Ang Lee didn't come here in vain. Not only did he enjoy the delicacies of the farm, but he also met a beauty by chance. At the same time, he could also take a lot of livestock and eggs with him. It was really a big gain.
However, Ang Lee didn't let the family head suffer a loss. He casually taught him some breeding techniques, which would make him a lot of money. It wouldn't be long before he could earn back all the money he had lost.
Of course, money was a small matter. Ang Lee was giving the Yang family face by allowing him to live in the Yang family's farm. He would only stay in Yizhou City for a few days, but he took time out to live in the Yang family's farm. How big of a face was this? In the future, if the Yang family talked about it, how could they lose face? Even if they kept a low profile and didn't talk about it casually, how could others not know about it? This kind of news would definitely spread very quickly, especially in the upper circle.
Since the eggs and piglets had been given away, the cattle and sheep in front of them shouldn't be a big problem. However, Ang Lee wasn't a greedy person. He didn't want too much, so he didn't want the family head to feel the heartache and couldn't sleep for a few nights. In addition, traveling by land was different from traveling by water. The transportation ability of carriages and horses was far inferior to that of ships, especially in Central Sichuan where the roads weren't very good. Transporting too many livestock would definitely be a big burden. Although these livestock could walk on their own, they weren't humans after all. They couldn't understand human language, so it would be more difficult to drive them. In addition, if the team drove the livestock all the way, it would leave a bad impression on the people along the way. The people who didn't know the situation would think that Ang Lee's team was robbing people along the way. Therefore, no matter what, these livestock were absolutely not suitable for walking on their own. They had to be transported by carriages. Some of them could even be carried after being slaughtered.
"Assistant Minister Li, there are still cattle and sheep in front of us. We've raised a lot of them. "
The family head said enthusiastically.
Ang Lee smiled and said, "I'm afraid that if you give too much, you won't be able to sleep at night because of your heartache."
Obviously, the family head was very generous when giving gifts, but it was very likely that he would feel heartache afterward. Generally, stingy people would have this characteristic, but it wasn't absolute. However, Ang Lee felt that the family head in front of him wasn't really generous. If it was a friend who came to visit, he would definitely not be so generous.
"Haha! No, no, no, the cows have to plow the land and pull the carriages. The donkeys and horses are also working..... I won't give them to Assistant Minister Li, but the lambs, 20 lambs, tender...........................................
.......
This guy was really shrewd. Compared with cows, donkeys, and horses, sheep were the least valuable. After all, sheep were the smallest, so the price was naturally the lowest. The lambs were even smaller, so the price of 20 lambs was even lower. All of them added together were not worth as much as a cow. Therefore, although it seemed that he had given a lot, in fact, it wasn't very expensive. It was completely affordable by the family head.
Because there were more cattle and sheep, the breeding area was divided into two areas. Some feed was stored in the nearby feed area, so it was very convenient to feed them.
The feed of cattle and sheep had a lot in common with the feed of pigs, but they weren't exactly the same. For example, pigs preferred oily food, so that they could grow faster and fatter, while cattle and sheep preferred fresh grass. In other words, pigs were omnivorous animals, while cattle and sheep were more like vegetarians.
The oily swill in restaurants and restaurants could be used to feed pigs, but it absolutely couldn't be used to feed cattle and sheep. Cattle and sheep wouldn't eat it, so it was more troublesome to raise cattle and sheep than to raise pigs. There were more recipes for pigs, but relatively fewer recipes for cattle and sheep.
Because cattle and sheep were vegetarians, they ate grass with low nutritional content. Therefore, the growth rate of cattle and sheep would be greatly suppressed. Generally, it would take several years for them to be ready for slaughter.
Of course, because cattle were an important labor force for spring plowing in ancient times, many dynasties prohibited the eating of beef. Therefore, cattle didn't have to be ready for slaughter. They were all raised to adulthood to work. As for sheep, as a kind of edible livestock, it was food on people's table. It would take about two years for sheep to be ready for slaughter. Even if it was scientifically fed in later generations, it would take more than half a year at the earliest. Compared with three or four months for pigs, it was nearly twice as slow.
In the Tang Dynasty, cattle were laborers, and sheep needed one or two years before they could be eaten. Of course, some people liked to eat lamb. Therefore, sheep that were three to five months old could also be slaughtered. However, they couldn't eat much meat, and a sheep could be eaten in one meal.
