Beef Cattle production and management system

CURSE OUTLINE
Bule Hora University
College of Agricultural Science
Department of Animal Science

……Continued
Course Title= Beef Cattle production and Management
Course Code= AnSc312
Program = BSc in Animal Science
Instructor Name = Mr. Godana Anole
Contact Information= Email=
anolegodana@gmail.com/0930774921
Course information= Year III Semester II

Course objectives:
At the end of this course the students will be able to:
•Identify opportunities for and challenges to beef cattle
production
•Differentiate tropical and temperate beef breeds
•Differentiate and describe beef cattle production systems
•Formulate beef cattle ration
•Describe muscle growth and carcass development
•Measure growth and Score body condition
•Fatten beef animals
•Under take routine management activities [castrate, dehorn,
identify, dip, spray, measure body weight, trim hoof]
•Properly house beef animals
•Undertake beef quality assessment and grade beef
•Cattle Transport and market beef cattle

TOPICS AND SUB TOPICS (COURSE OUTLINE)
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 2
OVER VIEW OF BEEF CATTLE PRODUCTION AND MEET
CONSUMPTION
2.1 Trends in beef production and consumption
2.2 Beef cattle production in Ethiopia: development
efforts, challenges and opportunities

CHAPTER 3
BEEF CATTLE PRODUCTION SYSTEM
3.1 Intensive
3.2 Extensive
3.3 Semi intensive
3.4 Specialized programs
3.4.1 Cow-calf program
3.4.2 Stocker and feeder program
3.4.3 Finishing program
3.4.5 Purebred program
3.4.5 Baby beef program
1.4.6 Veal program
3.5 Beef cattle fattening systems in Ethiopia
3.5.1 Traditional highland practices
3.5.2 By-product fattening
3.5.3 Hararghe fattening systems

CHAPTER 4
GROWTH AND CARCASS DEVELOPMENT AND FACTORS
AFFECTING IT
4.1 Basic concepts of animal structure
4.2 Defining growth and development
4.3 Factors affecting growth and development
4.3.1 Genetic
4.3.2 Environmental and physiological
4.3.3 Nutritional
4.4 Body condition scoring
4.4.1 When to score body condition
4.4.2 Practical application of body condition score
Practical: Score body condition of beef animal based on 5 or 9
scales

CHAPTER 5
BEEF CATTLE BREEDING
5.1 Traits of economic importance in beef cattle
5.2 Systems of breeding in beef cattle
5.2.1 Upgrading
5.2.2 Out crossing
5.2.3 Line breeding
5.2.4 Cross breeding
5.3 Beef cattle performance traits
5.3.1 Adjusted weaning weights
5.3.2 Yearling weights
5.4 How to Select beef cattle
5.4.1 Breeding heifer
5.4.2 Breeding bull

CHAPTER 6
FEEDS AND FEEDING OF BEEF CATTLE
6.1 Nutrient requirements of beef cattle
6.2 Classes of nutrients
6.3 Feed stuffs
6.3.1 Roughages
6.3.2 Concentrates
6.4 Feed additives
6.4.1 Antibiotics
6.4.2 Hormones
6.5 Balancing ration for beef cattle
Practical: Balance a ration for different body weight beef animals -
requirements and desired rate of gain will be given

CHAPTER 7
BEEFCATTLE HOUSING AND HANDLING FACILITIES
7.1 Space requirement
7.2 House types
7.3 Feeding equipments and facilities
7.4 Feed storage
7.4.1 Hay barn
7.4.2 Grain and concentrate store
7.5 Handling beef cattle
7.5.1 Handling facilities
7.5.2 Behavioral approaches to beef cattle handling

CHAPTER 8
ROUTINE MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES IN BEEF CATTLE
FARMING
8.1Castration
8.2 Dehorning
8.3 Identification
8.4 Dipping and spraying
8.7 Body weight measurements
8.6 Age determination by dentition…….
Practical: all of these contents

CHAPTER 9
MEET QUALITY ACCESSMENT
9.1 What is meat?
9.1 Defining meat quality
9.2 Factors affecting meat quality
9.4 Quality assessment techniques
9.4.1 Eating quality of meat
9.4.2 Objective quality measures
9.5 meat grading

CHAPTER 10
TRANSPORTING AND MARKETTING BEEF CATTLE
10.1 Loading and unloading facilities
10.2 Transporting beef cattle
10.3 Marketing beef cattle

Mode of delivery/Teaching and learning methods
:
The course will be offered through;
= lectures,
= class discussions,
= reading assignments,
= demonstration,
individual study,
= project and Group work and
Assessment Methods:
Continuous Assessment (>=60%) & Final Exam. (<=40%)

Assessment types:
= Test/s,
= Others,
= Group work,
= Project work,
= Practical test /Demonstration,
= interview /, and
= Final exam
Course Polices:
- Preparedness : bring all the necessary items for your study and
avail yourself on time,
- Participation :------
- Class Attendance is mandatory,
- Plagiarism : properly acknowledge your sources

REFERENCES
-BanerjeeD.C. 2006. Text book of animal husbandry (6th
ed).
Chaman enterprise, New Delhi
-Battaglia A. and Myrose B. Veron. 1981. Handbook of livestock
management techniques. Macmillan publishing company, USA
-Berg T. R. and Butterfield M.Rex. 1976. New concepts of cattle
growth. Macarthur press, Parramatta, Australia
-Canningham M. and Acker Duane. 2001. Animal science and
industry, 6th
ed. Prentice hall, New jersey, USA
-Diggins .V.R and Bundy E. Clarence . 1971. Beef production.
Prentice hall, New jersey

...Continued
-Gillespie R. J.1998. Animal science. Delmar publishers, USA
-Kellems O. Richards and Church C.D. 2003. Livestock feeds and
feeding. Pearson education inc. USA
-Lawrie A. R. 1979.meat science. Pergamon press, New jersey
-Neumann A.L. 1969. Beef cattle production 6th
edition. John wiley
and sons, United states of America
-PonG.W., Church C.D and Pond R.K.1995.Basic animal nutrition
and feeding. 4th
ed. John wiley and sons inc. USA

1.1 Chapter: 1.Introduction:
1.1.Definition/Common terminology/of beef cattle
 Beef is meat of cattle.It is a full grown ox, cow, bull or steer
and fattened for meat, or meat from such animals
 Meat is defined as the flesh and edible organs of animals which
are used for human consumption
 Chevon is the meat from fully grown goats over one year old.
 Mutton the flesh/meat/ of a fully grown sheep over one years old
 Lamb Meat that comes from a sheep under one year old (young
sheep)

….Continued
Steer: is a male that was castrated before reaching sexual maturity
and is not shows the secondary characteristics of the bull
Bullock: is a male usually under 24 months of age, which may be
castrated and does show some of the characteristics of the bull.
Heifer: is an immediate female that has not had a calf or has not
matured as a cow.
Cow: is a female that has had one or more calves. An older female that has not had
a calf but has matured is also
called a cow.
Bull: is a male usually over 24 months of age that has not been castrated.

