Table Of ContentSTOREY’S GUIDE TO RAISING BEEF CATTLE
Storey’s Guide to
RAISING
BEEF
CATTLE
Health Handling Breeding
HEATHER SMITH THOMAS
Foreword by Baxter Black, DVM
The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by publishing
practical information that encourages personal independence in harmony with
the environment.
Edited by Rebekah Boyd-Owens, Sarah Guare, and Deborah Burns
Art direction and book design by Cynthia N. McFarland
Cover design by Kent Lew
Cover photograph by © Lynn Stone
Text production by Erin Dawson
Photography by Heather Smith Thomas
Illustrations by © Elayne Sears, except for Jeffrey Domm: 83, 90, 150;
Carl Kirkpatrick: 75; © Elara Tanguy: 84–85, 110, 168, 180, 186, 249,
266;
U.S. Beef Breeds Council: 3–7
Expert readers: Julius Ruechel and Dr. Ronald Skinner
Indexed by Christine R. Lindemer, Boston Road Communications
© 2009, 1998 by Heather Smith Thomas
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written
permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief
passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may
any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or other — without written permission from the publisher.
The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our
knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the
author or Storey Publishing. The author and publisher disclaim any liability in
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contact Storey Publishing, 210 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA 01247.
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Printed in the United States by Versa Press
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Thomas, Heather Smith, 1944–
[Guide to raising beef cattle]
Storey’s guide to raising beef cattle / by Heather Smith Thomas ;
foreword by Baxter Black. — [New ed.]
p. cm.
Originally published as: Guide to raising beef cattle, c1998.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-60342-454-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-60342-455-4 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Beef cattle. I. Title.
SF207.T47 2009
636.2′13—dc22
2009013688
This book is dedicated to my husband, Lynn, who has been my partner and
helpmate during 42 years of raising beef cattle.
PREFACE TO THE tHIRD EDITION
The first edition of this book was published in 1998. I wrote it to help stockmen
(first-time cattle owners as well as old hands) deal with the various aspects of
raising beef cattle. Much of the information in the original edition is still valid
today, while other information has changed as our knowledge of certain subjects
(certain diseases, for example) has expanded. Whether you are raising one steer
or 500, this new and revised edition brings you the most up-to-date and helpful
information on cattle breeding, health, and care.
My husband and I have spent a lifetime with cattle. We both grew up on
ranches and have spent the past 43 years of our married life raising cattle
together. On our ranch in central-eastern Idaho, we typically calve out about 170
beef cows each year. No matter how many years of experience we have,
however, there is always more to learn. Even though we’ve had help from a
number of veterinarians, university professors, textbooks, and other sources, our
cattle have always been our best teachers. Much of what I’ve written about here
has been gleaned from working with our own herd, augmented by information
gathered during 40-plus years of interviewing numerous breeders, beef cattle
specialists, and researchers around the country for cattle-care articles in livestock
publications. It is my hope that this book will be a helpful edition to your
livestock library.
Contents
Foreword by Baxter Black, DVM
1 Breeds and Genetics: An Overview
Choosing Beef Cattle
Breeds and Types of Beef Cattle
Which Type Is Best?
Inheritance of Traits
Crossbreeding and Hybrid Vigor
Selecting for Certain Characteristics
2 Handling and Behavior of Beef Cattle
Basic Cow Psychology
Grazing Behavior
Training Cattle
Moving Cattle
Avoiding Injury
3 Issues in Buying and Selling
Buying a Weaned Calf to Raise for Beef
Buying Calves at Auction
Buying from a Farmer
Buying a Heifer
What Makes a Good Beef Cow?
Buying Pregnant Heifers or Cows
Buying Open Yearlings
Marketing Cattle
Dealing with Shrink
Getting Cattle Ready for Market
4 General Guidelines for Raising Beef Cattle
Understanding Your Calf’s Behavior
Care for the Weaned Calf
Winter Care of the New Calf
Summer Care of the Yearling
The End Product: Beef
Feeds and Finishing
5 Pasture, Fencing, and Facilities
Pastures — Sizes and Types
Water
Pasture Fencing
Pens and Facilities
Working in Corrals
Feeding Facilities
Equipment and Supplies
6 Feeding Cattle
Basic Nutrition
Digestion
Feeding Forages (Roughages)
Nutritional Needs Vary
7 Keeping Cattle Healthy
Know What a Healthy Animal Looks Like
Vaccinations
Bovine Respiratory Disease
Clostridial Diseases
Rabies
Coccidiosis
Eye Problems
Foot Rot
Lump Jaw
Bony Lump Jaw
Mastitis in Beef Cows
Hardware Disease
Urinary Calculi (Bladder Stones)
Bloat
Acidosis and Laminitis
Poisoning: Toxic Plants
Emphysema
Nitrate Poisoning
Internal Parasites
External Parasites
Skin Problems
Porcupine Quills
Snakebite
Strangulated Teat from Hairy Udder
8 Growing and Breeding Heifers
Feeding Weaned Heifers
Age at Puberty
When to Breed
Nutrition for the Pregnant Yearling
Basics of Reproduction in Cattle
Choosing the Bull and Getting the Heifer Bred
9 Care of the Pregnant Cow
Nutrition
Disease Prevention
Problems of Pregnancy
10 Calving
Create a Safe Environment for Calving
Calving Facilities
Cold-Weather Calving
Handling Cows at Calving Time
Signs of Approaching Parturition
Minimizing Calving Problems: Getting the Calves Born Alive
First Things First: Get the Calf Breathing
11 Care of the Newborn Calf
Get the Calf Breathing
Care of the Umbilical Cord
Helping a Calf to Nurse
Importance of Colostrum
Helping in Different Situations
12 Calf Health
