you can’t build one. A roofed shelter will also help you store your livestock equipment and can be used to milk your cows.
Goat breeding:
Goats are another type of livestock that can be raised by a beginning farmer and are less prone to disease than cattle. They can also be raised for milk and meat production, which are in high demand and cost more than cattle production.
When starting to breed goats, you must first decide what type of goat breed you want to breed. The type of breed depends on the final product you want to produce from your goats, you can raise goats for the production of fiber, tasty meat and nutrient rich milk.
Once you have decided on the type of goat you want to raise, you need to decide on the number of goats you plan to raise. Knowing the number of goats you plan to raise will help you estimate how large your land should be. One thing to keep in mind is that goats breed almost every year, so the land must be large enough to accommodate the growth of your herd.
Goats also need some shelter to rest at the end of the day. The shelter should be large enough for all of your cattle to fit properly without being overcrowded. The shelter should be comfortable for them to sleep at night and protect them from inclement weather such as excessive sunlight, rain and snow. Don’t forget to fence the entire grazing land so that predators don’t attack and kill your herd.
Sheep farming:
Raising sheep is as interesting and rewarding as raising cattle and goats. This type of cattle can be raised for a number of reasons, including producing quality wool, producing cheese from their prolific milk, and the obvious tender meat. These products can also be sold as they are in high demand.
Sheep are animals that like to graze in the fields. If you want to raise healthy sheep, you must have a large piece of green grass for the cattle to graze. Although feeding your sheep grain supplements plays an important role in their diet, grass-fed sheep produce a product of higher nutritional value. Since sheep like to graze in a large group as a rancher, it can be daunting to handle them in the field, so it would be wise to have an assistance dog to assist you.
An essential part of raising sheep is keeping them within their boundaries, this helps them from getting lost in the wild and from being eaten by wild animals such as bobcats, bears and wild dogs. At the same time, it helps keep these predators out of the grazing area. Using an electrified fence can help a lot and it is also easy to install.
To protect yourself from natural elements that can be harmful to your livestock, you need to invest some money in building good housing for your sheep. When designing the house, make sure to build a ramp to handle the sheep when you need to do some checkups on each and every one of them or when you vaccinate them.
As you can see, almost anyone can raise cattle, even if they have no prior experience or weren’t raised on a farm. Just like any other type of pet, they need to be taken care of and make sure they leave in comfortable conditions.
When starting out, it is best to start with raising one type of cattle first, and then move on to another type when you have gained experience from your first group of cattle.