Origin of the current livestock:
In your view, where do you think the current livestock species
originated from?
Where do you think the current cattle breeds found in Africa and
Ethiopia originated from?
The domestication of livestock is interrelated with the civilization of
the world.
Livestock have been greatly involved in the agricultural practices of
many countries in the world starting from early periods.

…Continued
The oldest cattle type that assumed to be domesticated in
Mesopotamia (Currently known as Iran and Iraq) around 8000 years
ago is the Hamitic type.
The long horned Hamitic cattle was some features of a creature of;
= average to large stature (size);
= lacking a hump;
= endowed with developed horn; and
= sometimes very large in length and girth.
In the same area 2000 years later, a new type of animal appeared in
this area with much reduced stature and with smaller horns.

……Conntinued
This type of animal spread rapidly across three continents, where
they coexist and sometimes replaced the Hamitic.
Finally, 4000 years ago, the Zebu appeared in a region corresponding
to present day Afghanistan and this Zebu type cattle disseminated to
tropical and sub-tropical areas like Africa and India.
The majority of indigenous tropical breeds of cattle are humped.
In general Western Asia is believed to be the center of origin and
domestication for the current cattle.

…..Continued
Therefore, there were no native cattle in tropical America, Australia
or the Pacific.
All cattle there today are the progeny/offspring of cattle introduced
by European settlers.
The time of domestication is thought to be about 5,000 to 9,000
(10,000) years ago.
The origin of Bos indicus (zebu) and Hamitic short horn cattle were
probably first deliberately domesticated in the middle east, or what
today is Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.
Hamitic longhorn and shorthorn types of cattle are believed to be
the ancestors of all the Bos taurus breeds found in the world.

…..Continued
There are two main types of cattle, the humped and hump less both
belonging to the same species taurus (Bos=cattle, taurus=bull).
The humped are normally called zebu (originates from the Tibetan
word "Zen" or "Zeba", which means "the hump of the camel"),
tropical cattle, Bos indicus.
The humpless cattle are often called temperate-climate cattle or Bos
Taurus.
Cattle have been selected and developed for many years with a
purpose in mind: for beef, for milk production and for draft purposes.
The present day exotic beef cattle breeds were developed in Western
Europe and in the United States of America.

1.2 Zoological Classification of cattle: (Bovine Taxonomy):
In science, there are classifications for all sorts of things.
To find out the relatives of bovines and how homo sapiens (humans)
are different from cattle, you will need to know about taxonomy!
Cattle were originally identified as three separate species:
= Bos taurus, the European or "taurine" cattle (including similar
types from Africa and Asia);
= Bos indicus, the zebu; and
= The extinct Bos primigenius, the aurochs (extinct wild ox).
-The aurochs is ancestral to both zebu and taurine cattle.
Now, these have been reclassified as one species, with Bos taurus
primigenius and Bos taurus indicus.

……continued
The seven main levels go from largest category down to very specific
categories.
The more of these that match, the more closely related to two.
In order for us to understand how all living organisms are related,
they are arranged into different groups, the science taxonomy is
develop that divides all living things in to zoological and botanical
broad divisions.
The more features that a group of animals share, the more specific the
group is.

…Continued
Animals are given scientific names so that people all around the
world can communicate about animals, no matter what language
they speak (these names are traditionally Latin words).
Animals belong to a number of different groups, starting with the
animals kingdom go through in to the animals species (i.e Kingdom,
Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species ).

CHAPTER 2
OVER VIEW OF BEEF CATTLE PRODUCTION AND
MEAT CONSUMPTION

2.1 Trends and Importance of beef cattle production and meat
consumption:
Trends and Importance of beef cattle production
The justifications of raising any livestock in general and beef cattle
in particular is that;
= most humans demand a mixed diet as man is an omnivorous
species and
= the majority are willing to pay higher prices for foods of animal
origin than they are for foods of plant origin.

…Continued
Foods of animal origin are;
= very palatable and
= usually posses a high protein, fat and mineral content.
Also plants and animals are complementary, and the utilization of
both as sources of food may increase total food production per unit
area of available land.

…Continued
The importance of beef cattle, in Ethiopia, is based upon their,
= production of meat,
= milk and work.
Ethiopian farming, especially in the case of a common farmer, is
largely dependent on bullock power.
Beef cattle;
= provide manure which is of great value in maintaining soil
fertility, and
= it is as part of mixed -farming provides a steady income and
keeps the farmer busy all through the year.

The importance of meat in human diet/meat consumption trends:
Meat and by products ensure nutrition security either by providing
valuable high quality nutrients or by providing gainful employment to
a large number of small and marginal farmers to improve their
nutrition and living standard
Meat is a very good source of phosphorus, iron and protein with well-
balanced essential amino acids.
Meat has a composition of,
= protein 21 %,
= fat 6 %,
= water 72 % and
= minerals 1 %; (Calcium 10 mg/ 100 gm and phosphorus
190mg/100 gm).

…Continued
Meat also contains Cu, Zn, Na, K, Mg and vitamin B complex
vitamins (B1-thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, folic
acid, biotin, B6
, B12
).
Variety meats (organ meats) especially liver and kidney contain
appreciable amount of vitamin A, B, C, D, E and K.

…Continued
Meat, term applied to the edible portions of domestic mammals
such as cattle, calves, sheep, lambs, and swine.
The meat of,
= cattle is known as beef;
= calves, as veal;
= sheep, as mutton;
= lambs, as lamb; and
= swine, as pork.
Veal is a meat that comes from very young calves-only a few days
old.

2.2 Over view of Beef cattle production in Ethiopia
Development efforts of beef production in Ethiopia:
Now a days;
= the progressive development of manufactures of animal by-
product based animal feed (feeds for swine, poultry, dogs and
cats),
= expansion of international hotels,
= shortage of arable land,
= government policy,
= high quality of animal products and
= awareness of the people for the production of livestock sector
> are some of development efforts in general for livestock
production and particularly for beef production.
In addition to this availability of cattle population and feeding habit
of the public is another effort for beef production

Sources of Beef Cattle in Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, beef is produced in different ways.
The major proportion of the beef comes from,
= old oxen kept for draught purpose,
= culled cows and
= surplus young bulls.
Beef production is not a primary objective and most of the beef
produced in Ethiopia is not of high quality.