There weren't many sheep farmers in the interior of the Tang Dynasty. After all, most of the areas were occupied by arable land. There were too few pastures that could be used to raise sheep. The weeds in the fields were not enough to support large-scale sheep raising. The limited fodder was more for cattle. Raising sheep was a bit too extravagant for farming people.
In the northern grasslands, there were too many cattle and sheep. There were too many pastures in the grasslands. A family could raise tens of thousands of cattle and sheep without any pressure. Therefore, the source of beef and sheep in the capital of the Tang Dynasty was mainly supplied by the northern grasslands. The supply of lamb in the interior was not even a fraction.
In addition, the lamb in the grasslands was fatter and more delicious, and the price was lower. If it weren't for the burden of transportation, the price would be lower. After the railway was opened to the surrendered cities, the price of lamb in the capital suddenly dropped a lot.
As for why the lamb in the grasslands was better than the lamb in the interior of the Tang Dynasty, it was naturally because the sheep in the grasslands ate more fresh grass. Many farmers in the Tang Dynasty fed their cattle and sheep with dried straw, even wheat straw and rice straw, which had low nutrition. The cattle and sheep that ate fresh grass naturally tasted more delicious than those that ate straw. In addition, the grasslands were vast enough. The cattle and sheep were free-range in nature. These cattle and sheep had to walk a long distance every day. They were stronger and less likely to get sick. Their muscle tissue was also stronger. Many cattle and sheep in the Tang Dynasty were raised in captivity in a relatively small space. The cattle and sheep could not get exercise, so they were more likely to get sick. Their muscle tissue was also relatively loose. Naturally, the taste was not enough.
Therefore, compared to the beef and sheep in the interior of the Tang Dynasty, the beef and sheep in the northern grasslands were more delicious and cheaper. It was the first choice of many people. If it weren't for the long distance and the underdeveloped transportation in the Tang Dynasty, the beef and sheep in the northern grasslands would be more delicious and cheaper.
Because the Yang Family's cattle had to work, either to plow the land or to pull carts to transport goods, there was not much problem in terms of exercise. The amount of exercise was enough. It was just that the food they ate was too bad. Most of the food was dried straw, mostly wheat straw and rice straw. In the season of grass production, the cattle that went out to pull carts could eat the fresh and tender grass on the roadside along the way, which was the biggest reward.
In addition, the cattle would occasionally be supplemented with some old grain and salt to prevent them from getting sick. If the cattle were sick and could not work, it would be terrible.
Although the feeding was not very good, the Yang Family's cattle looked strong. At least these cattle looked healthy. None of them were lying on the ground.
Cattle were different from humans. When humans were tired and needed to rest, they would lie down and sleep. Herbivores like cattle would stand up and sleep. As long as there was no problem with their bodies, they would generally not lie down. If cattle and sheep were seen lying down to rest, most of them had a problem with their bodies. It was caused by physical weakness or illness. Cattle that were healthy and strong would not lie down.
The reason why this happened was completely determined by the genes of their ancestors. Cattle were domesticated by humans through bison. In nature, the natural enemies of cattle were wild beasts. Once the wild beasts launched a surprise attack, they could quickly capture prey. If the cattle lay down to rest, it was very likely that they would not be able to escape. If they stood up to sleep, once they discovered the surprise attack of the wild beasts, they could quickly escape and save their lives.
Although the cattle would not be attacked by wild beasts after being domesticated, the genes of their ancestors had been deeply imprinted in their bodies. They could not change it even if they wanted to. They could only stay like this.
In addition to feeding the cattle with fodder, they also needed to be fed water because the fodder was dry straw. If they were not fed water, the cattle would have indigestion. Then, the cattle would not eat anymore. Over time, they would become thin and die of illness.
"These cows look quite healthy. Not bad, you fed them well."
Ang Lee looked at the cattle and praised.
"It's still okay now. It's much thinner in winter. Now, when it goes out to pull a cart, it can eat fresh grass on the road. Cows like fresh grass the most. Eating fresh grass makes them fatter than eating wheat straw."
Yang Ming said with a smile.
