Cows of milk breed: features of breeding. Cows of milk productivity: breeds

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 growing cattle for the sake of milk, know a number of features that determine the dairy breed of the cow. Here are the main criteria: a large udder, an elongated body, an insufficiently developed musculature.

General information

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

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

Holstein rock

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 gained all the productive qualities she acquired on the American continent.

The Holstein dairy breed of cows is used by breeders to improve other black and variegated suits of cattle. Such animals in Canada and the USA have been specially perfected, achieving maximum fatness and abundance of milk yields from them.

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

It is believed that the improved cows of the Holstein dairy breed were not obtained as a result of crossing, but by the method of purebred breeding. Therefore, animals have good milk productivity, large size and capacity of the udder. It is not surprising that among the cows of this breed there are a lot of recorders for milk and not only.

Live weight of bulls basically makes from 950 to 1200, and cows - to 700 kg. Bulls are born with a body weight of up to 47 kg, heifers - 5 kg less. The udders of the cows are either cup-shaped or tubular. The rate of milk yield varies from 3 to 3.5 kg per minute. A day from them you can get about 60-65 kg of milk with a double milking.

Yaroslavl breed

Its name speaks for itself. It was bred in the XIX century in the Yaroslavl province. For this, a breeding of the best animals from among the local cattle was carried out. With other breeds, it did not mix. This is evidenced, above all, by the suit of the cow of the Yaroslavl dairy breed, as well as the peculiar exteriors and high fat content of the product obtained. The best animals give milk yields, reaching the level of 11 thousand 600 kg of milk per year. For the greater part of Yaroslavl cows, milk with a fat content of 4% or more.

Kholmogory

It was withdrawn in the XVII century in the territory of the Arkhangelsk province by means of people's selection. Many experts believe that the cows of dairy breed Kholmogorsky have an admixture of Dutch black and motley.

Animals are well developed. The weight of calves at birth is from 30 to 35 kg. They are quite early. Weight of adult cows varies from 530 to 580, and bulls - 810-1000 kg. On average, the first calving occurs at 30 months.

Tribal factories engaged in breeding the Kholmogory breed, determined the average yield of their animals. In 2004, it amounted to 5,380 kg of milk with a fat content of 3.85% and a recoil intensity of 1.9 kg per minute.

Selection of the Kholmogory breed continues with the method of thoroughbred breeding with an admixture of black-and-white Holstein blood. The purpose of the selection is to improve the quality and milk yield of milk.

Red steppe rock

It has both advantages and disadvantages. Positive qualities include excellent acclimatization ability and responsiveness to good content and feeding. The disadvantages are low fat content of milk, late ripeness, bad muscles and a number of exterior deficiencies.

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

The quality of the product obtained in different farms is very different. The fat content of milk can fluctuate 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-mottled cows have been able to win the trust of many livestock breeders due to their rather high productivity and good ability to acclimatize.

The trunk of this animal is slightly elongated, but proportional, the udder is large. The color is black and mottled. 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 emerged in the breed. They differ in appearance, and in fat content and milk yield.

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

Features of breeding

In the after-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, and the formation of their maximum milk productivity.

Usually they are divided into age groups: 6-9, 9-12, 12-18 and 18-24 months. Each of the groups is held without a tether in the stalls in the territory of the fodder yard or in a room with a deep non-replaceable litter. Water is supplied with drinkers.

In the warm season, heifers usually walk on pastures. If the food there is not enough, then produce a fertilizer, which must contain a green mass of perennial and sown annual herbs, as well as concentrates. In winter, feeding should be two-time - in the morning and in the evening. In the diet, it is necessary to introduce: 25-30% of concentrates, 40-45% silage and 28-33% silage. But still, the cow's milk of milk is inferior in quality to those that are specially bred for obtaining this product.

I must say that growing young heifers in all periods requires the creation of optimal conditions for their maintenance and feeding. This will in many respects promote the development of the right type of cows with high milk productivity.

Price list

Growing cattle for obtaining meat or milk is a good enough 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 cows of milk breed, the price of which is slightly higher than meat cows, require much more attention to themselves.

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