…Continued
Ethiopia has one of the lowest levels of beef production per animal
of any country.
Only 8kg of beef is annually produced per head of cattle population
while it is about;
= 10.7 kg in Sudan,
= 14 kg in Kenya,
= 51 kg in Australia and Argentina and
= 79 kg in USA.
An estimated 4.1 million cattle are slaughtered annually (an off-take
rate of approximately 10%).

….Continued
The majority of the cattle (80%) are slaughtered informally in the
rural areas.
The annual growth rate of beef (cattle meat) is 1.4% and it is mainly
the result of increased cattle population rather than improved
productivity.
The level of beef productivity in Ethiopia is about 110kg/head;
= which is 25-30% lower than East African (143kg/head) and
continental average (156kg/head) and
= 50% lower than the world average (212 kg/head).

…Continued
In fact, beef productivity of the country declined from 110kg/animal
in 1991 to 105kg in 1996.
Similarly, beef production of the country declined from 245, 000
tones in 1991 to 236,000 tones in 1996.
Q. What do you think are the possible reasons for the decline in
productivity and production of beef in Ethiopia?
Please suggest possible intervention options for your area?

2.3 The advantages of beef cattle production:
There are a number of advantages of beef production over other
livestock productions:-
1. Beef cattle is a non-perishable product.
2. Beef cattle has the ability to withstand harsh climatic
conditions;
Boran- can withstand prolonged drought
Fogera – can withstand periodic flooding
Abigar – can withstand periodic flooding
Charolias, Herford and Galloway–are hardy animals (can
withstand the cold, especially severe winter conditions)
Brahman – can withstand high temperature

3. The comparative disease resistance ability;
Droughtmaster- has some resistant traits to Boophilus microplus
tick species
N”dama – tolerant to trypanosomiasis
Abigar – has some trypanotolerant traits
Brahman – untroubled by ticks, biting flies, and mosquito;
- Exhibits considerable tolerance to pink-eye and
cancer-eye

4. The divisibility of beef cattle in to different phases;
i.e. cow-calf program, stocker program, feeder /finishing
(fattening) program
5. The efficiency of beef cattle to change low quality feeds in to
high quality products;
Beef cattle convert forages that cannot be directly utilized by humans
in to highly nutritious foods such as beef and beef products.
These animal products are extremely valuable to humans because of
their high protein content.
Beef cattle converts 5 % of feed they eat to human food where as
dairy cattle convert 17 % of feed they eat to human food.

6. The by-products obtained from rearing;
The by-products obtained from rearing are hides, bone, blood,
offals made into the meat scraps which are widely used as
protein supplements to the feed grains for poultry and swine.

7. Require a small investment in buildings and equipments;
The average investment in buildings and equipments invested in
livestock is lower for beef cattle than other farm animals
8. It is the most popular meat;
Comparing to pork it is the most popular meat
9. Entail little death risk
Beef cattle enjoy an advantage over most other farms of livestock
subject to disease that are likely to have fatal termination.
Comparing to sheep and hogs, beef cattle have an usually low
death rate.

2.4 Challenges and Opportunities of Beef cattle Production in
Ethiopia:
2.4.1 Challenges (Constraints) to cattle production:
A) Internal challenges;
I) Technical;
- Disease prevalence
- Poor feeding and breeding system
- Marketing problem and
- Genotype
II) Non- technical;
- Increase in human population
- Increase in cattle population
B) External challenges;
= Competition
= In adequate port facilities

A) Internal challenges/constraints;
I) Technical constraints ;
1. Prevalence of diseases:
Diseases such as (RVF) and (FMD) are the main reason for
frequent bans by Middle East countries.
RVF epidemic in the horn of Africa 1997/98 stimulated many
countries in the Arabian Peninsula especially the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia and Egypt to instigate/initiate a ban on livestock
products from the region (horn of Africa ).

2. Poor feeding and breeding systems:
Specialized beef breeds are not used in Ethiopia for beef production.
Multi-purpose cattle are fattened at the end of their working age as
draught animals.
In most parts of the country animals face seasonal shortage of feed
and the quality of feed is usually low.
The feeding system is also poor.

3. Marketing problems:
These include:-
i. Illegal export (more than 400, 000 cattle are illegally
exported to neighbouring countries such as Somalia and
Kenya).
ii. Absence of effective grading system (during the sale of live
animals and meat).
iii. Lack of market information (regarding demand and supply,
etc.)
iv. Lack of credit supply for resource poor farmers
v. Lack of infrastructure (eg. roads, electricity, telephone, etc.)

4. Genotype:
The genetic of Ethiopia's livestock have involved largely as a result of
natural selection influenced by environmental factors.
This has made the stock better conditioned to withstand;
= feed and water shortages,
= disease challenges and
= harsh climates.
But the capacity for the high level of production has remained low.

II) Non-technical constraints
The non-technical constraints of cattle production generally include
a variety of socio-economic and institutional considerations, which
is most cases and are common to other agricultural sector in the
country.
1. Human population:
The high rate of population increase (2.9-3 % per annum) is
reckoned to affect livestock development.
The demand for livestock products directly related with the
annual population growth which the livestock production is lag
behind with the rate of population growth (1.1 %)

2. Cattle population:
High population growth has forced people to plough more land,
which in turn demand more ploughing capacity.
Therefore, to fulfill this demand more plaughing capacity requires
for the presence of a higher cattle herd, which created pressure on
grazing land and ultimately poor economies of peasant farm.

B) External challenges/constraints
1. Competition:
Many countries compete for the Middle East market.
Main competition for Ethiopia comes from;
= Somalia,
= Sudan,
= South America (Uruguay and Argentina),
= Austria,
= New Zealand,
= Eastern Europe and
= The European Union.
Djibouti port. e.g. the sick are not isolated from the healthy.

…Continued
Specially; Australia, New Zealand and countries of South
America have established disease free status and have higher
comparative advantage in the Middle East market.
Farmers in these countries also benefit from subsidies and can
supply the market at competitive prices.
Despite the availability of subsidies in the European Union, their
market share in the Middle East has relatively declined due to
diseases such as FMD (in U.K.) and mad cow disease.
2. Inadequate port facility:
Lack of resting place and equipments at Djibouti port.
e.g. the sick are not isolated from the healthy.

