10 Reasons Why Beef Cattle Don't Grow Meat

1. Poor Feed

Feed is an important factor in the growth and development of beef cattle. Beef cattle that consume high-quality feed have more opportunities to grow meat.

Firstly, if the feed is insufficient or unreasonable, beef cattle will not grow meat but will be thin. First, insufficient feed will lead to insufficient nutritional intake of cattle, which cannot meet the growth and development needs of cattle. Secondly, unreasonable feed will also affect the growth and development of cattle. For example, the lack of nutrients such as protein, vitamins, and minerals in the feed will lead to slow growth of cattle or even growth stagnation.

Solution: To ensure that the feed of beef cattle is sufficient and reasonable, different feed formulas can be formulated according to the growth stage and weight of cattle.

Secondly, if we store feed improperly, the feed will be moldy, frosted, or stained with dews. These feeds will ferment in the stomach of beef cattle to produce various harmful substances, irritate the stomach and intestines of cattle, cause indigestion, and reduce the ability of cattle to absorb feed nutrients. They cannot obtain sufficient nutrients to supply body development so they become thinner and thinner.

In order to prevent this situation, we should do a good job of feed management and ensure feed quality.

 

2. Nutritional Deficiencies

Beef cattle require a diet rich in proteins, energy, vitamins, and minerals to grow muscle and meat effectively. Protein is especially crucial as it is the main building block of muscle (meat). Insufficient protein intake or imbalanced nutrients can severely limit muscle development.

Therefore, we need to pay attention to the quality and quantity of feed to ensure that cattle can get enough nutrition.

First of all, the quality of feed is the key. High-quality feed is rich in nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, fat, and vitamins, which can meet the growth needs of cattle. Poor-quality feed will lead to malnutrition of cattle, thus affecting the growth and health of cattle.

Secondly, the amount of feed is also very important. If the feed is insufficient, the cattle will suffer from malnutrition, which will affect the growth and health of the cattle. Therefore, cattle farmers can reasonably arrange the amount of feed according to factors such as the age, weight, and production stage of the cattle to ensure that the cattle can get enough nutrition.

In addition to getting nutrition from daily feed, we can also use “Quick Fattener for Cattle and Sheep”. It is a nutritional supplement specially developed for cattle, which contains vitamins, probiotics, and other trace elements, which can effectively supplement the nutrients needed by the cattle.

 

3. Health Issues

Disease and parasites are important factors that affect the growth and development of cattle. If cattle are suffering from diseases or are harmed by parasites, their appetite will decrease, resulting in insufficient nutrition intake, which will seriously affect the meat growth of beef cattle.

Solution: Regular physical examinations and deworming of cattle should be carried out to detect and treat diseases on time. More importantly, the disease resistance of cattle should be improved to avoid the harm of diseases or parasites.

For parasites, the commonly used drugs on the market are ivermectin, albendazole, praziquantel, closantel sodium, etc. For diseases, we must cooperate with veterinary experts promptly to facilitate follow-up consultation and examination.

 

4. Ingestion of Foreign Matter

If beef cattle ingest indigestible foreign matter, such as glass slag, nails, and other foreign matter, it will cause the cattle’s forestomach to relax, lose appetite, or stop eating. This will have a great impact on the growth rate of cattle and even seriously threaten the lives of cattle.

Therefore, care should be taken to prevent the mixing of foreign matter during feeding.

 

5. Poor Stomach Digestion and Absorption

The stomach of cattle is an important organ for digestion and absorption of nutrients. If the stomach of cattle is not good, it will seriously affect the cattle’s intake of sufficient nutrition. At the same time, it is not suitable for cattle to be hungry for a long time or overeat, otherwise, it will affect the digestion and absorption function, and most of the stomach problems of cows are caused by these problems.

Solution: therefore, strengthening the stomach to promote digestion and absorption is the key breakthrough. In the process of raising cattle, we can use “Quick Fattener for Cattle and Sheep”, which can effectively improve the digestion ability of cattle and enhance the digestive function of cattle. At the same time, it can also improve the conversion rate of feed and promote cattle to grow meat faster.

 

6. Beef Cattle Breeds

Different beef cattle breeds have different growth rates. Some breeds grow faster, while others grow slower. In the breeding process, we must choose different beef cattle breeds according to our own conditions. If you are grazing in mountainous areas, choose some small and slow-growing beef cattle breeds. If you are grazing in grasslands, choose some hybrid and improved beef cattle breeds. If you are raising cattle in captivity, choose large and fast-growing beef cattle breeds.

 

7. Environmental Stress

The living environment of beef cattle has a great influence on their growth and development.

Harsh Conditions: Extreme temperatures, inadequate shelter, and high stress levels can lead to reduced feed intake and conversion efficiency in beef cattle, negatively affecting meat growth.

Generally, the best environment temperature for fattening beef cattle should be 10-21℃. When the temperature is lower than 7℃, the cattle will produce more heat to maintain body temperature, so they need to consume more feed. When the environment temperature is higher than 27℃, the feed intake of beef cattle will decrease and weight gain will be slow. Besides, never treat cattle violently, as this can easily cause them stress and lead to adverse consequences.

Overcrowding: High stocking densities can also increase stress and lead to health problems, both of which can reduce meat growth rates. Pay attention to the reasonable distribution of the number of cattle in the cowshed.

 

8. Management Practices

Improper feeding and management is also one of the reasons why cattle do not gain meat but remain thin. For example:

Inadequate Feeding Practices: Irregular feeding schedules or insufficient feed quality can severely impact growth.

Poor Handling: Rough handling can stress cattle, leading to decreased performance in terms of weight gain and overall health.

 

9. Age and Developmental Stage

Once cattle reach maturity, their growth rate naturally slows down, and so does the meat growth rate. You can shift your focus from growth to maintaining weight for market or breeding.

 

10. Hormonal Imbalances

Endocrine Disorders: Issues with the endocrine system can disrupt the beef cattle’s hormones that regulate growth and development, thereby affecting the speed and quality of meat growth. In this regard, you can consult your veterinarian if there are any relevant medications.

 

Conclusion

In summary, there are many reasons why beef cattle do not grow meat, which need to be comprehensively analyzed and solved from multiple aspects such as feed, health, nutrition, feeding management, etc. Only by ensuring the health and nutritional intake of cattle can cattle grow meat healthily and bring more benefits to us farmers.