General introduction on cattle feed and purpose

by Sanjeev Yadav SEO Consultant

It is very essential to give proper feeding to the cattle. Right feeding and the right feeding procedure can directly or indirectly affect the growth, reproduction, lifespan, immunity, meat quality as well as dairy production of the cattle.

What type of feed to be given to the cattle?

The advantage of giving feed to cattle is that the feeds are formulated with high nutritional content. However before feeding, one should be aware of the specific purpose of raising the animals. Because the feeds are meant of general nutrition, lactation, pregnancy, etc.

The cattle need to be fed with nearly 14 to 16 percent of protein mix. Adequate amount of hay should be given as feeder. Mineral block and mineral mix should also be given. Once or twice a day is enough for feeding the cattle. Plan a schedule on when to feed them depending upon their purpose. For example, in case of milking twice, feeding should be done twice.

On the other hand, what to feed them doesn’t only depend on the type and amount of hay, grain mix or grass being given. They also require enough fluids in their body. Adequate amount of water, energy, vitamins and proteins are also needed.
The cattle animals must be fed with food that contains vitamins and minerals especially calcium, phosphorus and salt.

Daily feed intake of the cattle

The daily feed intake ranges from 3-4% of body weight. However, the daily feed intake is totally influenced by palatability, percent of dry matter in feed consumed, body weight, as well as physiological stage of the animal.

For 1 kg of milk production, a cattle animal requires 1.3 g of calcium and 1.0 g of Phosphorus. For maintenance it requires 7.1 g of calcium and 4.9 g of Phosphorus. A daily requirement of 1.2 g of magnesium, 1.5 g of sodium and likewise is needed.
As care is serious responsibility and being the increasing production of meat and milk, India is a great supplier of the best quality cattle feeding products. However, a good supplier of cattle feed in India should keep in mind following points:
·    The feed should be highly digestible and full of nutrients.
·    Dosage amount should be clearly mentioned.
·    Optimum quality of feed should be maintained for overall growth and health of the cattle.

Thus, to conclude, feeding programs of cattle must involve following factors like, balanced nutritional content, adequate feed supply, reasonable cost as well as animal requirement.