2.4.2 Opportunities to Beef Production
Ethiopia has the following comparative advantages,
= Organically produced
= Good taste
= Proximity to the Middle East

2.5 Production factors for beef cattle production
1. Appropriate weather/climate
Weather is the short-term day-to-day fluctuations of the
meteorological variables (Sunshine, wind, precipitation etc.) in a
particular area and climate is the long-term (about 30 years) average
condition of the meteorological variables in a given region.
Cattle production in general and beef production in particular is
affected by climate in to two ways;
i.e. = by direct influence on the animals and
=by indirect effects on the animal environment.
The indirect and direct effects of climate on animals are;
= intake and utilization of feed,
= intake and utilization of water and
= incidence of disease and parasites.

Intake and utilization of feed and water (direct effect)
High ambient/surrounding temperatures depresses fed intake and
increasing humidity at ambient temperatures above 23.9o
c depress
the feed intake of all cattle.
On the contrary high ambient temperatures will increase water
intake.
The animal requires water intake for at least two purposes:
= it is an essential nutrient and component of the body and
= it assist the animal lose heat by conductive (evaporative)
cooling.
In Bos taurus cattle water intake increase up to 29.4o
c, but above
this temperature water intake declines due to decline;
= in feed intake,
= decline in feed productivity/feeding efficieny and

Feed and water availability (indirect effect)
The most important climatic factors that limit plant growth, and the
quantity of feed available are;
= ambient temperature,
= effective rainfall,
= length of day light and
= the intensity/power of solar radiation.
The quantity of feed depends mainly on effective rainfall and on the
intensity of solar radiation.

Incidence of disease and parasites (in-direct effect)
High ambient temperature and humidity’s provide a favourable
breeding environment for;
= parasites,
= fungi and
= disease vectors.
Sufficiently high rainfall supports a;
= dense growth of bush and
= high incidence of tsetse fly (Glossina spp.) that makes some
forms of livestock production difficult, if not impossible.
2. Access to feed sources for animals - Roughages, concentrates
Agro-industry by-products
3. Availability of grazing area

4. Market availability in the area
Most beef cattle marketed today sooner or later find their way to
slaughter houses to provide beef for human consumption.
Cattle are sold through different kinds of markets.
These are;
= primary markets (markets located near areas where livestock are
produced),
= secondary markets (intermediate markets between primary and
tertiary markets) and
= tertiary (terminal) markets (livestock trading centers, which
have complete facilities for receiving, handling, caring for, and
selling livestock).

5. Access to veterinary services - Veterinary clinics, diagnostic
laboratory,
6. Adequate place to construct the farm
7. Availability of electric facility in the area
8. Availability of beef cattle breeds - Local breeds, cross breeds,
exotic breeds
9. Accessible to road (transportation facility)
10. Availability of adequate water –
Water may be obtained from;
= surface water sources like rivers, streams, springs and
= underground water sources (shallow and deep wells) and
catchment’s areas (dams, field tanks and roofs)

CHAPTER 3
BEEF CATTLE PRODUCTION SYSTEM

3.1
Types of Beef Cattle Production System
:
In general beef cattle production system can be categorize in to four
in the world and in the tropic are too.
1.Traditional/extensive production system
2. Pastoral production system
3. Small holder production system
4. Improved/intensive/modern production system

System of meat production also can be classified/summarized as:-
Systems of meat production
Traditional/Extensive Improved/Intensive
Pastoral Smallholder Ranch Feedlot
Nomadic Transhumance

3.1.1 Traditional/ Extensive Beef Production Systems
These are characterized by use of low level of input.
The amount of output or yield expected is also low.
Meat production is considered as a by-product of some other activity.
In general, about 95 % of meat produced in Africa is provided by the
traditional system.
The remaining 5 % come from improved systems, namely, ranches
and fattening operations.

3.1.2 Pastoral beef production system:
Includes;
= Nomadism and
= Transhumance;
Nomads are people with no permanent homes and move from place to
place with their herds.
Transhumants have permanent home to which they return each year
but some members of the community/household take the herd away
for some part of the year. Range is the main feed resource of
pastoralists.

3.1.3 Smallholder beef production system:
Is found in areas with adequate rainfall to grow crops and the number
of livestock per household is usually less than 10.
Livestock rearing is integrated with crop production i.e. farmers rely
heavily on animal power to produce crops.
Animal traction is a primary objective (cows are seen as ‘bull
mothers’).
Milk and meat are considered as by-products (are only the secondary
objectives of farmers).
Major feed resources include;
= natural pasture,
= crop residues and
= hay.

3.1.4 Improved/ Intensive Beef Production Systems
Unlike traditional beef production systems, high level of input
(appropriate feeding, breeding, housing and marketing practices, etc.)
are used to produce high level of output.
In this system it is possible to operate specialized beef cattle
production, either;
= cow-calf,
= stocker or
= feeder/finishing programs.

Ranching:
Refers to the type of intensive beef production system developed in
the last 100-150 years in North America, Latin America, Australia,
South Africa, and Botswana.
Ranches are usually located in arid and semi-arid areas receiving an
annual rainfall of less than 600ml.
The areas have sparse vegetation and low carrying capacity for
grazing.
Ranches allow application of grazing and pasture management
practices such as rotational and creep grazing.

Rotational grazing is restriction of grazing to limited parts of the
ranch or pasture at a given time.
Creep grazing is a type of rotational grazing where young stocks
are given access to a better pasture than the old.
In North America the type of ranching is considered as a ‘cow calf
sector’ in which an average herd size of 300 cows is available at a
farm.
In such ranches, it is possible to find finished or standardized
animals with high carcass weight (320kg for steers and 280kg for
heifers).
Australian ranches handle up to 600 cattle within an area of about
8,000ha.

Feedlot operations
:
A feedlot is an intensive operation where cattle are kept for fattening
using;
= agro-industrial by-products like
- oil cakes (cottonseed, linseed, rapeseed, nigger seed, etc.),
- molasses-urea block (MUB),
- cane tops,
- wheat bran
= straw (barley, wheat, teff etc.), and others.
The quality of these feeds is determined by their energy content.
Feeds with high energy level enable fattening of animals in a short
time.

