4 Unique Advantages of Cow Fattening You Need To Know

Advantages of Cow Fattening

There is no greater way of having a feeling of achievement and fulfillment than seeing the fruit of your labor flourishing before your eyes.

 

When people visit our farm they are often amazed at the types of livestock (cow) we rear on the farm (most especially cow fattening).

 

People are always inquisitive, they want to learn, they want to improve the quality of food they eat, and they want to have multiple streams of income.

 

Exploring the advantages of cow fattening in this article will be of immense plus to your knowledge base.

 

 

The many advantages of cow fattening can be broadly categorized into Four major distinct parts namely:

 

• Economic and financial advantage.
• Socio-cultural advantages of keeping cow for fattening purposes.
• The general health improvement,
• Security and safety of the cow.

 

 

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1. Economic and Financial Advantages of Cow Fattening

• One good advantage of cow fattening is using your cows as a means of savings for the rainy day.

 

• As a means of providing manure to the soil. When you talk of organic farming the advantages of cow fattening have an important role to play by the provision of both macronutrients and micronutrients to the soil. The animal dung is gathered and use as organic manure in the gardens and farms for better yield and also grow crops such as maize, millet, yam, and cassava that will be used in feeding the cows for better weight gain.

 

 

 

READ: Yam Tubers, Production, Cultivation and Uses

• Another advantage of cow fattening is providing food for the family. There is no better way to easily get money to buy food for the entire family apart from the sales of one or two cows for this purpose.

 

• Extra source of income. This is one of the best advantages of cow fattening. The sale of just one cow will make a lot more difference in the finances of the cow owner.

 

• Provide an asset base for the family. There is nothing as reassuring as having cows in your backyard or farm for cow fattening. The sale of a few cows can be used to purchase land and reinvest in other business ventures.

 

• When you are looking for diversification in agriculture, then cow fattening is the way to go. It serves as a basis to provide seed capital for reinvestment into other farming activities such as crop production, poultry farming, etc.

 

• A Cool way of providing employment for both the rural populace and the urban dwellers.

 

 

2. Socio-cultural advantages of keeping cow for fattening purposes

• A sign of affluence, success, and it brings prestige to the owner and his family.

 

• Another tremendous advantage of cow fattening is its use during wedding marriage ceremony for it is known to bring good luck and prosperity to the newlywed couples.

 

• The bigger the bitter, across the African continent, the tradition of the dowry remains a key pillar of unifying both families of the bride and the groom.

 

• Among the Southern African Zulu tribe the process is known as Lobola, the Igbo tribe of West Africa calls it Ikpo Onu Aku Nwayi and in the East African state of Tanzania, it is referred to as Mahari.

 

• The history of many sub-Saharan countries reveals that the practice of bride price was borne out of an agricultural and cattle-based economy where wealth and status were exhibited by how big your family was and how much livestock you owned.

 

• The size and type of gifts presented by the groom’s family represent and are seen as a symbol of wealth and success. Goats and cows are the common gifts used during such ceremonies.

 

• Families with good-looking, healthy robust-looking cows are term as rich and influential. And is a thing of pride to both the bride and the groom’s families alike.

 

• Rich families always sought for cow’s rear under intensive system of farming e.g cow fattening techniques.

 

3. The General Health Improvement, And Safety of the Cow.

General improvement in the health of the cow

One of the tremendous advantages of cow fattening is the visible and general improvement of the cow’s health within the shortest possible period of time.

 

This is because the cow is under close and intensive care to meet the target weight, health, and general look.

 

Most cows that are bought for the sole purpose of cow fattening are often bought in poor condition thin and emaciated at times even sick.

 

They are given good medical care and fed a rich and balanced diet to help them recover fast.

 

 

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Effect of Ectoparasites on the Cow

Ectoparasites (parasites that live on the outside of the host) most often associated with cattle herds kept outside for grazing most part of the day.

 

They are capable of causing serious health issues to the cow and large financial losses to the livestock owner if not managed properly.

 

Itching and skin irritations cause animals to scratch, rub, and bite infested areas. Blood loss, depressed appetite, and decreased rate of a weight gain are all possible and result in reduced production.

 

A serious infestation can cause animals to be irritable, a potentially dangerous situation, especially with large livestock this condition is even capable of causing lumpy skin disease in cattle.

 

Lumpy skin disease in cattle: This is an infectious, eruptive, occasionally fatal disease of cattle characterized by nodules on the skin and other parts of the body with a secondary bacterial infection which often aggravates the condition. Biting insects have been suspected as vectors.

 

One powerful advantage of cow fattening is the ability of the farmer to easily control the influence of lice, mites, ticks, and flies on his livestock due to the controlled production environment.

 

Common Types of Ectoparasites

Lice and mites live on the skin surface, either feeding on skin cells or blood.  These may lead to severe itching, hair loss, and occasionally anemia if blood loss is significant.

 

Ticks are known to be important vectors of bacterial, viral, and protozoal infections in most situation cattle get infected grazing in open fields.

 

In cow fattening, restricted movement ensures that your cow is not infested with ticks and other ectoparasites.

 

Flies feed on the blood, sweat, tears, saliva, urine, and faeces of cattle, acting as nuisance pests causing disrupted grazing and reducing productivity, and as vectors of cattle disease.

 

Another good advantage of cow fattening is the ability of the owner to provide a fly-free environment, ensuring good production and weight gain.

 

READ ALSO: Houseflies: How to Get Rid of them from Your Home and Surroundings

 

 

 

Feed and nutrition

It is expected that six months after the date of purchase, fattened cattle must weigh approximately 300 to 350 kilograms.

 

When it comes to maximizing and utilizing the benefit and advantages of cow fattening the type of feed and the nutritional quality of feed presented to the cow matters.

 

This has a direct impact on the cow’s weight gain and health status. Because feed and nutrition affect the health of the cow immensely.

 

Failure to provide quality nutritional feed to your cow will result in poor weight gain, failure to meet target weight within the stipulated time frame.

 

This will definitely undermine the advantage of cow fattening.

 

Different regions of the world feed their cow with what is obtainable in their region the bottom line is you have to use what works for you, what gives you good and optimal result.

 

In sub-Saharan African using Nigeria as a case study a lot of agricultural products and by-products can be used for cow fattening with excellent results.

 

Using both cassava and yam peels, sorghum, guinea corn, millet maize bran (dusa) mix with a well-formulated ruminant concentrate will make a perfect meal for your cow.

 

Occasionally providing good quality hay and silage as a source of roughage will balance up your cow’s diet.

 

READ: Tips on How to Reduce and Stop Stealing on Your Farm

 

4. Security And Safety of The Cow Is Ensured

With the menace of cattle rustling bedeviling a lot of sub-Saharan Africa, and in most part of the world. Keeping and rearing your cow within a secured environment is no longer an option but a must.

 

This brings the advantages of cow fattening into play. Cow fattening involves rearing your cow within a restricted area for weight gain.

 

One especially good advantage of cow fattening is the fact that it can be practice in semi-urban and even urban areas as long as the production environment is kept clean, secured with good biosecurity and hygienic condition.

 

The fear of cattle rustling which is more prevalent in rural areas because of the large endless expanse of land which provides an easier root of escape for cattle rustlers is not attainable in a well secured and fenced environment where cow fattening is been practiced.