How much does a bull weigh: averages and table by age, top 4 calculation methods

Before buying livestock, a livestock breeder wants to know as much as possible about the breed and characteristics of the animals. The weight of cows and bulls is one of the most important criteria by which representatives of cattle varieties are evaluated. Consider how much a cow and a bull of different breeds weigh, what is the largest mass of representatives of the species, what it depends on, how to find out the approximate weight of an animal using different methods.

How much do cattle weigh on average?

The average weight of male, female and calves depends on the breed. Dairy cows weigh much less than beef cows. Weight information is needed to make the best diet, calculate the doses of drugs for treatment and more.

Bull

Adult male cattle weigh more than females.

from 650-850 kg

Age of animal	Body weight
1 year	300-350 kg
3 years	from 450 kg
From 5 years

However, the breed affects the weight values. A breeding bull of a meat breed can weigh a maximum of 1100 kg. The yield of pure meat also depends on the breed, but, on average, it is 55-60%.

Cow

The fatness of females depends on age, breed and even the stage of lactation. Females older than 5 years and representatives of the meat direction are always larger, with greater live weight than young and dairy ones. The mass of animals must comply with the norms for age and breed.

1 year200 kg 3 years From 5 years

from 300 kg
from 400-500 kg

Calf

The weight of a baby from birth to a year varies greatly, but also depends on the breed variety and its sex. On the day they can gain 0.5-1.8 kg. Weight gain grows up to 10 months, then remains at a constant level. The weight of a one-year-old bull is more than 400 kg.

Newborn 1 month 6-8 months 10 months 1 year

30-40kg
50kg
100 -180 kg (heifers), 200-210 kg (steers)
200-350 kg
400-450kg

Categories

In addition to the average weight, 4 categories are distinguished: the best selected, 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade.Basically, this is a characteristic of beef cattle, where you can clearly see how much an animal gains for fattening.

Selectivefrom 500 kg1 grade 2 grade 3 grade up to 300 kg

Categories	Weight of bulls
Average weight	600-850 kg
400-500kg
350-450kg

Beef cows are heavier than dairy cows, between them are representatives of the meat and dairy direction.

What affects weight?

In addition to sex and age, the weight that the animal will have is affected by the breed, feed and conditions in which the livestock is kept. Weight may vary widely.

Breed dependent

Representatives of any breed must correspond in weight to the characteristics of their variety. The breed standard determines, among other things, the mass of livestock.Meat animals have the largest mass, as they have powerful muscle mass. Dairy ones do not have such muscles, they spend nutrients on the formation of milk. Meat and dairy cows are universal in this regard, from which you can get both meat and milk.

Dairy individuals have little meat and it is of rather low quality, since milk is considered their main value. These cows are sent for slaughter due to age or disease.

Containment conditions

Certain conditions contribute to the accumulation of body weight in cows. For example, it is not recommended to graze and walk beef cattle for a long time so that they do not waste energy in vain. How a cow will grow and develop also depends on the temperature and microclimatic conditions of detention. It should not be too cold in the barn so that the animals do not expend energy on heating, it should not be damp, dark, and there should be no drafts. All this requires cows to expend energy to maintain body temperature and the body's defenses.

To get as much meat as you need, you need to keep cattle in spacious, ventilated rooms, in clean stalls covered with straw. Bedding should be cleaned every day, manure removed. Removing manure makes the air clean, animals do not suffer from respiratory pathologies. Not to mention infections. Sick individuals lose weight, quickly shedding accumulated kilograms, which, of course, is reflected in their mass.

The same applies to other diseases, such as metabolic diseases, digestive tract, postpartum complications.

The mental state of animals also matters; calm, contented cows grow and gain weight quickly. This is facilitated not only by good full-fledged feeding and care, but also by walks in the fresh air, where animals breathe air, bask in the sun.

Feeding animals

The diet of cattle should be complete, saturated with nutrients, animals should be fed according to the regimen. It should contain succulent feed (fresh grass, vegetables and root crops, in winter - silage), coarse (fresh hay and clean straw), concentrates (grain and grain waste), vitamins and mineral impurities. You can feed with compound feed and feed mixtures, in which all components are selected correctly and in the right concentrations. Cows grow quickly on compound feed and eat it with pleasure, which is expressed in the desired muscle growth. The only disadvantage of this growing method is the high cost of feed.

In order for the mass of animals to increase in accordance with the norms characteristic of the breed, cattle must be fed correctly. Cows should receive enough feed to cover their physiological needs and still have enough for growth. Only in this case, the expected weight will correspond to the breed characteristics.

Feeding regimen: for calves - up to 5 times, for adults - 2-3 times a day. If it is violated in the direction of reducing the frequency of feeding, the animals receive less nutrients and gradually lose weight.

How do I know the weight?

When buying livestock, you can roughly find out its weight without weighing it on a scale. Weight information can tell a lot about an animal. For example, if a calf or an adult animal does not reach the norm in terms of weight, then this may indicate that it is weakened or sick. It is risky to buy such an individual, since it will not grow and develop correctly, the maintenance and feeding of such a cow will not be economically profitable.

Different methods are used to measure. For each of them, only a centimeter tape is needed. Errors in the calculations of 20-30 kg are allowed. Cows can be weighed at any time, calves can be weighed every 2 weeks to monitor their growth.

According to the girth of the chest and belly

Place the tape on the back of the cow, wrap around the chest behind the shoulder blades and front legs. You need to stretch the tape moderately so that it does not sag, but it is also not tightly tightened. Then they measure the girth of the belly along its most protruding part. Weight is calculated according to a simple formula: (A + B): 2 + 50, where A is the 1st measurement, B is the 2nd measurement.

According to the regression equation

Here the only measurement is chest girth. Its value must be substituted into this formula:

• 5.3 x A - 507, where A is the circumference of the chest of the animal 170-180 cm;
• 5.3 x A - 486 - girth 180-190 cm;
• 5.3 x A - 465 - girth over 191 cm.

The chest is measured in the same way as in the previous example.

According to the Klüver-Strauch method

The method is recognized as one of the most accurate. For calculations, you will need measurements of the chest and oblique body length. It is measured by stretching the tape from the protruding joints of the thigh to the protruding point of the sternum. The measurements are added and 50 is subtracted from the resulting number.

According to Trukhanovsky's method

The difference between this method and the previous one is that the values are not added and subtracted, but multiplied and then divided by 50.

Bulls-record holders

The heaviest bull had a weight of 1740 kg, weight at the withers - 1.9 m. He lived in Switzerland and belonged to the porcelain breed. In England, there is a male Charolais breed, which weighs a little less - 1700 kg. Bulls named Chili and Freesian Trigger weigh 1.3 and 1.2 tons respectively. Their height matches the mass - 1.9 m.

There are record holders among cows too. The leader is a mixture of Holstein and Durkhman breeds weighing 2270 kg. Her measurements - height at the withers 1.88 m, chest girth - 3 m 96 cm. This cow lived in the 1st half of the 20th century, and the modern record holder weighs more than a ton and has grown to 1.83 cm at the withers.

The weight of bulls and cows in domestic livestock production is of great importance, especially for breeds raised for meat. If the mass of livestock meets the standards, it is he althy and productive.If not, it may indicate illness or poor care. Weight can be approximately found out by formulas specially designed for calculating it in domestic cattle. This is necessary for the livestock breeder to properly organize the feeding and care of cows.

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