🐄 Cattle Fattening (Pen Feeding) farming in Zimbabwe
Buy in lean steers, feed a high-energy ration for 90–120 days and sell at a higher grade and weight. A short-cycle, working-capital business rather than a breeding one.
- Season / planting window
- Best window is Jun – Nov: lean cattle are cheap after the dry season starts and beef prices peak into the festive season.
- Best regions
- Anywhere with access to maize, stover and a market — the lowveld, Midlands, Mashonaland grain belt and peri-urban feedlots near abattoirs.
- Spacing / population
- Pen space 10–15 m² per beast; feed trough 60–75 cm per beast; water trough 10 cm per beast.
- Expected yield
- 1.2–1.8 kg gain per beast per day; 120–200 kg total gain over 90–120 days; feed conversion 6–8 kg feed per kg gain.
Stage by stage
Budget & market first
Before buying cattle
- Work out your break-even: purchase price + feed + health + transport must be below the expected grade price per kilogram.
- Confirm the buyer (abattoir, butchery, contract) and the grade they pay for before you buy a single animal.
- Feedlotting fails on maths, not on cattle — if the margin is not there on paper, do not start.
Fertiliser and chemicals
- FertiliserMaize meal / cracked maize (energy)
50–60% of the ration · Throughout the feeding period
- FertiliserCottonseed cake or soyabean meal (protein)
10–15% of the ration · Throughout
Do not exceed recommended cottonseed levels — gossypol is toxic at high inclusion.
Field tip
Feedlotting is a trading business. Buy well — most of the profit is decided on the day you purchase the animals, not on the day you sell.
The rest of this cattle fattening (pen feeding) guide
- 5 more stages, from land preparation through to storage
- 8 more fertiliser, herbicide, pesticide and fungicide entries with rates
- All field tips, plus the printable and downloadable version
- Your own crop, cost and activity records in the FarmInvest app
Full farming cycle guides
Free and complete — land, equipment, crops, inputs and harvest.