Cattle breeding has been feeding mankind for centuries now, giving us meat, milk and skins. Of course, in recent years, dairy cattle in many countries have played a particularly important role, but still beef cattle form 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 increasingly profitable. Oddly enough, but meat breeds of cattle in Russia are still very rare, which is a pity.
Features of such cattle
It should be noted that in the world there are more than a thousand different breeds of cattle. But not more than one hundred of them belong to meat. These breeds are very unpretentious to climatic and environmental conditions, have good resistance to various diseases. With the proper organization of the process, the breeding of meat species of cattle is extremely beneficial, since it requires minimal participation in the human process. The fact is that such cows are not milked. Calves are with their mothers for up to eight months, and they do not require any special care.
Beef Cattle Production Qualities
If we compare them with dairy breeds, they have much more impressive productive qualities: about 95 calves come out per 100 cows, gobies add 1050-1200 grams of pure meat per day. And this despite the fact that only 6.5-7 feed units are spent per kilogram of weight gain.
The importance of locality selection
It is important to note that high results of beef cattle show only if you correctly select the optimal natural and climatic zone. If the breed is not adapted for your climatic zone, then the resistance to disease is sharply reduced in animals, problems with reproductive function are observed, and a long weight gain is noted.
Simply put, the genetic basis of the animal will give the highest possible productivity only if it is kept under the same conditions in which the breed was removed. For example: if you bring a bull of Aberdeen-Angus breed from the same Brazil and decide to get offspring from it in Central Russia, then it is unlikely that you will get anything worthwhile.
Are there any breeds favorable for beef cattle breeding in Russia?
Especially favorable for beef cattle are many areas of the North Caucasus. And also, strangely enough, some areas of Western and Eastern Siberia. What breeds of cattle give the optimal meat yield? The best results are given by the Kalmyk, Kazakh white-headed, and also Hereford breed.
Perhaps we will dwell on the last variety. In just a year and a half, Herefords already reach their maximum weight, and bulls add 1,500 grams per day. On average, at least 5.5 kilograms of meat pulp per kilogram of bones. Animals of this breed extremely efficiently use all types of feed that are used in their cultivation. So, from birth to slaughter per kilogram of weight gain, no more than 11.3 feed units are spent. This is a very flattering characteristic of beef cattle (almost all, not just herefords).
It is worth mentioning about the Aberdeen-Angus breed, which we already wrote about above. Oddly enough, but for Russia these animals are not bad, but it is required to purchase only those representatives who have already been acclimatized in our country. In just 21 days you can get a calf weighing up to 200 kilograms, and the average daily gain is at least 800 grams.
In principle, the list of cattle meat breeds can be continued. You cannot name the complete one voiced by us, but we brought in it only those varieties of cattle that really can be bred in our climatic conditions.
Growing technology
If you want to grow cattle of meat breed, then you must remember two main production stages:
It is necessary to organize the correct reproduction of the herd and the maintenance of the received calves with their mothers for at least six to eight months.
Intensive subsequent fattening of young animals, including overhaul.
Recipe for success
As you might guess, it is impossible to earn income from breeding meat animals without a farm with a powerful forage base. Let's give a simple example. Suppose that from one hectare of your land you can get at least 20-30 centners of oats (a kilogram of oats corresponds to one feed unit). In this case, you can count on keeping about 110-120 animals. If you get about 40-45 centners of production per hectare, then you can contain about one and a half hundred cows.
And this is not all the features of breeding cattle of meat breeds. Let's talk about other nuances.
On what basis to create a meat farm?
There are several ways here. Firstly, you can buy purebred animals or purebred young animals. Today there is also a technology for the transplantation of animal meat embryos, resulting in a variety of beef cattle adapted to local conditions. Finally, you can buy sperm of meat breeds and inseminate the most developed cows of the black-motley variety (local cattle).
Keep in mind that all meat breeds of cattle are large animals. Pick cattle to cross so that the cows do not have injuries during childbirth.
Organization of reproduction of the herd
The essence of the event is the annual receipt of a healthy calf from each cow that has reached the 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, breeding of meat breeds depends on several factors. It:
The condition of the feed base, the number of repair young animals in your household.
Dates of insemination of heifers. It should be noted that in this area you need to act as carefully as possible: small animals are covered at about 15-16 months, and large animals at 17-18. They are brought into the general herd no earlier than in 24–25 and 26–27 months. These terms should vary, given the general physical condition of the animals.
The method of insemination. Relatively recently, it was believed that direct herd farming is permissible in commodity herds (especially if cattle meat breeding is practiced). Nowadays, this method is practically abandoned. Firstly, its use significantly increases the risk of leukemia in the herd. Secondly, it is very difficult to control the percentage of inseminated animals and schedule calving.
It should be noted that in any case, you need to strive for winter-spring calving. The fact is that in this case, cows in the most important period of pregnancy eat fresh green fodder, and calves, after a period of milk feeding, immediately switch to full green fodder. All this contributes to obtaining the most healthy and productive animals, and breeding meat breeds becomes really cost-effective.
