Meat of cattle: advice on breeding and features

Cattle breeding feeds humanity for the last century, giving us meat, milk and skins. Of course, in recent years, dairy varieties of livestock have played a particularly important role in many countries, but so far the meat cattle are the basis of the welfare of many countries (Canada, Brazil, Argentina).

The last circumstance is connected with the fact that all recent years have been marked by a constant increase in the cost of meat and meat products. Accordingly, the breeding of such animals is becoming an increasingly profitable occupation. Strangely enough, but the cattle breeds of cattle in Russia are still very rare, but it's a pity.

Features of such cattle

It should be noted that there are more than a thousand different breeds of cattle in the world. But not more than a hundred of them belong to meat. These rocks are very unpretentious to climatic and natural conditions, they have good resistance to various diseases. With the proper organization of the process, the breeding of meat varieties of cattle is extremely beneficial, since it requires minimal participation in the human process. The fact is that such cows do not milk. Calves are with mothers up to eight months, and they do not require any special care.

Production quality of beef cattle

If we compare them with dairy breeds, they have much more impressive productive qualities: 95 calves come out for 100 cows, bulls add only 1050-1200 grams of pure meat per day. And this despite the fact that only 6.5-7 fodder units are used for one kilogram of weight gain.

Importance of choosing a location

It is important to note that the high results of cattle meat breeds show only if you choose the right natural-climatic zone correctly. If the breed is not adapted for your climatic zone, the animals sharply reduce resistance to diseases, there are problems with the reproductive function, and a long set of weight is noted.

Simply put, the genetic basis of the animal will provide the highest possible productivity only if it is contained under the same conditions under which conditions the breeding took place. For example: if you bring a bull of the Aberdeen-Angus breed from the same Brazil and decide to get his offspring from him in the middle part of Russia, it's unlikely that you will get something worthwhile.

Are there any breeds that are favorable for beef cattle breeding in Russia?

Particularly favorable for meat breeds of cattle are many areas of the North Caucasus. And also, oddly enough, some areas of Western and Eastern Siberia. What breeds of cattle give the optimal yield of meat? The best results are given by Kalmyk, Kazakh white-headed, and also Hereford breed.

Perhaps, we will stop on the last version. In just one and a half year the Herefords already reach the maximum weight, and for the day bulls are added to 1500 grams. On average, a kilogram of bones leaves at least 5.5 kilograms of meat pulp. Animals of this breed use all kinds of forages that are used in their cultivation extremely effectively. So, from birth to slaughter per kilogram of weight gain does not exceed 11.3 fodder units. This is a very flattering characteristic of cattle meat breeds (almost all, not just Hereford).

It is worth mentioning about the Aberdeen-Angus breed, which we already mentioned above. Strangely enough, but for Russia these animals are not bad, but it is required to acquire only those of its representatives who have already been acclimatized in our country. In just 21 days, you can get a calf weighing up to 200 kilograms, with an average daily gain of at least 800 grams.

In principle, the list of cattle breeds can be continued. We can not name the full one, but we brought in it only those varieties of livestock that can really be planted in our climatic conditions.

Growth Technology

If you want to grow bovine meat, then you must remember the two main production stages:

• It is necessary to organize the correct reproduction of the herd and the content of the calves received with mothers for at least six to eight months.

• Intensive subsequent fattening of young animals, including super-repair.

Recipe for success

As it is easy to guess, it is impossible to receive incomes from breeding of meat animals, not having an economy with a powerful fodder base. Let's give a simple example. Suppose that from one hectare your land can be obtained not less than 20-30 centners of oats (a kilogram of oats corresponds to one fodder unit). In this case, you can count on the content of the order of 110-120 animals. If per hectare you get about 40-45 centners of products, then you can keep about one and a half hundred cows.

And this is not all the features of the breeding of cattle meat breeds. Let's talk about other nuances.

What is the basis for creating a meat farm?

There are several ways at once. First, you can buy purebred animals or purebred young. Today, there is also a technology of transplantation of meat animal embryos, resulting in a locally adapted variety of beef cattle. Finally, you can buy sperm of meat breeds and inseminate the most developed cows of the black-and-white varieties (local cattle).

Note that all cattle breeds are large animals. Choose cattle for crossing so that the cows do not have any injuries during childbirth.

Organization of herd reproduction

The essence of the event is the annual receipt of a healthy calf from each cow that has reached physiological age. This is extremely important, since it is the calves that are the source of the only products of beef cattle breeding as an industry. In general, the breeding of meat breeds depends on several factors. It:

• The condition of the food base, the number of repair young animals in your household.

• Terms of insemination heifers. It should be noted that in this area it is necessary to act as carefully as possible: small animals are covered at approximately 15-16 months, and large ones at 17-18. In the general herd they are taken out not earlier than in 24-25 and 26-27 months. These terms should vary, taking into account the general physical condition of the animals.

• Method of insemination. Relatively recently it was believed that in the commodity herds, a straight canard of bulls is allowed (especially if the breeding of cattle breeds is practiced). Now this method has been practically abandoned. First, its use significantly increases the risk of herd destruction by leukemia. Secondly, it is very difficult to control the percentage of inseminated animals and make a calving schedule.

It should be noted that in any case it is necessary to strive for winter-spring calving. The matter is that in this case cows in the most important period of pregnancy eat fresh green fodder, and calves, after a period of dairy nutrition, immediately switch to full-fledged green forages. All this contributes to obtaining the most healthy and productive animals, and the breeding of meat breeds becomes really cost-effective.

