First, choose the right cattle for feeding.
Selecting foreign crossbred bulls as sires can significantly improve the quality of beef cattle. When selecting cattle for fattening, look for animals with tall and elongated limbs, loose and elastic skin, thin muscle structure, clear skeletal features, wide but not overly full chests, fine hair, and overall good health. These characteristics indicate a high growth potential and better fattening results. It is best to choose cattle aged between 2 to 4 years old, weighing around 318 to 363 kg. Such cattle have high feed intake, rapid weight gain, and shorter feeding periods, which improves cash flow efficiency.
Second, improve feed utilization and reduce costs.
1. Adjust the ratio of roughage to concentrate based on the stage of fattening. For the first 30 days, use a 3:7 to 1:1 ratio of roughage to concentrate, with crude protein content at 12%. During the middle 70 days, adjust to a 6:4 ratio, with 11% crude protein. In the last 10 to 20 days, increase the concentrate ratio to 7:3 or 8:2, with 10% crude protein in the concentrate. Aim for 4 to 5 kg of concentrate per head daily, while allowing free access to roughage.
2. Process feed scientifically. Crush grains such as corn to a size above 1 mm and sorghum to about 1 mm. Cut and crush roughage into lengths of 5 to 10 mm for optimal digestion.
3. Utilize industrial by-products like brewers’ grains and starch slag effectively. These can replace up to 90% of concentrate feed when combined with additives. For example, provide 15 to 20 kg of brewers' grains per cow daily, along with 150 g of baking soda, 100 g of urea, and 100 g of a beef cattle premix. Similarly, use 10 to 15 kg of starch slag or other by-products with the same additive combination.
4. Make full use of silage, straw ammoniation, and fermentation techniques. Silage corn is an excellent feed for fattening cattle, allowing higher daily gains with lower concentrate levels. Adding 2% urea to the dry matter of corn silage can greatly enhance performance.
Third, improve feeding techniques and management.
1. Implement a restricted feeding strategy during the early stages of fattening, then switch to free feeding in later stages. This method can boost feed efficiency by 5%.
2. Keep male and female cattle separate. Bulls typically gain 10% more weight than heifers, and calves grow faster than cows. However, castration can negatively affect growth if done improperly. Using drugs or hormones for castration may lead to residue issues and poor meat quality. Therefore, it's important to select cattle considering gender effects on weight gain and avoid unnecessary castration in bulls.
3. Use an appropriate urease inhibitor premix during the feeding period to increase daily weight gain by over 18%.
4. Maintain clean environments, implement disease prevention measures, and regularly remove internal and external parasites to control infectious diseases.
5. Slaughter cattle once they reach 500 kg. Beyond this weight, daily gain decreases, feed conversion becomes less efficient, and production costs rise, leading to reduced profitability.
Fourth, apply scientific feeding formulas.
1. A formula based on silage corn (wet weight) includes 80.8% silage corn, 17.1% corn, and 2.1% cottonseed cake.
2. For growing beef cattle (300 kg), a formula using distiller’s grains (wet weight) could be: 1.5 kg corn, 15 kg fresh lees, 2.5 kg cereal straw, 70 g urea, 30 g salt, and 100 g of a premix. Since distiller’s grains have low crude protein degradation, adding urea helps improve rumen nitrogen balance and fiber digestibility.
3. For cattle under 300 kg, a formula might include 61 kg corn, 15 kg bran, 20 kg cotton (hybrid) cake, 1 kg salt, and 1 kg bone meal. Provide 100 g of premix per day, 2 kg of concentrate, and allow free access to roughage.
4. For cattle over 300 kg, a suitable formula could be 70 kg corn, 13 kg bran, 15 kg cotton (hybrid) cake, 1 kg salt, and 1 kg bone meal. Offer 100 g of premix per day, 3 to 3.5 kg of concentrate, and allow free grazing on roughage.
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