….Continued
Intensive production techniques of the feedlot allow application of
disease prevention schemes which are not feasible in extensive
management systems.
The use of agro-industrial by-products may also lead to disease
problems such as;
= mycotoxicosis (growth of moulds/fungi) and
= poisoning (from plants containing harmful substances).
Feedlot operations produce good slaughter animals.
Emaciated animals put on weight in finishing units cheaply through a
useful phenomenon called compensatory growth.

Dairy cattle production as a source of beef:
Do you know that dairy herds are the main source of beef in some
countries of the world?
Dairy cows make more than 80% of the cattle population in Europe
and are the only source of beef in countries like the Netherlands and
Denmark.

3.2 Commercial Beef Cattle Production Programs (Specialized
programs)
1. Cow-calf program
The cow-calf program is the breeding of cows and raising calves.
Cows are not milked and calves run with their dams usually under
pasture condition.
The program is best adapted to localities where land is cheap i.e. in
regions of large grazing and small grain crop production areas.
The production of calves is the most important requisite i.e. it is the
calf factory (foundation of beef cattle industry).

Factors to be considered in the choice of cow-calf program
The kind and amount of feeding for cow-calf program is based on the
use of pasture, silage and hay.
Before deciding to establish this program factors to be considered are;
= seasons during which labour is least needed for other work,
climate,
= feed supplies (kind and amount of pasture to be utilized, home
grown supplies of grains or forage crops),
= financial resources,
= proximity to market outlets & possibility of local market
demand,
= managerial skill & experience , and
= availabilities of equipments, shelter, etc.

The advantages and disadvantages of cow-calf program
Advantages:
 Less risk of losses in money when there is a rapid decline in
price
 More kg of products (calves) are produced from poor to
average pasture
 Unsuitable land for crop production is used
 Little or no grain/concentrate is needed (Maintained mainly on
roughage).
 The operation requires less labour.
 Low investment in equipment and facility.

Disadvantages:
•There is high loss (death) of cows due to certain disease and
calving
difficulties
•Turnover comes slowly (usually 7 – 8 months)
•The program is less flexible (difficult to change to other program)
•Gross income as market alternative is small
= At 7 –8 months of age selling yearling feeders
= Finishing after weaning in to the feedlot (high energy feed) is
12 – 16 months

Method of establishing cow-calf program
Females for establishing a commercial herd as a foundation stock
may be obtained from different sources.
Some decision must be made as to the breed to be used or weather
pure breds or cross breeds will be used for foundation stock.
The methods of establishing cow-calf herd are either;
= buying heifer calves,
= buying a complete heard (cows with/in calf, cows without calf)
– pregnancy test should be made to determine pregnancy,
= buying cow and calf pair; or
= grading up the native beef females.

3.2.2 The Stocker program
Stocker program providing a transition period for the calves between
the time they are weaned from their mothers and before they are put
in the feed lot (fattening) program to produce as much skeletal and
muscular growth and development and will be marketed as feeders.
The main objective of the program is to produce as much growth and
development as possible on;
= pasture,
= hay,
= silage or
= other roughage such as agricultural residues and by products.

Advantage & disadvantage of stocker program
:
Advantages:-
• The production of stocker cattle is adapted to farms that produce a
large amounts of surplus roughage and pasture
• Returns come quickly (stocker cattle can be produced for sale in
4-6 months period so that 2 or more groups of cattle may be
processed on the farm per year)
• Low investment cost for buildings and equipments (stockers do not
need specialized care and equipment as do cows and heifers at
calving time)

….Continued
•Efficient gain is higher (stockers can use large quantities of pasture
and after months which might otherwise be wasted and thus can
make cheap gains)
• Death losses in stockers are usually less than encountered in the
cow-calf program
•Flexible (the size of the operation can be readily adjusted to fit the
situation on a particular farm)
•Good quality stockers are saleable at most time during the year.

Disadvantages
•Much capital or credit is often required for such an operation if
must be purchased outright (at the same time)
•A great deal of skill in judging buying and management is
required or important
•Risky - cattle cannot be held for along period like cows in
cow-calf program in order to wait for higher prices.

Feeding and management of stocker cattle
Stocker cattle may be grown out on the;
= farm or
= ranch where they are produced.
Usually this procedure involves weaning calves which are weaned in;
= wet season,
= grown out on a high roughage ration,
= run on pasture the next grazing season and
= placed in the feed lot for fattening as yearling.
Stocker cattle producers purchase calves, feed them on surplus
roughage (pasture) and fatten them in the feedlot.

Roughages used in stocker program;
- grasses,
- legumes,
- silage,
- hay,
- agricultural residue and mixtures
Concentrates for stocker cattle;
Concentrates feeds for stocker cattle is needed in very small amount
or quantity as supplements; or as grain supplement (maize,
sorghum, wheat, oats, barley, etc.)

Nutrient requirements for stocker cattle;
Nutrients required for stocker cattle are;
= proteins,
= carbohydrates,
= vitamins (vitamins A, D and E) and
= minerals.
Proteins are found in the reproductive parts and leaves of plants and
they are necessary for the life and development of animals.
Carbohydrates contain C, H, O and they represent most of the DM in
feeds for beef cattle.
They supply energy for;
= maintenance,
= growth and
= reproduction.

…Continued
Most of the grains, grasses, and silages contain large amount of
carbohydrates.
Vitamins and minerals needed by stocker cattle are A, D,E and Ca, P,
Na, Cl respectively.
The roughages and supplements should provide the nutrient
requirement of stocker cattle based on the rate of;
= the daily live weight gain and
= the body size,
= body weight,
= age and the use of stocker cattle either for;
- breeding or
- fattening purpose.

Recommended rations for stocker cattle;
Based on the nutrient composition of hay, silage and agricultural
residue made from different plant species and the nutrient
requirement of the stocker cattle, the ration can be formulated with
small amount of concentrates as supplement.
This is used usually in the dry season when there is no green pasture.
The ration fed to stocker cattle depend on the;
= age of the animal,
= the stage of production they are in at a particular time,
= the feed available, and
= the cost of the feeds.

Duration of time under stocker program;
Stocker cattle are seldom kept beyond one year before being placed
in the feedlot.
Stocker period consists the period after weaning to the start of
finishing.
It is a sole program (independent program) that can be combined
with the cow-calf program or the finishing program.
Cow-calf program Stocker program Finishing program

Water requirement for stocker cattle;
The amount of water required by cattle depends to a great extent on;
= the surrounding air temperature and
= the amount of dry matter consumed.
Requirements of cattle of all different ages and kinds will be met if a
free choice supply is available at all times.
Cattle will usually drink from 3 to 9 kg water per 100 kg of body
weight per day, but they will drink more in dry months than in the
wet months.
Because the major feed resources for stocker cattle are different types
of roughages, which have high dry matter composition and consumed
by them.