The cattle in the prairie were fat and healthy. The cattle in the prairie all ate grass. Therefore, for cattle, grass was the best nutrition. Eating more grass could make the cattle grow better, fatter, and stronger.
"That's right. Cattle like to eat grass the most, especially the grass in spring is the most delicate. It's the favorite of cattle."
Ang Lee nodded and agreed.
"Alang, we also have a few cattle that refuse to eat grass. Are they sick?"
A servant reminded him in a low voice.
"How many days has it been?"
Yang Ming asked.
"It's been two days. I was just about to report to you."
The servant said.
"It's been two days. Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Yang Ming was a little angry.
Ang Lee felt that there were many reasons why some cattle refused to eat grass. For example, the feed was too dry. Too dry feed would slow down the cattle's digestion. In serious cases, the feed would even get tangled in the stomach, leading to indigestion and inability to expel it. In the end, the cattle would not eat anymore.
Too much feed was also one of the reasons. If the cattle were in a hurry to fatten up and feed them too much feed, the cattle's absorption speed would be slow and they would not be able to digest such a large amount of food in a short time. Thus, the burden on the stomach would be directly increased. In this case, the cattle would always have the illusion that they were full and would not eat anymore.
Moldy or monotonous fodder would also cause the cattle to be unwilling to eat. Some fodder would have internal moldy, but there was no difference on the surface. Therefore, after being fed directly, the cattle would feel nauseous and would not eat anymore. This was also caused by improper feeding. Or, if the same fodder was fed for a long time, it would also cause the cattle to stop eating because it could not meet the other nutritional needs of the cattle. At the same time, it would also lead to a part of the cattle having too much nutrition. The cattle's health mechanism would not allow them to eat anymore.
Although Ang Lee was not a cattle breeder, he knew that the nutrients needed by the cattle at different growth stages were different. It should be rationally matched according to the specific situation. Feeding different types of grass would be more conducive to the timely absorption and replenishment of nutrients.
In addition, illness would also cause the cattle to not eat. Some cattle would not eat when they were sick, but at the same time, there would also be other symptoms, which would be helpful for the veterinarian to find the problem in time. For example, if the cattle were not eating, they would constantly rub their bodies against the pen and become irritable, which was a sign of parasites.
To prevent parasites, the best way was to pay attention to the hygiene of the cowshed. It should be cleaned more and let the cattle live in a cleaner environment. Many cattle breeders would not pay attention to the hygiene of the cowshed in order to save trouble, and even the cowshed would be full of cow dung.
Although cattle were just animals, they also liked to be clean. A dirty environment would make the cattle very irritable, and in serious cases, they would refuse to eat! It was like asking a person to eat in a smelly toilet. Who would be able to eat? I think most people would refuse to eat.
Also, if the cattle's activity area was too small, it would cause them to refuse to eat. Generally, the space in the cowshed was too small, and the cattle's activity area was greatly limited. There was also no grazing conditions, so the cattle could not move. Once the cattle lacked exercise, it would directly lead to a decline in digestive function. Therefore, under such circumstances, if the food fed in the morning could not be digested at night, how could the cattle eat?
As for why the Yang family's cattle refused to eat, Ang Lee could not say. He had to go and see for himself to be sure.
"If the cattle are not eating grass, it is very likely that they are sick. I'm afraid they need to see a veterinarian. Is there a veterinarian in the residence?"
Ang Lee asked.
The family head shook his head and said, "Of course there is no veterinarian in the residence, but there are many veterinarians in Yizhou City. Just send someone to invite them."
"I know a thing or two. Let's go and have a look!"
Ang Lee said.
Although he was not a professional veterinarian, Ang Lee had a wide range of knowledge. He knew a little about almost everything, and he knew a little about some of the simpler livestock diseases.
Soon, Ang Lee came to the cowshed where the cattle refused to eat and saw the slightly thin cattle.
Although these cattle were thin, their tempers were not small. They were tossing back and forth in the cowshed. They even used their bodies to hit the pillars of the cowshed. It looked like they had gone crazy. Could it be that they had mad cow disease?
Of course, it was not mad cow disease. In the Tang dynasty, mad cow disease did not exist. It was a very typical parasitic disease. In other words, there were parasites in the cattle's body, which made the cattle feel very painful. As a result, they behaved like crazy and hit the pillars randomly.
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