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Even though it is costly to maintain, it is a profitable business that anyone can do and get unlimited profits from. Therefore, it has been tagged as one of most
lucrative businesses in Nigeria. You can sell a fully-grown cattle for about N200, 000 and even more in some cases. Let’s discuss the benefits attached to Cattle farming business.
THE UNDENIABLE PROFITS/BENEFITS IN CATTLE FARMING
The joyful thing about this business is that the product is consumed by most Nigerians. Beef (Cattle’s meat) is very popular in Nigeria and around Africa. That means if you go into this business, you have millions of potential customers waiting for you.
In the cattle farming business, you don’t have to concern yourself so much about diseases, because this specie of animal is duly immune to large amount of diseases.
While you bother yourself less about diseases, because of the nature of the livestock, cattle love moving around. You may need to take them through grazing which is their main mode of feeding. However, you need to be alert of predators such as snakes and other brutal animals. You also must be careful of fields that has been sprayed with poison.
Cattle farming business is very profitable beyond the meat (beef). There are many other opportunities to make money in this business. Cattle also produce milk. You can even make more money from the milk than the meat.
The skin (hide) is used to make leather which is a very important part of fashion. The Cattle’s blood can also be used as part of the components of fertilizers and the faeces can also be utilized as a manure to grow crops. There are different breeds of cattle such as Azawal, sokoto gudali, wadata, white Fulani and some other breeds.
It is important we remind ourselves that they are ruminant animal with horns and two pair of toes. They are most rated for the purpose of meat supply because when we visualize the rate at which meat is being consumed, we will discover that it is a good business to venture into. They are also rated for milk, hide and skin, manure and as draught animals to work on the farm.
TYPE OF CATTLE FARMING
Cattle farming be classified based on their breeds. It has three main categories, which are;
1. Beef cattle: this breed is for the purpose of meat production
2. Dairy cattle: they are reared for milk production.
3. Dual purpose Cattle: They are reared to produce milk and meat
ECONOMIC ADVANTAGES OF CATTLE FARMING IN NIGERIA
1. They provide meat and milk
2. They can be used in farm for the purpose of ploughing.
3. The hide and skin are used for fashion
4. Their blood and bones are uses for meal and feeds for chickens or other animals.
5. It is also a source of employment and income to people.
6. Their feaces is a very good source of fertilizer for plants.
7. Source of revenue to some territories.
8. Fertilizers can be gotten from blood, bones, and offal of cattle.
STEPS TO START A CATTLE BUSINESS
Follow these steps to start a Cattle farming
1. MAKE A PLAN
Your first step will be to strategize and develop a good business plan . Decide the number of the cattle you want to start with depending on the capital you have on ground. Count the cost of their feeding, medications and other expenses. You must also know that this business takes patient, so you must apply patient.
2. SECURE A GOOD LOCATION
This is vital because all your investment depends on how good your location is. It should be a highly safe and secure location within a trustworthy community, It also should not be so far from the town or city, because you might get buyers.
It always good you secure a good land that can be conducive enough to accommodate the activities of your cattle. As a result of this, acres of spaces are needed.
3. GET THE ESSENTIAL TOOLS READY
Acquire the necessary equipment that is needed to rear the animals. You will also need to build a fence around the location. The cows will also need shed to secure themselves when there is rain or excess sun.
4. ACQUIRE CATTLE
Your next step should be to acquire the cattle that you need to start with. You can get them from local market scattered around the country. It is advisable that you go with someone who has been into the business to guide you.
5. EMPLOY A VET DOCTOR
A veterinary doctor is needed for absolute safety of the cattle. This will help you incase of emergency. They will also help you ensure that your cattle develop good stamina and fat.
6. EMPLOYEES
This is gradual as your business keeps getting bigger. The truth is that you can’t do everything, so you will need assistance of some other parties of which you will need to pay them in return. The best set of people to employ are the herdsmen.
7. MARKETING YOUR CATTLE
Cattle meat is very much in demand so you should have no problem. There are many meat markets in scattered around all cities, you can supply meas to them.
You can sell directly to butchers. Another option is to sell the cut and well packed meats to supermarket and big restaurants. You can milk the cows and people will come for the milk. The possibility is endless.:
THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR IN CATTLE FARMING IN NIGERIA
Management of cattle: how to take care of the cattle is vital. There are three major ways you can manage your cattle from young age to market size:
1. Breeding to calving(birth) : breeders are housed in a pen that is specially made for the new born. The floor of the pen must be well concrete and galvanized roofing sheets. Bulls and heifers should be at least 24 months before breeding.
