Questions and Answers
What are the six basic nutrients found in all feeds?
What is the function of the reticulum in the ruminant digestive system?
Nicknamed the hardware stomach, the reticulum serves as the initial compartment that swallows and sorts feed due to its honeycomb structure.
Ruminants regurgitate their feed to re-chew it for proper digestion.
True
The four compartments of a ruminant's stomach are Reticulum, Rumen, Omasum, and ________.
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Match the beef grades with their descriptions:
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Which beef cattle enterprise relies heavily on available pasture during the spring, summer, and fall?
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What is the primary goal of stocker cattle operations?
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Which enterprise typically requires less land and is considered speculative?
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At what age and weight are calves usually sold in a stocker cattle operation?
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What is the primary purpose of grains and supplements in a feeder cattle operation?
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Which of the following is a characteristic of a feeder cattle operation?
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What is the primary goal of a feedlot operation?
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Where are most feedlots typically located?
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What is the primary difference between a feedlot operation and a stocker cattle operation?
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Which of the following is a characteristic of a stocker cattle operation?
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Study Notes
Health
- Normal body temperature: 100-102.5°F (calves: 101-103°F)
- Normal heart rate: 60-70 beats per minute
- Normal respiratory rate: 8-16 breaths per minute
Nutrition
- Six basic nutrients: protein, carbohydrates, lipids, minerals, vitamins, and water
- Protein provides essential amino acids
- Carbohydrates provide energy for body functions, growth, and reproduction
- Fats are a concentrated source of energy
- Minerals are important for bone and teeth health
- Vitamins are essential for overall health, development, and metabolic reactions
- Water is the most important nutrient, making up 70% or more of plant and animal composition
Forages
- Cool-season perennials: tall fescue, bluegrass, clover, alfalfa
- Warm-season perennials: bermudagrass, switchgrass
- Winter annuals: annual ryegrass, cereal grains (rye, oats, wheat, barley)
- Summer annuals: sorghums (forage sorghum, sudangrass, sorghum-sudan hybrids)
Digestive System
- Ruminant animals have four compartments in their stomach
- Examples of ruminant animals: cattle, sheep, goats
- The four compartments are:
- Reticulum (honeycomb, 5% capacity)
- Rumen (paunch, 80% capacity)
- Omasum (manyplies, 7% capacity)
- Abomasum (true stomach, 8% capacity)
- The compartments function in the order that feed passes through them
- Regurgitation: ruminants bring up food from the rumen to re-chew and then re-swallow
Meat
- Quality grades are based on marbling scores and maturity scores
- Types of quality grades:
- Prime
- Choice
- Select
- Standard
- Commercial
- Cull
- Yield grades identify carcasses for differences in cutability (lean yield of a beef carcass)
- Yield grade is determined by:
- Hot carcass weight
- External fat (back fat over the 13th rib)
- Percent heart, kidney, and pelvic fat
- Rib eye area
- Types of yield grades:
- Moderately abundant
- Slightly abundant
- Moderate
- Small
- Slight
Signs of a Sick Calf
- Poor appetite
- Droopy ears
- Rapid, noisy breathing
- Dry, crusty, or runny nose
- Gaunt gut
- Limping
- Patchy haircoat
- Diarrhea
- Swelled, tight left side
Good Management for Disease Prevention
- Be alert for signs of disease and stress
- Provide clean, disinfected quarters
- Practice rigid sanitation and manure removal
- Provide a well-balanced diet
- Get accurate diagnosis of health problems immediately
- Avoid unnecessary stress and strain
- Buy disease-free stock from healthy herds
- Isolate new animals before introducing them to the herd
- Follow a set vaccination program
- Dispose of dead animals immediately