3.2.3 The Finishing /fattening program
Finishing is the action of feeding cattle until they are ready for
slaughter.
It is feeding of thrift and well grown out animals to be fattened.

…..Continued
Advantage & disadvantage of the cattle finishing program
Advantages
• Makes more efficient use of labour year round.
• Provide cash income (can expect return from investment in
4-6 months)
•Maintain soil fertility (manure may be returned to the crop land to
maintain or increase its fertility).
• Can easily adjust to changes in feeding supplies, operating costs,
labour supply and economic outlook.
• Convert pasture, roughages and grains in to a more valuable
finished product ( meat)

Disadvantages
•Feed and transportation cost and labour requirements are all higher.
•A cattle feeding is a high-risk enterprise (fluctuation in the price of
finished cattle).
•The facilities required for confinement feeding of cattle are more
expensive.
•Usually it takes more grains and protein supplements to get quality
finished product demanded by the market.

Feeding in finishing program;
To achieve the optimum or maximum performance, the ration for
finishing cattle must contain nutrients to give as closely possible as
their needs.
The ration also allows the opportunity to substitute one or more feed
in the ration, as the result the cost of the ration can be cheap with out
adversely affecting the nutrient content.
Feeding cattle for finishing requires both more energy and protein
supplements than that is needed for cow-calf and stocker program.
Generally the amount of energy and protein concentrates in the
finishing ration varies from 60 –90%.

Dry roughages in the finishing ration;
Roughages are feedstuffs with higher fibre content, such as hay or
straw.
When cattle are switched suddenly from a low energy (roughages)
ration to a high- energy (grains) ration, some times reduce the feed
in take.
The high-energy ration; increases the availability of readily
fermentable carbohydrates in the rumen.
This may cause a low rumen pH level (acidosis) and reducing
motility of digestive tract.
This problem can usually be avoided by mixing certain percent of
roughages.

Function of roughages in finishing ration
The function of roughages in finishing ration is to provide;
= portions/part of the required nutrients (proteins, minerals and
vitamins) to animals,
= to slow down the ingestion (the passage of foods) so that rumen
microorganisms will have enough time to synthesize protein
from NPN and vitamin B-complex, and
= to furnish bulk to the ration and for rumination.
> Leaves and steams of plants contain more minerals and
vitamins. E.g. Ca, vitamin A and D.
Bulk in the ration helps rumination and allows higher saliva
production that prevents acidosis.

Period feed proportion
1st
month 3 parts of grains: 1 part roughage
2nd
3rd
Amount of roughages to feed;
Roughages should be given to the animal at the start of finishing at a
certain portion and should be reduced up to the end.
E.g. Consider 90 days of finishing period

Roughages commonly used in the finishing ration;
Roughages commonly used in the finishing ration are;
= leguminous and non-leguminous roughages,
= dry roughages and
= silage
1. Leguminous and non-leguminous roughages
•Leguminous roughages – good protein source and average to low in
energy
•Non-leguminous roughages – good to excellent in energy and low in
protein
2. Dry roughages
•Stovers – sorghum stover, corn stover, etc.
•Cereal straws/crop residues – barely straws, wheat straws, teff
straws, etc.
•Hay ( grass hay) – Panicum maximum, Rhodes, etc.

3. Silage- finishing ration is the feed given to animals to prepare
them for slaughter.
Silage is one of the finishing rations in animal feeding practice.
The most common silages supplemented in finishing program are;
= corn silage and
= sorghum silage.
Corn silage is supplemented with protein and minerals.
It is one of the best roughage to use for finishing beef cattle.
Daily gains of 0.68- 091 kg can be expected when corn silage used
in the ration.
Sorghum silage is low in protein.

…..Continued
Protein and mineral supplement must be added to the ration when
sorghum silage is fed.
Hay and silage are the most commonly used roughages in finishing
ration.
It requires more supplements to properly balance the ration.
Legumes make the best kind of hay for this purpose.

Reasons for feeding cattle
The objectives of feeding of cattle are;
- To market roughages and pastures at a profit
- To obtain better than current price
- To convert feed in to a more valuable finished products
Factors to consider in the choice of finishing program
•Length of feeding program – 90 days, 120 days, 150 days etc.
•System of feeding – pasture (grass) fattening and feedlot fattening
The methods of finishing cattle for beef;
•Intensive – feedlot finishing
•Semi intensive – pasture feeding
•Extensive - traditional

Importance of age and sex in the growth and finishing
Effect of age on weight gain – the normal growth curve is a sigmoid
or “s” shaped.
The growth rate weight gain is as follows.
= Immediately after birth there is a slow weight gain,
= till puberty there is a more rapid increase in weight,
= after puberty growth slows down and
= finally ceases after physical maturity.
Effect of age on length of feeding
-The optimal time for slaughter is generally accepted as being close
to the onset of puberty,
i.e. before the growth curve begins to level off and fat deposition
predominates.

Effect of sex in cattle feeding
-Bulls convert food into carcass gain more effectively than the
steers, heifers, and for similar levels of carcass maturity (fatness)
they may be killed at heavier live weights and produce heavier
carcass
Duration of time under finishing program;
= 3 months up to 18 to 24 months

3.2.4 Pure Breed Program:
Some beef producers should plan about their farm and decision must
be made weather purebreds or crossbreeds be used for foundation
stock.
The decision should have to consider factors like:-
= Efficiency of growth
= Pre-weaning and post weaning weight gain
= Heat tolerance and resistance to disease
= Meat palatability (being good to eat) and tenderness (softness
and easy to eat)
= Feed conversion and foraging ability
= Public acceptance

3.2.5
Baby Beef Program
:
Baby beef and veal are two types of meat that come from immature
cows/cattle.
The differences between the two meats are determined by the;
= age of the cow at slaughter,
= weight,
= diet and
= the quality of the meat.
Baby beef cows are; whereas veal calves are;
= older and = quite young and
= are fed grass and milk, = are only fed milk.
These differences are reflected in the size, color and content of the
cows' meat.

3.3
Beef Cattle fattening Systems in Ethiopia
Introduction: Cattle production in Ethiopia is an integral part of;
= the mixed farming,
= agro-pastoral and
= pastoral production systems.
In both rural and urban areas, smallholder cattle fattening is
emerging as an important source of income.
In rural Ethiopia cattle fattening is based on locally available feed
resources.
According to MoA, Cattle fattening practices in Ethiopia is
categorized in to three major fattening systems:
a) traditional system,
b) by product based system and
c) the Hararghe fattening system.

