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Animal Unit Values
An animal unit is a
reflection of the amount of feed that a particular animal class
will consume. One animal unit can be represented as the feed
consumption of a single, mature cow or horse. The term is most
useful as a comparative stocking rate indicator, by which one can
determine the approximate number of animals a parcel of land will
support (or alternately, the amount of supplemental feed that
will be required to support a certain number of animals on a
limited amount of land).
Because the term animal unit
reflects the feed requirements of a class of animal, the animal
unit values will vary as a function of size and age of the
animal. The following table gives the animal unit values assigned
to various classes and ages of livestock.
| Class of Livestock |
Animal Units
per Head |
Mature cow
Mature bull
Young cattle, one to two years old
Calf, under one year old
Mature horse, 2 yr old (1,000 lb.)
Horse, yearling (800 lb.)
Horse, 3+ yr old (1,100 lb.)
Colt
Brood sow or boar
Hog raised to 200 pounds
Ewe or ram
Lamb
Chickens (per 100)
Chicks raised (per 200)
Whitetail deer
Mule deer
Nanny (70 lb.)
Weaned kid (35 lb.)
Billy (125 lb.)
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1
1
0.5
0.25
1
0.75
1.25
0.5
0.4
0.2
0.14
0.07
1
1
0.17
0.25
0.17
0.10
0.25
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Data are from Ensminger (1963), "Horses and Horsemanship" and from Dr. Allan McGinty's "Reference Guide for Texas Ranchers" web site.
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