Testing the effectiveness of insemination
In various literature, one can often find the statement that heifers must be checked for pregnancy two months after insemination or natural mating. I would like to note that two months is too short a time.
In principle, an experienced veterinarian or livestock specialist will be able to determine pregnancy with a high degree of probability, but there is a high probability of early abortion: the fetus is especially tender during this period, so the slightest carelessness during rectal examination can lead to a miscarriage in the early term . So experts advise to conduct studies for the presence of pregnancy in three months.
Number of rejected animals
Note that this point is also very important with the proper organization of the reproduction process. It is believed that per 100 heads of adult animals, at least 20 heifers should be introduced annually. Thus, in the same period, it is necessary to remove as many adult cows from the herd, sending them for additional feeding before slaughter.
In principle, this is characteristic of all animal husbandry (cattle). Meat breeds of cattle must be cleaned of unsatisfactory animals especially carefully.
Soap Warning
Here again the duality of using natural mating is manifested once again. On the one hand, the constant presence of a bull in a herd will almost completely exclude the possibility that a heifer in a state of hunting will not be inseminated. On the other hand, in the case of early abortions, free keeping and insemination can lead to large monetary losses due to lost profits.
In general, in any case, we recommend using artificial turf. But here you should not relax. Here are the main activities that will help get rid of the barrenness of cows:
All new batches of sperm are checked without fail. If there are any violations, this batch of seed is better not to use in principle.
Set up a logbook for monitoring cases of hunting, a separate logbook for insemination.
Constantly conduct visual inspection of the herd. In case of detection of animals with damage to the external genital organs, it is important to inform the veterinarian in a timely manner.
If you are interested in the complete elimination of barrenness as a phenomenon, all uncovered heifers (after three months no pregnancy is detected) should be discarded, regardless of their breeding value.
In order to synchronize the cycles of hunting and insemination, it is recommended to use hormonal stimulation. It is especially useful in cases where it is required to cover animals that have been overtaken by physiological maturity.
Features of reproduction in meat breeds
As we have already said, meat breeds (cattle) are characterized by a long stay of the calf with their mother. This approach contributes to the high growth rate of the animal. But it also has some problems.
The fact is that due to the constant mechanical stimulation of the udder, the hormonal system of the cow is somewhat reconstructed, as a result of which the frequency of “silent” hunting, which is not detected by general visual methods, increases. In this case, more detailed inspection methods should be applied. In addition, one should focus on the log of identified hunts.
In addition, meat breeds of cattle have other striking features. For example, they very clearly show the seasonality of reproductive cycles. In principle, there is no problem in this: it’s more convenient to focus on the very winter-spring calving that we wrote about above.
How to keep the maximum number of calves?
As we have already said, calves are the only products of beef cattle breeding, and therefore special attention should be paid to their safety. We advise you to read the following:
It is necessary to draw up a plan of regularly performed veterinary and zootechnical measures. This includes vaccinations, animal health check-ups, feed quality control and the constant recording of dates and the effectiveness of their insemination.
Farms where livestock are kept must undergo disinfection, disinsection and disinfestation.
It is important to note that the territory of the farm should not be accessible not only to unauthorized persons, but also to wild and feral animals, which are natural reservoirs of infectious and invasive diseases.
Here's how to organize the cultivation of meat breeds of cattle.
Organization of loose housing
In recent years, this method has again begun to occupy a dominant position in all countries where there is more or less developed livestock production. Its advantages are obvious. Animals are less stressed, they are in motion much more time. In addition, the procedure for feeding and cleaning manure is simplified, which makes it possible to reduce the cost of production by reducing the number of personnel and their working time.
There are two ways of walking: on completely open areas and in spacious rooms. Often these methods are combined, which allows you to achieve optimal results. What to do with calves? After all, if you keep them in the same room with adult animals, it will be difficult to feed them !?
Do as follows. The corral in the room is made so that calves can pass freely between the rods. In the center, there will be a platform where the calves will be additionally fed by workers. Along the perimeter of the barn it will be advisable to organize a “den” for cows in which there will be enough dry straw. Here the animals will rest.
In the south of our country, most often they arrange completely open walking platforms. In the middle of the site, an enclosed corral is made, in which at least half a meter of dry straw is laid. Even in southern winters (which can be quite cold), the animals will still be warm. The fact is that their urine and excrement, which will quickly moisten the straw, contribute to biochemical reactions, during which quite a considerable amount of heat is released.
Of course, that for calving animals, it is necessary to drive away ahead of time in separate rooms adapted for this. This will prevent the death of animals from dyspepsia, and in cows will significantly reduce the likelihood of mastitis.
Throughout the cold period, the litter is gradually added, but the paddock is not completely cleaned. In the spring, when the animals are transferred to a grazing method, they simply drive a bulldozer there and scoop up all the accumulated manure.
About free mating
And further. If you nevertheless decided to use the bull for insemination, then you should remember about the optimal load on it. It is believed that one producer 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 feed (including animal origin).
Here's what you need to pay attention to if you are going to breed cattle of meat breed.