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What Is the Difference Between Beef Cows and Dairy Cows
Even though cattle may expect similar, they're not all the same. Beef and dairy cattle are used for different purposes and require different levels of care.
Cattle can announced in various colors, patterns, and sizes. In fact, no ii patterns are the same!
Dairy cows are used for milk production and are always female. They tin only produce milk if they've had a dogie. Beef cattle can exist male or female and are used for meat consumption.
Before a moo-cow has her get-go dogie, she'due south known as a heifer. She becomes a cow after she gives birth.
If male cattle are castrated, they're known as steers. If they are intact, they are called bulls. Typically, simply the steers are used for meat production.
Cows, steers, and bulls can all exist beefiness cattle, but only dairy cows tin be used to produce milk.
Now that we know the different terms, let's look at other differences betwixt these ii types of cattle.
Visual Differences
Paradigm Credit: Left (Beef Cattle) Alexas_Fotos, Pixabay; Right (Dairy Cattle) wernerdetje, Pixabay
At a Glance
Beef Cattle
Origin: Bharat, Red china, Center East
Size: 1,400–two,400 pounds
Lifespan: Natural lifespan of 15–xx years, shortened to 1–two years on a cattle farm
Domesticated?: Yes
Dairy Cattle
Origin: Netherlands
Size: ane,400–ii,000 pounds
Lifespan: Natural lifespan of 20 years, shortened to four.5–half-dozen years on a dairy subcontract
Domesticated?: Yes
Beefiness Cattle Overview
Image Credit: AnitaBozic, Pixabay
Characteristics & Appearance
Beef cattle have stocky, muscular bodies. They have short necks, thick backs, and round legs. Their colors vary depending on the breed, but common colors include black, white, cream, ruby, brown, and tan. These are hardy animals that can withstand harsh atmospheric condition conditions.
Beef cattle eat hay, grass, and feed grain. The females produce milk, merely just enough to feed their calves. These animals spend their days grazing in pastures until they reach their maximum weight potential and muscle mass. Then they are sent to slaughterhouses.
Uses
The primary and near mutual use of beef cattle is to produce meat. Steaks, roasts, prime cuts of beefiness, hamburgers, and more all come from beef cattle. Just they tin can supply so much more than just meat.
Only 60% of the fauna turns into beef that tin can be sold and consumed. The rest becomes past-products. These are the skin, bones, organs, and fat of the animal. These can be used for other things.
Leather: This is made from cowhide and is used to make article of clothing, piece of furniture, sporting equipment, and more.
Gelatin: This is made from the tissue of the fauna and is used in annihilation with a jiggly consistency. Clot-O, gummy candy, and marshmallows are fabricated from gelatin.
Medicine: Ointments, adhesive bandages, and sure organ transplant medications are made using beefiness by-products.
Other items: Nail smooth, dish soap, glue, toilet paper, tires, and dog food all come from beefiness by-products.
Dairy Cattle Overview
Image Credit: Pixabay
Characteristics & Appearance
The near common dairy cow is the Holstein, known for its black and white coloring and patterns. Depending on the breed, dairy cows tin be brown, tan, white, or golden.
Their energy is used for producing milk and they require a large amount of it. Dairy cows produce betwixt seven and nine gallons of milk a day. Their bodies are sparse with long necks and visible backbones. Their legs are narrow. Since they aren't meant to produce meat, they aren't stocky like beefiness cattle.
Dairy cows eat grass and grain, but they also consume the remnants of other products. For example, orange pulp from making orange juice and canola meal from making canola oil. The cows tin can get nutritional benefits from these products that would otherwise exist thrown abroad.
Uses
Dairy cows are used for milk product, which is also used to make dairy products. Cheese, ice foam, butter, yogurt, and more than are made because of dairy cows.
Dairy cows have to repeatedly get meaning to keep producing milk. Older cows eventually tin can't become pregnant anymore. When it is no longer profitable to keep the dairy cow, they will exist sent to slaughter. Since they are usually much older than beef cattle when this happens, the meat they provide will be of lower quality. Instead of existence used for prime cuts of beef, they are used for hamburgers, footing beef, and ground chuck.
What Are the Differences Between Beefiness Cattle & Dairy Cattle?
Paradigm Credit: Piqsels
Dairy cattle produce milk that is far greater than the needs of their calves. They've been purposely bred to produce great quantities of milk. This is a stark dissimilarity to beef cattle that just produce enough milk for their offspring to consume. The Holstein breed of dairy cattle produces milk with a large amount of fatty content.
Dairy cattle are more sensitive to rut than beef cattle, so they are usually kept in cooler areas with large amounts of rainfall. Beef cattle can be kept across larger areas because they can tolerate hot conditions.
Farming either type of cattle is expensive both in budgetary and environmental terms. The feed, land, water, and farming equipment used to make beef and milk production take the highest environmental impacts of any type of food farmed in the United States.
The average price of a dairy cow is between $900–$three,000. The average cost of a beef moo-cow is $2,800.
Which Brood Is Right for Yous?
Taking cost into consideration may be the first identify to start when you're deciding to raise cattle. Farming either dairy or beef cattle or both will enable your subcontract to be assisting and supply you lot and your family with your own milk, dairy, and meat products.
The breeds that you choose for each purpose volition depend on your land space and the quality of care that each breed requires. All cattle grow to be big, merely some are larger than others.
Your climate is also something to consider, every bit dairy cows don't tolerate hot weather well.
Dual-purpose cattle will supply you with both meat and milk, just since they aren't bred specifically for i purpose, they won't produce the aforementioned amount of each production as specific meat or dairy cows. If y'all need to maximize your space, farming these cattle may be an selection.
Next on your reading list:
Sanganer Cattle
Canchim Cattle Breed
Featured Prototype Credit: Top: WolfBlur, Pixabay, Bottom: JACLOU-DL, Pixabay
