Contents
The formation of the Black-and-White breed began as early as the 200th century, when local cattle began to be crossed with imported East Frisian bulls. This mixing, neither shaky nor rampant, lasted about 1917 years. So far, after the revolution of 10, the Soviet authorities did not take the breed seriously. As part of the program to improve the breed for 30 years, from the 40th to the XNUMXth years of the twentieth century, a large number of East Frisian and Dutch cattle were imported. They imported not only bulls, but also heifers. The imported cattle were distributed among the farms of the central zone of the USSR, in the Urals and in Siberia.
As a result of selection work, a significant array of black-and-white cows was formed, dispersed almost throughout the “cool” part of the USSR. Offspring were formed in the breed at the place of breeding:
- Ural;
- Siberian;
- Altai;
- Great ;
- Podolsk;
- Lviv;
- some other breed groups.
The emergence of large offspring is associated with the use of different breeds of local and imported cattle in breeding black-and-white cattle.
Initially, there were two color options in the breed: red-and-white and black-and-white. But at the end of the 50s, cattle were divided into breeds by color, forming separate red-and-white and black-and-white breeds of cattle. A separate breed of black-and-white cow was approved in 1959.
Today, the black-and-white cow is distributed throughout almost the entire territory of the former Soviet Union. Cattle of this breed not only throughout Our Country, but also in all the former republics of the USSR. This was greatly facilitated by the high adaptability of the breed. Among the large offspring, the internal types of cows of the black-motley breed also stood out. There are dozens of such types.
Average breed description
Dairy breed. Animals are quite large. The weight of adult cows is from 480 kg in mass livestock to 540 in breeding farms. The weight of the bulls ranges from 850 to 1100 kg.
The average height of black-and-white cows is 130-135 cm, in bulls the height is 138-156 cm, the oblique length is 158-160 cm.
Exterior typical for dairy cattle:
- light graceful head;
- thin long neck;
- long body with deep chest and poorly developed dewlap;
- topline is far from perfect. There is no single straight line. The withers stand out well. The sacrum is raised;
- croup straight, long;
- legs are short and powerful. With the right postav;
- the udder is well developed, cup-shaped.
The black-and-white cow is well adapted to machine milking, which is one of its advantages. The almost ideal udder shape allows the use of milking machines without restrictions. But in this case, there is one feature: the more Holstein blood in the animal, the more regular the shape of his udder.
The color is piebald. Black and white spots may occupy approximately the same area of the cow’s body, or one of the colors will predominate.
Average productive characteristics of the breed
The milk production of a given type of livestock often depends on which breed and type the particular animal belongs to. Average milking rates are 3700–4200 kg per year in the mass population. In breeding farms, milk yield can be 5500–6700 kg per year. The fat content of milk can range from 2,5 to 5,8%.
It is not uncommon for a cow to produce little, very fatty milk. When diluting such milk with water to the required fat content, milk yield from a cow is more than from a champion in milk yield in liters.
Protein in the milk of black-and-white cattle is 3,2-3,4%. With machine milking milk yield is 1,68 l/min. That is, in one minute, the device pumps out 1,68 liters of milk from a cow.
Spotted cattle also have good meat characteristics. Beef, obtained from bulls, has a good taste and texture.
The cattle is early. Heifers go into mating at 18 months. The first calving in breeding farms is at 29-30 months, in the mass livestock, the average calving time is 31 months. Cattle quickly build up muscle mass. Newborn calves weigh 30-35 kg. By the time of mating at 18 months, heifers are already gaining from 320 to 370 kg. The average daily gain in this cattle is 0,8-1 kg. By the age of 16 months, replacement young animals are gaining 420-480 kg of live weight. On average, the slaughter yield of beef from a carcass is 50 – 55%.
In the photo of a breeding bull, the muscle mass that animals of this breed possess is clearly visible.
After weaning a calf, a self-repairing heifer should not be overfed. If she receives the same amount of feed as fattening calves receive, the udder will sprout with connective tissue. It will be impossible to get milk from such a cow.
Productive characteristics of individual offspring
Since the black-motley cow has already spread throughout the former Soviet Union, and economic ties are almost interrupted, today no one can say for sure how many offspring and intrabreed types have become very numerous. Only individual, largest offspring can be considered.
Altai offspring
Initially, the group was bred by absorption crossbreeding Simmental cows with black-and-white bulls. Later Holstein blood was added. Today, the cattle of this group has one or another degree of bloodlines according to the Holstein breed.
In the photo, an old-type cow of the Altai offspring of the State Nature Reserve “Katun” of the Biysk district
In this individual, elongated forms of meat and dairy Simmental cattle are still visible.
Milk yield of cows of the Altai offspring is 6-10 tons of milk per year. But only under the condition of proper feeding and maintenance. The slaughter yield of meat from the carcass is 58-60%.
Ural offspring
The cattle of this group was formed by crossing the East Frisian and partly Baltic Black-and-White producers with the local Tagil breed. The average milk yield of animals in this group is only 3,7-3,8 tons per year. Low milk yield is compensated by the relatively high fat content of milk – 3,8-4,0%.
The photo shows a cow of the Estonian group – one of the ancestors of the Ural cattle.
Siberian offspring
It was formed by crossing Dutch producers with local cattle. The size of the animals of this group is small. Milk yield is low, about 3500 kg per year. Livestock does not differ in the fat content of milk: 3,7-3,9%.
Great offspring
It was formed in the European part of Our Country by crossing the Dutch black and white cattle with the uterus of the Yaroslavl, Kholmogory and other local breeds of cattle. A small amount of blood of the Swiss and Simmental breeds was infused. Representatives of the group are large animals with high milk production. Cows of this group can give up to 6 tons of milk per year. But in this group, the fat content of milk is the lowest of all offspring: 3,6 – 3,7%.
The photo shows a sire of the Great group of cattle bred in the central regions of the Federation.
This cattle is now bred even in Tajikistan.
Feedback from black-and-white cattle owners
Conclusion
Black-and-white cattle, due to its high ability to adapt to any climate, is almost ideal for keeping in private backyards. With a relatively small size, it has a high milk productivity and a good feed response when fattening bulls for slaughter.