Dairy cows: features of breeding. Dairy cows: breeds

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

For an ordinary person who has nothing to do with agriculture, a cow of any breed is a simple animal. Farmers are another matter. Those of them who are engaged in breeding and raising cattle for the sake of milk know a number of features that determine the dairy breed of a cow. Here are the main criteria: large udder, elongated body, underdeveloped muscles.

General information

There are dozens of breeds of cattle. But dairy cows are in the greatest demand. Breeds Holstein, Yaroslavl, Kholmogory, red steppe and black-and-white are considered the most common in Russia. And literally each is endowed with certain advantages over others. For example, it can be the fat content of milk or its amount. The meat of a dairy cow is somewhat inferior in quality to the product obtained from cattle of another direction. Therefore, you should not expect a large increase in muscle mass from them.

Combined (ordairy and meat) breeds of cows differ from other types of cattle in their versatility. They have double productivity. This means that animals have well developed not only dairy, but also meat qualities. One of them can be expressed more clearly. Then they are referred either to the milk-meat type, or to the meat-and-milk type. There are enough of them. Breeds of cows of the meat and dairy direction: Simmental, Bestuzhev, Shvitsky, Kostroma and others. I must say that farmers most often choose them for breeding on their farms.

Holstein breed

It is considered the most common among dairy cattle. The livestock of this breed is perhaps the most numerous in the world. Her homeland is Holland, but she received all the productive qualities she acquired already on the American continent.

The Holstein dairy breed of cows is used by breeders to improve other black-and-white cattle colors. Such animals in Canada and the USA were specially improved, achieving from them the maximum fat content and abundance of milk yield.

When raising calves, as well as keeping and feeding cows, special technologies were used, the purpose of which was to create a new, more modernized dairy type of cattle. Thus, in these countries, a large number of black-and-white cattle appeared, which compares favorably with the original material.

It is believed that improved Holstein dairy cows were obtained not as a result of crossbreeding, but by purebred breeding. Therefore, the animals are distinguished by good milk production, large size and udder capacity. It is not surprising that among the cows of this breed there are a lot of record holders for milk yield and not only.

The live weight of bulls is mainly from 950 to 1200, and cows - up to 700 kg. Bulls are born weighing up to 47 kg, heifers - 5 kg less. The udder of cows is either cup-shaped or tub-shaped. The rate of milk flow ranges from 3 to 3.5 kg per 1 minute. For a day from them you can get about 60-65 kg of milk with double milking.

Yaroslavl breed

Its name speaks for itself. It was bred in the 19th century in the Yaroslavl province. For this, a breeding selection of the best animals from among local livestock was carried out. She did not mix with other breeds. This is evidenced primarily by the color of the Yaroslavl dairy cow, as well as the peculiar exterior and high fat content of the resulting product. The best animals give milk yields reaching 11,600 kg of milk per year. More than half of Yaroslavl cows have milk with a fat content of 4% or more.

Kholmogory breed

It was bred back in the 17th century on the territory of the Arkhangelsk province by folk selection. Many experts believe that dairy cows of the Kholmogory breed have an admixture of the Dutch Black-and-White.

Animals are quite well developed. The weight of calves at birth is between 30 and 35 kg. They are fast enough. The weight of adult cows varies from 530 to 580, and bulls - 810-1000 kg. Average first calvingoccurs at 30 months.

Pedigree plants breeding the Kholmogory breed determined the average milk yield of their animals. In 2004, it was 5380 kg of milk with a fat content of 3.85% and a return intensity of 1.9 kg in 1 minute.

The selection of the Kholmogory breed continues by the method of purebred breeding with an admixture of blood of the Black-and-White Holstein. The purpose of the selection is to improve the quality and milk yield.

Red steppe breed

She has both advantages and disadvantages. The positive qualities include excellent acclimatization ability and responsiveness to good maintenance and feeding. The disadvantages are the low fat content of milk, late ripening, poor musculature and a number of exterior flaws.

Farmers-breeders who would like to improve the red steppe breed of cows should first of all pay attention to intrabreed selection. It should be carried out both by milk production and by live weight. In addition, it is necessary to achieve an increase in the content of protein and fat in milk.

The quality of the resulting product in different farms is very different. The fat content of milk can vary from 3.3 to 5.3%, which directly indicates the need to select the best animals within this breed.

Black-and-white breed

This cow is especially popular in Russia. In recent years, black-and-white dairy cows have been able to win the trust of many breeders thanks toits relatively high productivity and good acclimatization capacity.

The body of this animal is slightly elongated, but proportional, the udder is large. The suit is black-and-white. But due to some differences in the properties of local livestock and natural conditions, as well as in the level of breeding, several types and groups have been outlined in the breed. They differ both in appearance and in fat content and milk yield.

Thus, black-and-white cattle in the central regions of Russia were obtained by crossing East Frisian and Dutch cattle with local Yaroslavl and Kholmogory cows. There are also signs of admixture of Simmental and Schwyz breeds. These animals are quite large. Cows weigh up to 650, and bulls - about 1000 kg. Milk yields are relatively high, but still inferior in fat content to other groups.

Features of breeding

In the post-milk period, which lasts from 3-6 to 24 months, depending on the breed, the main task is to ensure the normal development and growth of heifers, their timely fertilization, as well as the formation of their maximum milk production.

They are usually divided into age groups: 6-9, 9-12, 12-18 and 18-24 months. Each of the groups is kept without a leash in stalls on the territory of the feed-walking yard or in a room with a deep non-replaceable litter. Water is supplied by drinkers.

In the warm season, heifers are usually walked on pastures. If athere is not enough food there, then top dressing is carried out, which should contain the green mass of perennial and seeded annual herbs, as well as concentrates. In winter, feeding should be two times a day - in the morning and in the evening. It is necessary to introduce into the diet: 25-30% concentrates, 40-45% silage and 28-33% haylage. But still, the meat of a dairy cow is inferior in quality to those species that are specially bred to obtain this product.

It must be said that the cultivation of young heifers in all periods requires the creation of optimal conditions for their maintenance and feeding. This will greatly contribute to the development of the desired type of cows with high milk production.

Prices

Raising cattle for meat or milk is a fairly good and profitable business. If the case is put on stream, then it will not create any special problems for the owner. But it is worth remembering that dairy cows, the price of which is slightly higher than beef cows, require much more attention.

This type of activity assumes that the owner of the enterprise has special knowledge and skills. It is necessary to competently approach the issues of keeping animals in the summer and winter seasons, how and to whom to donate milk and meat, where to put manure, where to get food, etc. In addition, you need to be able to understand the types of these animals and know all the prices. For example, dairy cows. The price for them can vary from 40 to 55 thousand, and for calves about 25 thousand rubles. Only after all these subtleties have been studied, it will be possible to start breeding cows.