•
a) Traditional fattening system:- farmers usually sell oxen after
the plowing season when they are in poor condition and too old for
the draught purposes
.
b) By-product fattening system:- is mainly based on agro-
industrial by-product such as molasses, cereal milling by- product
and oilseed meals and also house hold wastes.
c) The Hararghe fattening system:- is characterized by the use of
the available feed resources to young oxen through cut-and- carry
feeding system of individual tethered animal.
The most common feed types used for this system are;
= thinning,
= leaf strip and
= part of maize and sorghum plants.

…Continued
Intensive feeding of the available feed supply to young oxen used for
draught power could best describe the Hararghe fattening practice.
But, all these production systems are more or less operated in
traditional way of livestock production system.
Therefore, the recent beef production system in Ethiopia can be
generalized as follows.
= Mixed crop-livestock beef production system,
= Pastoral beef production system, and
= Semi-intensive/intensive beef production system

3.3.1 Mixed Crop-livestock Beef Production System (Traditional
Highland Practice)
This is found in the highland parts of Ethiopia such as;
= the Central Highlands
= in Northern Ethiopia and
= the Hararghe Highlands in Eastern Ethiopia.
Cattle are primarily kept for traction purpose and beef is produced as
a by-product.
Cattle are usually sold either when they are too old to plough or at
times of drought and cash shortage.
Major feed sources include natural pastures (also grazing on fallow
lands and marginal lands) and crop residues.

….Continued
Oxen are mostly sold after plaughing when they are old and in poor
condition.
An only exception to this traditional system is the ‘Hararghe
Highland Fattening System’ where cattle are profitably fattened
using forages and crop residues like;
= sorghum stover,
= vegetable by-products, and
= chat residue.
The farmers in these areas are known for their ‘hoe culture’.
Areas of Eastern Hararghe are highly populated and the amount of
land owned by a household is too small to be ploughed by oxen
power.

…Continued
Under-sowing of sorghum with chat, coffee and other valuable cash
crops is a common practice.
Cattle are tethered (tied) near the farm and the beef obtained from
them is very tender.
Q. The ‘Hararghe Highland Fattening System’witnesses that there is
an obvious scope or opportunity to improve the mixed crop-livestock
production system. How? Take your own area as an example.

3.3.2 Pastoral Production System
This is the type of beef production system we find in lowland parts of
Ethiopia such as Afar, Borana, and Somali.
Cattle are basically kept to provide milk for the family.
Animal production usually concentrates near water points.
Herd size per family is usually large as a way of risk aversion and a
means of saving.
In dry seasons, the lowland cattle are rarely fattened and are sold in
poor condition at relatively poor prices.
Cattle are sometimes fattened on natural pasture in good seasons.

…Continued
However, much body weight is lost during long distance trekking to
major markets.
Cattle may still reach the market in somehow better condition than
culled highland stock.
“Culling” refers to removing or disposing of an animal from the
herd such as through;
= sale,
= slaughter or killing for one or more of these reasons;
- aging,
- less productive,
- diseased,
- genetically defective,
- physically unattractive etc.

3.3.3 Intensive/Semi-intensive Production System
This beef production system is entirely based on cattle fattening using;
= agro-industrial by-products,
= crop residues,
= conserved, and
=improved forage feeds.
It is found in urban and peri-urban areas such as Bishoftu (Debre
Zeit), Adama (Nazareth) and Mojo.
The farms can be either state or private owned.
State owned farms are private properties nationalized by the previous
regime and are found around major cities of the country.
Private based commercial fattening is a more recent development.

…Continued
The major constraint of the intensive/semi-intensive production
system is shortage of feed especially;
= industrial and agro-industrial by-products and
= feed supplements and also
= desired cattle.
This problem has currently become a reason for shutting down
of many farms that proliferated in recent years.
Q. Describe if there is any opportunity for expanding
intensive/semi-intensive beef farms in your locality. What criteria
did you consider in your judgment?

3.4 Fattening/finishing of beef cattle
3.4.1 Perspectives of Fattening
Cattle fattening, which is experiencing rapid development,
effectively contributes to the intensification/growth and increase of
production.
It will justify genetic improvement of cattle leading notably to an
increase in size of cattle, with the better conversion ratio of the large
sized breeds (those transforming food into lean meat).

3.4.2 Purpose of Cattle Fattening
In the mixed crop livestock systems of the Ethiopian highlands,
cattle production is subordinate/secondary, but economically
complementary to crop production.
In this ecological zone, cattle provide;
= food in the form of meat (output function), and
= non-food items such as;
- draught power,
- manure as inputs into food crop production and
- fuel for cooking.

…..Continued
They are a source of income, which can be used by rural populations;
= to purchase basic household needs and agricultural inputs,
= saving and capital investment, and
= they often provide a substantially/largely higher return than
alternative investments.
Generally cattle fattening has;
= output,
= input,
= asset,
= security,
= social and
= cultural functions.

3.4.3 Cattle Fattening (finishing) ways/ Systems
Fattening is the preparation of animals for butchering, whichever
method may be used.
Even if there are different fattening systems from feeding and applied
technology it can be categorized in two main groups;
namely:-
= traditional and
= commercial.
Commercial cattle fattening system can be sub categorized into
finishing on;
= pasture and
= feedlot.

I. Commercial cattle fattening/finishing system:
1. Finishing on pasture (grass fattening)
Cattle producers that feed small number of cattle are likely to feed
their animals in order to utilize available pasture and market their
grain.
Several system of pasture feeding may be used:-
a. To fatten cattle on grass alone-
cattle fattened in this way should be older and early maturing type
because younger animals tend to grow rather than fatter and will
not finish as that of older cattle.
b. To feed a limited amount of grain on pasture.
c. To full-feed throughout the grazing seasons.
d. To graze the cattle on pasture alone during the summer and fatten
them in the feedlot on a full feed 90 or more days.

…Continued
In all these systems a good supply of water and mineral supplement
should be available at all times.
However, in this system the duration of fattening is eight to ten
months.
Grass fattening is a technique which is economical;
= in material and
= human resources, but;
- which generally implies a certain loss of energy by the
animals when they move from one place to another to
change pasture.
Finally, this technique is subject to seasonal fluctuations of forage
production and retains/hold a certain extensive character for this
reason.

