Skip to main content

Belgian Blue Cattle Farming

Belgian Blue cattle farming is pretty popular, especially in it's native area. It is a beef cattle breed which is raised mainly for meat production purpose. But the breed is also pretty good for producing milk.

As the name suggests, the Belgian Blue cattle breed was originated from Belgium. It is named so mainly because of it's origin country and it's typically blue-grey mottled hair color (although, their color can vary from white to black).

It is also known by some other names such as Race de la Moyenne et Haute Belgique, Blanc-Bleu Belge (French), Belgian White and Blue Pied, Belgian Blue-White, Belgian White Blue, Blue and Blue Belgian.

The Belgian Blue cattle breed is gaining popularity as a beef cattle breed throughout the world, and can be found mainly in Brazil, Canada, Europe, United States and New Zealand.

Hyper-sculpted, Extremely lean and ultra muscular physique of the Belgian Blue cattle is termed, ‘double-muscling. The double muscling phenotype of the breed is a heritable condition resulting in an increased number of muscle fibers (hyperplasia), instead of the normal enlargement of individual muscle fibers. This particular trait is shared with another cattle breed known as Piedmontese cattle.

The Belgian Blue cattle breed was developed from crossing local cattle breeds with a Shorthorn cattle breed from the United Kingdom. It is also possible that the Charolais cattle breed were cross bred as well. The Belgian Blue cattle breed was first used as a dairy cattle breed, and then used for both meat and milk production purpose.

The modern Belgian Blue beef cattle breed was developed by Professor Handset in the 1950s, who was working at an artificial insemination center in Leige province.

The breed’s characteristic gene mutation was maintained through linebreeding to the point where the condition was a fixed property in the Belgian Blue breed. The breed was first introduced to the United States by Nick Tutt in 1978.

However, currently the Belgian Blue cattle breed is used mainly as a beef cattle breed. And it is also good for producing milk. So, starting commercial Belgian Blue cattle farming will be a good and profitable business idea.

How to Start Belgian Blue Cattle Farming

The Belgian Blue cattle are very strong and hardy animals. They are well adapted to their local environment, and can do well in many other climatic conditions. So, starting commercial Belgian Blue cattle farming will be relatively easy. Here we are trying to describe more information about starting and operating a successful Belgian Blue cattle farming business from purchasing animals to caring and marketing.

Purchase Cattle

First of all, you have to purchase very good quality, active, healthy and diseases free animals for starting your Belgian Blue cattle farming business. Purchasing good quality animals is very important, because good quality animals ensure good production and maximum profits.

belgian blue cattle, about belgian blue cattle, caring belgian blue cattle, breeding belgian blue cattle, feeding belgian blue cattle, housing belgian blue cattle, raising belgian blue cattle, how to raise belgian blue cattle, belgian blue cattle farming, belgian blue cattle farming business, commercial belgian blue cattle farming, commercial belgian blue cattle farming business, how to start belgian blue cattle farming

So, try to purchase very good quality animals. You can purchase the animals from any of your nearest livestock market or any existing Belgian Blue cattle farms. Just ensure that the animals are of very good quality, healthy and active.

Housing

Arranging good, secure and comfortable housing system is very important for commercial Belgian Blue cattle farming business. Because a good house not only helps the animals to stay healthy, but also helps them to stay free from adverse weather conditions and wild predators.

Exact type of the house can be any depending on your budget, and also on the availability of housing materials in your area. It can be of full concrete setup, or you can build the house with low cost and easily available materials (such as bamboo or wood). Just ensure that the house is secure and comfortable for the animals.

The Belgian Blue cattle are classified as a large sized breed. So, they will require more housing space. Ensure adequate space is available inside the house depending on the number of your animals.

Install good ventilation system inside the house, and ensure flow of sufficient amount of fresh air and light inside the house. Try to make the house in such a way so that you can easily clean the house. And try to clean the house regularly.

Feeding

Feeding the animals with very good quality and nutritious food is the most important part of Belgian Blue cattle farming business. Good foods not only help the animals to stay healthy, but also help them to grow better and produce more. So, always try to provide your animals with enough nutritious food.

The Belgian Blue cattle are beef cattle breed. So they will require more grains in their diet than greens. You can also consider feeding your animals with silage, especially during the dry season.

Like many other domestic cattle breeds, the Belgian Blue cattle also require lots of clean and fresh drinking water. So always try to provide your animals with adequate clean and fresh drinking water as per their demand. Never provide them with polluted water or contaminated feeds.

Breeding

The Belgian Blue cattle are naturally very good breeders, just like many other domestic cattle breeds. They will breed easily if you keep good ratio of bulls and cows in your herd. You can also consider artificial insemination method for breeding your cows.

Caring

Taking good care of your animals is the most important part of Belgian Blue cattle farming business. Because good caring helps the animals to stay healthy and produce more. So, always try to take good care of your animals. Vaccinate and de-worm them timely, and always try to keep good contact with a vet in your area.

Marketing

Marketing cattle products is not a problem. Because cattle products have very good demand and value in the market. Hope you will probably be able to easily sell your products in the local market. Although, you should set your marketing strategies before starting this business.

These are the common steps and ways for starting and operating a successful Belgian Blue cattle farming business. Raising Belgian Blue cattle is very easy, even the beginners can also raise them. Hope this guide has helped you! Good luck & may God bless you!