Reproduction
- Estrous cycle: 21 days
- Gestation: 10 months
- Nursing: 7 months
- Stocker: 4 months
- Feedlot: 4 months
- Processing: 1 month
- Conception to plate: 26 months
- Breeding seasons:
- April and May for spring calving
- January and February for fall calving
- Heifers are bred 30 days before the older cows
Production Methods
- Three types of enterprises:
- Cow-calf
- Stocker or feeder cattle
- Feedlot
- Cow-calf program:
- Maintains a cow herd and produces calves
- Based on pasture production
- Grains and supplements used only as needed
- Feeder cattle:
- Less risk and safest for new producers
- Calves are sold directly off the cow at 6-9 months old
- Feedlot:
- Producer purchases stocker cattle and feeds them to market weight
- Cattle finishing requires more concentrate and less roughage
Health
- Normal body temperature: 100-102.5°F (calves: 101-103°F)
- Normal heart rate: 60-70 beats per minute
- Normal respiratory rate: 8-16 breaths per minute
Nutrition
- Six basic nutrients: protein, carbohydrates, lipids, minerals, vitamins, and water
- Protein provides essential amino acids
- Carbohydrates provide energy for body functions, growth, and reproduction
- Fats are a concentrated source of energy
- Minerals are important for bone and teeth health
- Vitamins are essential for overall health, development, and metabolic reactions
- Water is the most important nutrient, making up 70% or more of plant and animal composition
Forages
- Cool-season perennials: tall fescue, bluegrass, clover, alfalfa
- Warm-season perennials: bermudagrass, switchgrass
- Winter annuals: annual ryegrass, cereal grains (rye, oats, wheat, barley)
- Summer annuals: sorghums (forage sorghum, sudangrass, sorghum-sudan hybrids)
Digestive System
- Ruminant animals have four compartments in their stomach
- Examples of ruminant animals: cattle, sheep, goats
- The four compartments are:
- Reticulum (honeycomb, 5% capacity)
- Rumen (paunch, 80% capacity)
- Omasum (manyplies, 7% capacity)
- Abomasum (true stomach, 8% capacity)
- The compartments function in the order that feed passes through them
- Regurgitation: ruminants bring up food from the rumen to re-chew and then re-swallow
Meat
- Quality grades are based on marbling scores and maturity scores
- Types of quality grades:
- Prime
- Choice
- Select
- Standard
- Commercial
- Cull
- Yield grades identify carcasses for differences in cutability (lean yield of a beef carcass)
- Yield grade is determined by:
- Hot carcass weight
- External fat (back fat over the 13th rib)
- Percent heart, kidney, and pelvic fat
- Rib eye area
- Types of yield grades:
- Moderately abundant
- Slightly abundant
- Moderate
- Small
- Slight
Signs of a Sick Calf
- Poor appetite
- Droopy ears
- Rapid, noisy breathing
- Dry, crusty, or runny nose
- Gaunt gut
- Limping
- Patchy haircoat
- Diarrhea
- Swelled, tight left side
Good Management for Disease Prevention
- Be alert for signs of disease and stress
- Provide clean, disinfected quarters
- Practice rigid sanitation and manure removal
- Provide a well-balanced diet
- Get accurate diagnosis of health problems immediately
- Avoid unnecessary stress and strain
- Buy disease-free stock from healthy herds
- Isolate new animals before introducing them to the herd
- Follow a set vaccination program
- Dispose of dead animals immediately
Reproduction
- Estrous cycle: 21 days
- Gestation: 10 months
- Nursing: 7 months
- Stocker: 4 months
- Feedlot: 4 months
- Processing: 1 month
- Conception to plate: 26 months
- Breeding seasons:
- April and May for spring calving
- January and February for fall calving
- Heifers are bred 30 days before the older cows
Production Methods
- Three types of enterprises:
- Cow-calf
- Stocker or feeder cattle
- Feedlot
- Cow-calf program:
- Maintains a cow herd and produces calves
- Based on pasture production
- Grains and supplements used only as needed
- Feeder cattle:
- Less risk and safest for new producers
- Calves are sold directly off the cow at 6-9 months old
- Feedlot:
- Producer purchases stocker cattle and feeds them to market weight
- Cattle finishing requires more concentrate and less roughage
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Description
Learn about the normal vital signs of animals, including temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate, as well as the six basic nutrients essential for their health.