2. Birth of calf to weaning : After the birth of the calf, the mucous around the new born should be immediately wiped out especially the nostril part, so that they can breathe with ease without delay. The calf should be helped in many cases by you so that they can take adequate milk. Another model to manage cattle is by castrating them so that they can grow fat and fresh, suitable for meat. It also supports you control indiscriminate mating.
3. Weaning to Finishing : the calves should be placed on a kind of diet that can help them with high concentration and low roughages. There is also a need to restrict movement within the building pending the time they increase in statue.
A German study found that cows tend to face either magnetic north or south when grazing or resting, regardless of the sun's position. (Photo: smereka/Shutterstock)
With those vacuous big eyes, galumphing gate and generally lazy-seeming demeanor, cows don't get credit for much beyond providing the milk and meat that much of the world relies on. But in truth, there's a lot more to cattle than just a bunch of Bessies sitting around chewing their cud.
Consider the following facts:
1. Domestic cows are descendants of wild oxen known as aurochs, and they were first domesticated in southeast Turkey around 10,500 years ago. From the original 80 progenitors, an estimated 1.3 billion cattle exist today.
2. When scientists mapped out the bovine genome in 2009, they discovered that cattle have about 22,000 genes; 80 percent of their genes are shared with humans.
3. The word "cattle" comes from the Old French "chatel," as in chattel, meaning property. In many parts of the world, cattle remain an indicator of economic wealth.
4. Female cattle are called cows; male cattle are called bulls. Generally in the English language we have a single word that we can use to refer to both the male or female of a species — like cat or dog. But cows are unique in that we don't have a singular noun that refers equally to an adult cow or a bull; we just have cattle, which is plural. That said, in colloquial usage cattle are often referred to as cows, like in some of the references here.
Cows don't sleep standing up, and they usually lie down for at least 10 hours a day.
5. Cows spend 10 to 12 hours a day lying down.
6. The average sleep time of a domestic cow is about four hours a day; unlike horses, they don't sleep standing up.
7. Drunken rural carousers swear by their stories of tipping over cows in the middle of the night, but most experts assert that there's more urban myth going on than actual tipping. A 2005 study at the University of British Columbia concluded that tipping a cow would require an exertion of 2,910 newtons of force; meaning that a 4'7" cow pushed at an angle of 23.4 degrees relative to the ground would require the equivalent strength of 4.43 people to tip the poor thing over.
8. A dairy cow that is milking consumes around 100 pounds of feed each day.
9. When cows digest food, fermentation results in a large amount of methane ; cattle produce 250 to 500 liters (and by some accounts, up to 1,000 liters) of the gas per day.
10. According to Stanford University , livestock account for anywhere between 18 and 51 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO2 equivalent.
11. Just like dogs, cows enjoy a good rubdown, whether on the head, neck or back, as seen in this video of a cow using a "Happycow" machine.
12. There are about 350 udder squirts in a gallon of milk.
13. Researchers have found that if you name a cow and treat her as an individual, she will produce almost 500 more pints of milk a year.
14. A German German study found that cows tend to face either magnetic north or south when grazing or resting, regardless of the sun's position or the wind's direction. The study's author says that magnetic compass orientation has been relatively under-studied in mammals; why cows use it remains a mystery.
15. Cattle have almost 300 degrees of vision, with blind spots only right in front of and behind them.
16. Cows have favorite friends and become stressed when they are separated. In a study measuring isolation, heart rates and cortisol levels, researcher Krista McLennan concluded that, "When heifers have their preferred partner with them, their stress levels in terms of their heart rates are reduced compared with if they were with a random individual."
17. Cattle are unable to see the color red; the red flags used by matadors only catch a bull's attention because of the movement.18. Cows can have regional accents. After a group of dairy farmers noticed their cows had different moos, language specialists determined that, "In small populations such as herds you would encounter identifiable dialectical variations which are most affected by the immediate peer group."
19. Cows have an excellent sense of smell and can detect odors up to six miles away.
20. Hindu nations believe that cows are holy and there are strict laws to protect them. The toughest come from the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh , where anyone convicted of killing a cow or taking it somewhere to be killed can be jailed for up to seven years.