Checking the effectiveness of insemination

In various literature, it can often be found that heifers need to be checked for pregnancy two months after insemination or natural mating. I would like to note that two months is too short a term.

In principle, an experienced veterinarian or livestock specialist will be able to determine pregnancy with high probability, but there is a considerable likelihood of early abortion: the fetus is especially tender at this time, so the slightest carelessness in rectal examination may lead to a miscarriage in the cow at an early age . So experts advise to conduct studies on the presence of pregnancy in three months.

Number of animals

Note that this moment is also very important with the correct organization of the reproduction process. It is estimated that at least 100 head of adult animals per year need to enter at least 20 first-calves. Thus, in the same period it is necessary to remove from the herd as many adult cows, sending them for additional fattening before slaughter.

In principle, this is characterized by all livestock (cattle). Meat breeds of cattle need to be cleaned from unsatisfactory animals especially carefully.

Prevention of foginess

It is here that the duality of the use of natural mating is again manifested. On the one hand, the constant presence of a bull in the herd will almost completely eliminate the possibility that a heifer in a state of hunting will not be inseminated. On the other hand, in the case of early abortion, free maintenance and insemination can lead to large monetary losses due to lost profits.

In general, in any case, we advise you to use an artificial coating. But here again you should not relax. Here are the main activities that will help to get rid of cows' frailty:

• All new sperm batches are checked without fail. If there are any violations, it is better not to use this lot of seed material in principle.

• Establish a log to monitor the detection of hunting, a separate journal for registration of insemination.

• Constantly conduct visual control of the herd. In the case of detection of animals with injuries to the external genitalia, it is important to inform the veterinarian in a timely manner.

• If you are interested in the complete eradication of yarniness as a phenomenon, all uncovered heifers (after three months there is no pregnancy) should be discarded, regardless of their pedigree value.

• In order to synchronize the cycles of hunting and insemination, it is recommended to use hormonal stimulation. Especially useful it happens in cases when it is required to cover animals that have overgrown physiological maturity.

Features of reproduction in meat breeds

As we already said, the breeds of meat direction (RED) are characterized by a long finding of the calf along with the mother. This approach promotes high growth rates of the animal. But it also contains some problems.

The matter is that due to the constant mechanical stimulation of the udder, the hormonal system of the cow is rearranged several times, as a result of which the frequency of cases of "quiet" hunting increases, which is not detected by common visual methods. In this case, more detailed inspection methods should be used. In addition, it is necessary to focus on the log of identified hunting.

In addition, meat breeds of cattle have other bright features. For example, they have a very pronounced seasonality of sexual cycles. In principle, there is no problem in this: it is more convenient to focus on the winter-spring calving we mentioned above.

How to keep the maximum number of calves?

As we have already said, calves are the only beef cattle production, and therefore they need to pay special attention to their safety. We advise you to read the following:

• It is necessary to draw up a plan for regularly implemented veterinary and zootechnical measures. This includes vaccinations, animal health checks, quality control of feeds and constant fixation of dates and the effectiveness of their insemination.

• Farms on which cattle are kept must be subjected to disinfection, disinfestation and deratization.

• It is important to note that the territory of the economy should not be accessible not only to outsiders, but also to wild and feral animals, which are natural reservoirs of infectious and invasive diseases.

Here is how to organize the cultivation of cattle breeds.

Organization of loose clothing

In recent years, this method has again begun to occupy a dominant position in all countries where there is a more or less developed livestock. Its advantages are obvious. Animals are less stressed, they are much more time in motion. In addition, the procedure for feeding and harvesting manure is simplified, which makes it possible to reduce the cost of production by reducing the number of personnel and the time of their work.

There are two ways of walking: on fully open areas and in spacious rooms. Often, these methods are combined, which allows you to achieve optimal results. How to deal with calves? After all, if you keep them in the same room with older animals, they will be difficult to feed !?

Proceed as follows. The driving in the room is done so that the calves can pass freely between the bars of the barrier. In the center, there will be a playground where the calves will be additionally fed by workers. On the perimeter of the same barn, it will be advisable to organize a "den" for cows, in which dry enough straw will be present. Here the animals will rest.

In the south of our country, they usually arrange fully open walking areas. In the middle of the site, a covered enclosure is made, in which at least half a meter of dry straw is spread. Even in the conditions of the southern winter (which is quite cold), the animals will still be warm. The fact that their urine and excrement, which will quickly moisten the straw, contribute to biochemical reactions, during which a significant amount of heat is released.

Of course, that for calving of animals you need to drive away in advance to separate rooms adapted for this purpose. This will prevent the death of animals from dyspepsia, and the cows will significantly reduce the likelihood of mastitis.

Throughout the cold period, the litter is gradually added, but full cleaning does not occur. In the spring, when animals are transferred to a pasture-walking way of keeping, the bulldozer is simply pushed out and scooped out of all the accumulated manure.

About free mating

And further. If you still decide to use for insemination of the bull, then you should remember about the optimal load on it. It is believed that one manufacturer should account for no more than 35-40 cows. In principle, the load can be increased, but the bull must be in good physical shape. In addition, it is highly desirable to organize its feeding with protein foods (including animal origin).

That's what you need to pay attention to, if you are going to breed cattle meat breeds.