Fattening cattle on pasture has several advantages:-
•pasture gains are usually cheaper
•requires low labor
•cattle on pasture scatter manure over the field
•natural shades in pasture may be utilized without erecting expensive
shades buildings.
•Allows the utilization of land that can not be used for the production
of cultivated crops.

Fattening cattle on pasture has some disadvantages:-
•pasture fattened cattle may sell for less than cattle feed in dry lot.
•Cattle fattened on pasture can make also less gains.
•They tend to shrink more when shipped to market.
•Their fat may be yellow in color because of high carotene content.
Cattle to be fattened on pasture may have to be purchased in the
spring when feeder price are very high and they will be marketed in
the fall when fat cattle price may be low.

2. Finishing on feed lot (intensive and smi-intensive fattening)
Intensive and semi-intensive beef cattle fattening system adopt
fattening on feed lot by feeding high quality feed.
It is improved type of beef production system
a. Intensive (finishing immediately):-
Is a system in which the feeder cattle are bought to a full-feed of
grain.
A full-feed of grains means; that the cattle are feed mostly grain
and small amount of roughage.
They are then feed until ready for slaughter:-
•steer calves are on feed for about 275 days
•Heifer calves for about 230 days.
•Yearling steers are on the feed for about 175 days
•Yearling heifers for about 130 days.
•Older feeders are on feed for about 100 days.

…Continued
Farm with limited amount of roughage and plenty of grain will adapt
to this feeding program.
Small amount of roughage and large amount of concentrate are used in
this feeding program.
Older animals are feed more roughage than calves or other yearlings.
Heavier animals are particularly well adapted to this system. The
duration of intensive fattening is three to four months.

b. Semi-intensive (differed finishing):-
Use more roughage and fewer grains.
Calves are brought in the spring and summered on roughage with
small amount of grain.
The calves are pasture for 90-120 days the winter and spring
without grain.
In the spring the calves put in the feed lot for 90-120 days.
A full feed of grain is fed in the feedlot.

II. Traditional fattening/finishing system:
In traditional system, oxen are usually sold after the plowing season
when they are in poor condition.
Meat yields are low, beef is poor quality and the farmer returns are
often inadequate to buy a replacement ox.
Farmers in Amhara Region fatten mature and much older animals
(5 to 7 years old) for shorter durations (usually 3 months).

3.4.4 Fattening Cycles and Duration
The usual number of fattening cycles within a given year is between
one and two, with exceptional as far as three cycles per year.
The reason for this seems to be attributable to the basic objective of
the fattening activity.
The traditional fattening system experienced by farmers in the eastern
Zones of the Amhara Region;
= Wollo,
= Oromiya tribe zone,
= North Showa) can be used to illustrate this.

…Continued
Farmers in these areas;
= first buy the oxen around April-May, use them for ploughing
in
the wet season,
= then upon finishing land preparation and sowing activities,
= they commence the feeding program starting from end of July
so as to finish, and
= sell them for either the Christmas or Easter season.

…Continued
There is a huge variation in the length of each fattening cycle, with
the range extending from as short as 60 days to as long as 180 days.
The modal range, however, seems to be within the 90 to 120 days
interval.
Generally, with few exceptions animals are fattened in one to three
consecutive cycles of 3 to 4 months with the various religious
festivals in mind.

3.4.5 Introducing the Beef Cattle for Fattening
A. Selecting the fattening beef cattle
i. Selection by breed, age and sex
-Breed: Local breeds like Borena, Fogera, Horro and Danakil breeds
can be used.
-Age: Age is decisive for cattle to be fattened.
A study conducted on zebu cattle in Ethiopia revealed/known that
4-5; 7-8; 10-11 years old zebu cattle has gained 0.62; 0.51; 0.41 kg
respectively.
As a general remark, the age of animals shall be 4 to 5 years old.
Feeder is generally divided in to three age groups:-(Calves,
Yearlings, and Older feeders)

….Contionued
Front teeth can help to determine age of an animal but breed
differences and production circumstances/status has to be considered.
-Sex: There are five sex classes of slaughter beef animals;
a. Steer: is a male that was castrated before reaching sexual maturity
and is not shows the secondary characteristics of the bull.
Steers gain about 10% faster than heifers if both are fed for the
same length of time.
Efficiency of gain refers to the amount of feed needed for each
pound (Kg) of gain.

b. Bullock: is a male usually under 24 months of age, which may be
castrated and does show some of the characteristics of the bull.
c. Heifer: is an immediate female that has not had a calf or has not
matured as a cow.
d. Cow: is a female that has had one or more calves.
An older female that has not had a calf but has matured is also
called a cow.
e. Bull: is a male usually over 24 months of age that has not been
castrated.
Any castrated male bovine that shows or is beginning to show the
mature characteristics of uncastrated male is considered a bull.

…Continued
Generally males (bulls, castrated bull/bullock) can increase more
live body weight than females (heifers, cow).
The order of live body weight increment is;
1st
= bulls,
2nd
= castrated bulls,
3rd
= heifers and
4rth
= cows is in ascending order.
Physiologically, bulls can have higher live body weight gain than
castrated bulls because castrated bulls will accumulate fat in their
body than protein.

ii. Pedigree selection: A pedigree is a record (for 2-4 generation) of
an individual's ancestors.
iii. Selection by body conformation:-The general condition of the
animal shall not be either too thin or fat.
Thin animal are preferred because they do have the ability to
convert forage in to meat better than good conditioned animals.
Three factors are used to determine the grade of feed lot cattle;
= thriftiness,
= frame size and
= thickness.

Thriftiness:-the apparent health of the animal and to grow and fatten
normally.
An unthrifty animal is one that is not expected to grow and fatten
normally in its current condition.

Frame size:- indicate the size of the animals skeleton (height and
body length) in relation to its age.
When two animals are the same age, the large framed one is taller at
the withers and hips and has longer body than one with a small
frame.
Thickness:- means the development of the muscle system in relation
to the size of the skeleton.
Different in thickness are due to;
= different in bone structure,
= muscling and
= degree of fatness.
The thicker cattle will have a high yield grade at the same degree of
fatness as cattle that are not as thick.

iv. Selection by performance records (progeny selection):-
Using pregnancy test information, in addition to that obtained on the
individual increases the accuracy of selection as compared to
information based on this individual record alone.
B. Fitness of the breed to the environment
•disease resistance
•Adaptability
• Feeding capacity of the animal on poor quality pasture

Beef Cattle production and management system

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