21. The world's most expensive cow, Missy, brought in $1.2 million at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in 2009.
Average Price of Cows in Nigeria
Small-sized cow (calf) N60,000 – N80,000
Medium-size cow (150kg – 200kg) N130,000 – N170,000
Big-size cow (220kg – 250kg) N180,000 – N230,000
Very large cow (300kg – 350kg) N240,000 – N300,000
Giant-sized cow (400kg – 550kg) N350,000 – N450,000
Note that the prices of cows in Nigeria vary due to factors such as breed, the location of purchase, the age of the cow, the cost of rearing, the season of purchase, and so on.
For example, cow breeds that are reared for their meat tend to be more expensive than those reared for milk. Similarly a cow purchased at any of the big markets mentioned above would more likely cost cheaper than one purchased at other markets in the country. In addition, cow breeds that are more expensive to rear expectably sell for higher prices. And prices tend to go up during the dry season due to the increased cost of feeding and general care.
Needless to say, the prices of cows in Nigeria usually skyrockets during the Sallah festive season due to the spike in demand.
Bear in mind, also, that in addition to the cost of buying a cow, you might have to cover other costs such as transportation to your desired location.
Top Cow Markets in Nigeria
If you’re looking to buy cows in Nigeria at the best prices obtainable, then you need to visit any of the biggest cow markets in the country. These include:
Wudil cattle market, Kano State
Sheme cattle market, Katsina State
Potiskum cattle market, Yobe State
Maitagari cattle market, Jigawa State
Amansea cattle market in Anambra State
Asaba cattle market, Delta State
Note that there are other big cattle markets all over Nigeria, but the ones listed above are where you can get the cows at the best prices. If you’re not too close to any of the above-listed markets, you can make do with any cow market within your locality.
Cow Breeds in Nigeria and Their Characteristics
One of the factors that determine the prices of cows in Nigeria is their breed. Nigerian abounds with different breeds of cows, and each breed is special in its own way. Let’s now look at some of the popular cow breeds in Nigeria and the unique features that make each favored by farmers.
N’Dama
This breed of cows are also called Malike, Mandingo, and Boyenca in other parts of Africa. Although, they originate from Guinea in West Africa, cows of this breed are found in all parts of Africa.
With a carcass-to-meat ratio of 1:1, N’Dama cows are not big in appearance, but they are rich in lean meat. Their meat has a pleasant flavour and has very low fat. You can easily identify them with their typically short height, light colors (grey, light brown, etc.) and short hair.
If you’re looking to keep N’Dama cows for milk, you’d be disappointed, as they produce very little milk (just 2-3 litres daily). They are reared majorly for their meat.
White Fulani
Also called “Bunaji”, this breed of cows originated from West Africa — Nigeria precisely. They typically have wide-set long horns and sport light skin colors. Because they can lactate for over 200 days every year, they are widely reared for their milk. In addition, their bodies are also very rich in meat. This dual advantage explains why they are among the most widely reared cow breeds in Nigeria.
White Fulani cows are very tolerant to heat and sunlight and can withstand walking over long distances more than other breeds. They are also highly resistant to diseases and infections. These explain why they are widely preferred by farmers in regions with harsh weather conditions.
Red Bororo
Also called “Mbororo”, this breed of cows is particularly popular among the Fulani tribe in Northern Nigeria. These cows are reared mainly for their meat. And as their name implies, they typically spot reddish brown colors and lomg horns.
Red Bororo cows are well adapted to the Fulanis’ nomadic lifestyle as well as long months of lack of rainfall. They are easy to coordinate in herds and can walk very long distances without getting tired.
Sokoto Gudali
If you see a cow with very short horns (more like stumps), chances are it’s of the Sokoto Gudali breed. This is one of the most widely reared cow breeds in Nigeria. While they sport various colours, black or white are the most common colours. These cows tend to grow to become huge and they have the dual advantage of being rich in both meat and milk.
One major downside of this breed of cows is their subfertility. The female typically gives birth to only one calf at a time. And worse, they are notorious for stillbirths and miscarriages.
Muturu
These cows are bred for their meaty bodies. But they are particulraly favored over other breeds due to their strength. And this explains why they are widely used for farm work. They are not reared for their milk because they produce very little amounts of milk. They propagate quickly and grow very fast.
Muturu cows typically have very short heights. In fact, they are about the shortest cows ever known, with an average adult height of just 95cm.
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