Comments

Popular Posts

Murray Grey Cattle

The Murray Grey cattle are a breed of beef cattle from Australia. It was developed in the upper Murray River valley on the New South Wales. The breed was developed in 1905 from an initial chance mating of a black Aberdeen Angus bull and a roan Shorthorn cow during the Federation drought. From these matings the resulting thirteen dun-grey calves were kept as curiosities. And then Peter and Ena Sutherland bred them on the Thologolong property along the Murray River in New South Wales. Murray Grey cattle grew faster and were good converters of feed and produced quality carcases. These are the reasons this animals become very popular after their development. And local farmers became interested soon in these animals and began breeding them. The first large scale commercial farms were established in the 1940s. Today the breed is available in many countries. Both live Murray Grey cattle and embryos have been exported to many countries such as Canada, South America, New Ze...

Sorting Cattle

Sorting cattle is important if you have a large number of animals. For better management you will need to separate the animals into different groups depending on their age, size, gender or condition score. If some cattle of your herd need to be examined by a veterinarian or confined due to injury or illness, then separation may also need to be done. Sorting is also needed for separating the calves that need to be weaned from their mothers. And separating the bulls is also necessary after they have done their duty with breeding cows. Sorting Cattle Sorting cattle is not actually a difficult task. It can be done easily if you understand stockmanship principles that take advantage of bovine psychology and behavior. However, here we are describing more about the ways of sorting cattle. Sorting From a Squeeze Chute In this system you can move your cattle through a working corral into a chute system into the squeeze. In this system you can check and process animals f...

Andalusian Black Cattle Farming

Andalusian Black cattle farming is not too popular, even in it's native area. It is a relatively rare breed which is valued for meat production. But today, the breed is listed as 'endangered', and total number of the breed is very less. The Andalusian Black cattle is a taurine cattle breed, and it was originated in west Andalusia, Spain. It is also known by some other names such as Negra de las Campiñas, Negra Campiñesa and Spanish: Negra Andaluza. The Andalusian Black cattle is actually a beef cattle breed which is raised primarily for meat production purpose. The breed is found in two main areas of west Andalusia (from Cordova to the foothills of the Sierra Morena), and in the provinces of Seville, Cádiz and Huelva. Today, total population of the Andalusian Black cattle breed is very less. And there were about 800 purebred cattle in the year of 2007. Total number of this breed decreased mainly for crossbreeding with other local cattle breeds. Other reason...

Belted Galloway Cattle Farming

Belted Galloway cattle farming is popular, especially in it's native area. It is a beef cattle breed and raised mainly for meat production purpose. The breed is also known by some other names such as Beltie, Oreo Cow and Panda Cow. The Belted Galloway cattle breed was originated from Galloway in the west side of Southern Scotland. It is a heritage breed, and is well adapted to living on the poor upland pastures and wildswept moorlands of the region. Exact origins of the breed are unclear. But it is often surmised that the white belt of the breed may be a result of cross breeding with the Dutch Lakenvelder belted cattle. And the breed is named so mainly because of the belt. An association for the breed named the Belted Galloway Association was formed in 1921 in Scotland. And the name of the association was changed to Belted Galloway Society in the year of 1951. The association keeps and records pedigrees for Belted Galloways and oversees the registration of White and Re...

Cleaning A Cow

Cleaning a cow in the proper way can keep the animal look and feel fresh. Cleaning also help to prevent external parasites. You may also need to clean your cow to show it off at your local county fair or other occasions. And you need to clean your cows more often especially if you have dairy cows. You can integrate a spraying system for cleaning a cow once a day or so. Along with cleaning the body, you should also provide a footbath for better health of the cow's hooves. However, here we are describing more about the process of cleaning a cow. Sprinkler System Add Sprinkler in a Pre-milking Wash Pen You can construct a pre-milking wash pen with sprinklers for cleaning multiple cows. In this system, install sprinklers all along the pen you hold the cows in before milking. Using concrete for the floor will be good. It will help to keep the floor dry quickly and you will not have a constantly muddy area. You should spray sprinklers both up and down to wash the cows th...

Agerolese Cattle Farming

Agerolese cattle farming is not common, even in it's native area. It is a dairy cattle breed which is raised mainly for milk production purpose in it's native area. It is a pretty rare breed and not available outside it's native area. The Agerolese cattle is actually from the area of Agerola, in Campania in southern Italy. It was developed from cross-breeding of indigenous Podolica cattle with Bruna Italiana, Italian Holstein-Friesian and Jersey cattle. The breed is particularly associated with the Sorrento Peninsula and Monti Lattari. The Agerolese cattle is one of the 16 minor Italian cattle breeds of limited diffusion recognized and protected by the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture. There were a total of 200 animals available according to a census completed on 1 January 2002. And the conservation status of the Agerolese cattle breed was reported by the FAO as 'endangered-maintained' in 200...

Ankole-Watusi Cattle Farming

Ankole-Watusi cattle farming is pretty popular, especially in it's native area. It is a multi-purpose breed of domestic cattle which is raised and valued for show, draught, meat and milk production purpose. The Ankole-Watusi cattle is a landrace breed, a type of Sanga cattle and originally native to East Africa. It is also known as Ankole Longhorn, and also sometimes known simply as Ankole or Watusi. Ankole-Watusi cattle is actually an ancient breed, and ancient rock paintings and depictions of these animals have been observed in the Sahara region and in the Egyptian arts and pyramid walls. The Sanga breed has spread to the Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and some other parts of Eastern Africa, becoming the base stock of the indigenous African cattle populations. It has most of the usual Zebu characteristics such as the pendulous dewlap and sheath, hump of variable size and the upturned horns. The Ankole-Watusi cattle have played a very important role in the lives of various ...