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Cattle are divided into 5 different classes, based on 3 general types of intended production: lactation, breeding, or meat. These types dictate a variety of factors, such as if and when the cattle needs to gain weight. Differentiate your cows based on these types and specific conditions: Lactating cowsConsider how long they have been producing milk, how many times they have produced milk in their life, how much milk it makes, its pregnancy status, and the expected birth weight of its offspring. Dry (non-lactating) cowsThink about whether she is bred or not and how many months she is pregnant. Bred heifersConsider whether she is bred or not and how many months she is pregnant. Feeders and ReplacementsFeeding cattle for slaughter comprises of 2 groups of cattle: those that are "backgrounded" and those that are "finished." It's important to consider the targeted slaughter weight (or mature weight for replacement heifers and bulls), and targeted grade, marbling, and yield at slaughter. Herd bullsAll information already mentioned is needed, minus that for lactation, pregnancy, and carcass evaluation. Breeding plays a significant role in determining feed rations. For instance, dairy cattle have higher maintenance requirements than beef cattle, and so need to be considered differently. The kind of formulation used for lactating dairy cows in a dairy milking system is more complex than one for beef cattle, thus the formulation for dairy cows is usually separate from that intended for beef cattle. Dairy cattle breeds include Holstein, Jersey, and Brown Swiss, to name a few. In a feed formulation, Simmentals and Fleckviehs are also included with dairy. Beef cattle breeds (aside from Simmentals and Fleckviehs) are generally lumped into 3 categories: British-type, Continental, and Exotics. British breeds include Angus, Shorthorn, and Hereford. Typically, these are your average range cattle, or those cattle that have lower maintenance requirements and thus are considered better converters of feed into milk or muscle. Continental breeds, such as Charolais and Limousin, may require more supplementation in energy and protein when on a roughage or grass-only diet. But, if hay and grass quality is poor, then both will need more the supplementation to thrive. Exotics include the Brahman-type cattle like Santa Gertrudis, Nellore, and Sahiwal, and composites like Brangus and Braford cattle. The first group is linked separate because they need a little higher maintenance requirements than either the non-Simmental Continental group and the British-type group. In terms of assessing your animals themselves, hair depth, hair condition, and hide thickness are factors that impact how you feed them, especially going from summer into winter and vice versa. No matter how sudden or gradual changes in the coat are, if there are problems with the coat they should be accounted for when determining how and what to feed your animals. Hair depthLength of the first layer of hair (the finer, softer hair close to the skin) should be more pronounced in the fall and winter than spring and summer when it is shed out and a light hair coat is worn. This is to allow the animal more external insulation against the cold. Depth isn't needed numerically, just whether it's in a "summer" or "winter" condition. Hair conditionThis just asks if the hair coat is wet, muddy, or snow-covered. All of these conditions can compromise the insulating qualities of the hair coat, and thus the threshold temperature of the animal and that animal's maintenance requirements. Hide thicknessThe thicker the hide, the greater the external insulative qualities, and vice versa for thinner skin in cattle. Herefords and Devons are known for having thick hides. Other beef breeds, from Angus to Shorthorn and Charolais to Gelbvieh are considered average. Dairy breeds and Zebu/Brahman cattle have thinner hides, but what's interesting is that Holstein-Friesians have much thicker hides than Jerseys. From a nutritional aspect, sex plays a very minor role in the differences of nutritional requirements. Studies have shown that nutritional requirements between heifers and steers or heifers and bulls (or cows and bulls) are not statistically different. Differences in sex only affect growth rates to a minor extent and how nutrients are allocated to bodily tissues: either as muscle or fat. For example, if growth rate between a group of steers and heifers was the same, and they were fed the same ration, the heifers would be likely to lay down more fat than steers will. The only concern with sex is the actual diet formulating in regard to reproduction, especially when it comes to cows. Females, especially mature cows, are probably the most difficult to formulate for because they have different requirements that are associated with where they are in their reproductive cycle (i.e., how many months into pregnancy they are, or how far along in their lactation cycle they are).
Consider the productivity status of your cattle. Consider the breed and type of cattle you are raising. Assess the state of your cattle's coat. Don't take sex into consideration.