What Do Beef Cattle Eat?
Beef cattle mainly eat;
1. Grass - Cattle graze on grass in the Summer.
2. Silage - In Winter cattle eat conserved grass which is silage.
3. Fodder beet / Sugar beet / Potatoes / Turnips.
4. Crushed barley.
- In Winter all beef cattle are given a vitamin and mineral supplement.
- A mature cow can eat up to 50kg of food a day.
- Different cattle eat different combinations of food.
1. Cows for breeding eat grass in the Summer, silage and fodder beet.
2. Heifers eat silage with some crushed barley.
3. Fattening bulls eat mainly crushed barley and straw.
4. Fattening bullocks eat silage with some crushed barley.
Click on the image below to visit Amazon.co.uk to find out more about this book or visit one of the Farming Friends Bookshops.
Animal Feed Beef Cattle Cattle
When driving around the countryside I have seen fields of corn on the cob (maize). Is this grown to feed to cattle? If so, which types of cattle eat it and why?
Comment by Stephen — February 11, 2007 @ 2:43 pm
Hi Stephen,
Yes maize is made into silage to feed to cattle. Usually it is fed to dairy cows because it is high in energy and milk production requires alot of energy. The carbohydrate can increase the protein content of milk which is called the glucose sparing effect of energy deficient grass based diets.
Thanks for your comment.
Sara@ Farming Friends
Comment by Sara @ Farming Friends — March 11, 2007 @ 2:01 pm