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Step-by-step guides for every animal, the garden, orchard, pasture and compost: getting started, housing, feeding, daily care, breeding, health and harvest.
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Read Their Articles →Raising Cattle
A family milk cow or a few beef steers are the biggest step on a homestead. They need good pasture, steady hay, strong fences and a plan for the whole year.
- Pregnancy
- about 283 days
- Wean calves
- 6–8 months
- Hay
- about 2–2.5% of body weight a day
- Water
- 10–20+ gallons a day
- Grass-fed beef
- 18–30 months
1Getting started
- Beef: Angus, Hereford, Dexter (small). Dairy: Jersey (rich milk, small frame), Guernsey, Dexter.
- Cattle are herd animals — two or more.
- Pasture needs vary from under one acre per cow in wet country to many acres in dry country; ask your extension office about your area.
2Fencing and shelter
- Woven, barbed or high-tensile wire 4.5–5 ft, or well-built electric for rotation.
- A windbreak and dry ground matter more than a barn; give shade in summer.
- A strong pen and head gate make vet work and loading safe.
3Feeding
- Grass and hay are the diet; plan hay for every month without grazing.
- Free-choice cattle minerals and salt.
- Bloat is a risk on lush clover and alfalfa — fill them on hay before turning out on it.
4Breeding and calving
- Breed heifers at about 15 months to calve at 2 years.
- Use AI or borrow a bull; a bull is dangerous to keep for a small herd.
- A calf should nurse colostrum within the first hours.
5Health
- Work out a vaccine plan with a vet (clostridial vaccines are standard).
- Watch for pinkeye in summer, foot rot, and cows that stop chewing cud.
- Never turn your back on a bull or a protective cow with a new calf.
6Milk and beef
- A family cow milks for about 10 months; share-milking (leaving the calf on part-time) gives you days off.
- Chill milk to 40°F within an hour.
- Hanging weight is about 60% of live weight; take-home beef about 60–65% of hanging weight.
Space guide
For each animalFencing: Woven, barbed or high-tensile wire, 4.5–5 ft
- Calving pen about 10 × 12 ft
- Pasture needs vary greatly with rainfall and grass
Rules of thumb — more room is always better, and breed, climate and local rules can change what you need. Sketch it out in the Barn & Garden Planner.
Put it to work
These free tools keep the records for you once you’ve made an account:
These are rules of thumb from university extension guidance. Breed, climate and your state’s rules change the details — your county extension office is the best place to ask, and you can find it on the selling rules page by ZIP code.