Cattle raising may be geared towards dairy or meat production or its combination. Many cattle raisers may think that if they have chosen the right breed and gave them the right food, then their animals will give them the optimum production that they desire. For them, these two factors are the main contributory aspects for cattle raising and they tend to consider other aspects as insignificant such as providing adequate fence for their cattle farm. If this is also how you think, then you are taking the wrong path in cattle raising whether for dairy or for meat production.
It is true that choosing the proper breed and providing adequate food will greatly enhance your production but there is another factor that you should consider. That is – providing the right living conditions for your animals.
Exposing your cows to a stressful environment will significantly decrease their dairy production. Too much stress would even cause a cow to stop producing milk. It will also affect the quality of their beef due to the constant strain in their muscles caused by stress. It will take away the moisture and would toughen their beef.
Installing an electric fence would prevent your cattle from straying and would also help provide the ideal environment for your livestock by warding away external disturbances such as stray animals from other farms. Knowing which type of electric fence to install will lead you one step closer to your goal of having optimum production.
Which kind of electric fence is best for cattle?
For cattle enclosures, the bare type wires are most recommended particularly the steel wires. This type of wire carries higher charge and would serve both purposes for installing your fence which is to keep your cattle in and to keep other animals out. Installing high tensile fence would enhance current flow and would improve the overall quality of your fence.
The height of your fence should be at least 4’ and the spacing between fence posts should be about 6’ to 10’. Use wooden posts for corners and wood or fiberglass as line posts. Don’t use metal posts since these would dampen the flow of current.
In choosing the correct fence charger, make sure that it can carry power throughout the mileage of your fence. It would be a grave mistake to leave other parts of the fence poorly charged due to lack of power. Your fence is only as strong as its weakest parts.
Introduce your animals to the fence.
Training your cattle to the effects of the fence would condition them to stay away and would prevent too much stress. The cattle herd training would require repetition. You should let them graze near the fence while maintain a low charge so they could grasp the effect of the fence. You could increase the charge every training session until such time that your animals would develop an instinct to maintain a considerable distance from the electric fence.
In order to achieve your goal of earning high returns, you should invest money and time for every dime you want to earn. Installing an electric fence and considering these simple steps would help ensure that your cattle have an ideal environment to live in until such time that they are fit for harvest. This is a simple milestone to your ultimate goal.