Cattle

The articles below cover an amazing number of topics about cattle health and cattle farming. There are more articles in the Cattle Behaviour, Calves and Calving, Cattle Handling and The Basics sections too. If you're looking for something in particular then use the search box above. If not, then browse the article titles and see what there is to help you. If you can't find an answer here then why not ask in our discussion forums? One of the very friendly and helpful members is sure to be able to help you.

New articles are added all the time so don't forget to check back here regularly!

Miniature Zebu Cattle

Miniature Zebu cattle are very easy-care, they are foragers, pretty much-eating anything, and can do very well on rough pasture and extra well on lush pasture.

Saler Cattle

Salers have been selected to perform as providers of milk and meat under tough conditions cold winters and sometimes hot, dry summers.

Peidmontese Cattle

The Piedmontese cattle dominate beef production in Italy and the Netherlands due to its lean-ness and tenderness but has yet to catch on as a quality terminal sire breed in New Zealand.

Conformation - teeth

Cattle need teeth. But don't ever look in the mouth of a ruminant and worry that it has lost all its top incisors: it never had them.

Cattle ticks and Theileria

The cattle tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis) is well established in New Zealand.

Beware of the bull!

There have been some alarming cases of bulls causing injuries and even deaths to humans.

Neosporosis in cattle

Suspect neosporosis if any of your cows aborts or is infertile. Neosporosis is the most common cause of abortion in cows in this country.

BVD: Bovine Virus Diarrhoea

BVD (Bovine Virus Diarrhoea) is a complicated viral disease of cattle that causes big financial losses in herds across New Zealand.

"Crop Ear"

The phrase "Crop Ear" relates to a genetic fault in Highland cattle that affects the ear shape.

What makes Highlands so special?

Highland cattle tend to evoke many emotions in people.

Highland Cattle as a beef breed

In New Zealand, Highland Cattle have traditionally been a breed that has been embraced by lifestylers.

Grading Highland Cattle

The Highland Cattle industry in New Zealand uses a grading system to denote what level of Highland genetics (or 'bloodlines') each animal enjoys.

Rearing cattle

Research now 70 years old showed that poorly-reared young stock will carry this burden into later life.

Grazing dairy heifers

To find your grazers, this might need a couple of adverts in the local paper during April or May, or a few phone calls to local dairy farmers and word of mouth.

Yearlings to 2 year olds

What is involved in farming cattle from yearlings to 2 year olds

Weaners through to yearlings

If you have not reared your weaners you will have to organise a time to buy from the market or a reputable calf-rearing enterprise.

4 day old calves to weaning

A look at what is involved in rearing calves to weaning.

What to do with cattle?

Once you start looking at cattle you need to choose the option to go for. Here are some things to take into consideration:

Bulls for beef

Farming bulls for beef is a major business. It provides lean export beef (grinding beef) for the USA hamburger trade.

Condition Scoring Cows - Overview

Simple Condition Scoring for cows - learn these seven points to feel on the cow.

Condition Scoring Cows

“Condition Scoring” (CS) cows was developed many years ago to help farmers specify how skinny or fat their cows were.

Cattle horns- unwanted!

Primitive cattle needed horns to fight off predators and to sort out social ranking within the herd. Bulls needed them in their death fights for the 'king' bull status.

Beef cattle before slaughter

With such a high emphasis on Quality in our export markets, it's vital that farmers recognise this in the paddock because this is where Quality starts.

Bloat in cattle

Bloat in cattle is caused when grass is growing rapidly and clovers are coming away, as these feeds contain natural foaming agents that generate stable foam in the rumen.

Pregnant heifer?

Well-grown heifer calves are capable of becoming pregnant from about 6 months of age. Bull calves can be fertile from about the same age.

Getting your cows to cycle

Cows will start to cycle about 6 weeks after calving when they’ll should show the typical heat signs.

A Simple Headbail

A design for a simple, cheap and effective headbail for cattle.

The house cow

Everything you need to know about having a house cow.

When to sell your beef cattle?

When to sell your beef cattle depends on many things, but the two most common reasons are to maximise returns, or cut losses by quitting stock.

Nose ringing a bull

When bulls start to become territorial and difficult to handle it’s tempting to assume that putting a ring in their nose will solve the problem.