The Thing About Raising Ruminants

Ruminants–cattle, sheep, goats, elk, bison–are what we love (and sometimes hate) to care for. Most of these animals are for an end purpose, which is meat. Others are raised for their milk or simply as pets.

The care we give them is for their health, well-being and productivity. Healthy cows produce healthy milk, a common saying used by many dairy producers, large and small. By the same token, healthy animals give healthy meat. Health, in this sense, means that nutritional needs are met, they are treated in a low-stress, calm manner, are kept in their social environments, and their living conditions are more than just tolerable.

But, how it must be done is the question. It’s easy to state that one must do X, Y, and Z for raising some Angus steers for the freezer, for example, but determining how is the clincher for how their meat will turn out when it’s time to fire up the grill.  Similarly, this is also said for dairy animals, though their time to become meat is usually a ways off compared with milk demands.

Below are fourteen (14) major topic areas on raising ruminants. Each button will bring you to a page that gives a brief description of what to expect to find.

Forages, Pastures & Grazing Management

Two biggest aspects of raising ruminants are the pasture and stored forages. 

Since these are huge topics in and of themselves, you can find all things grazing management, pasture planning and forages in the link below!