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In private farmsteads, you rarely see meat cattle, which were bought for the purpose of breeding. More often they buy bulls for fattening. Most often these are animals of the same breeds that are bred on the nearest dairy farm. If the farm is focused on milk production, it is more profitable for the owner to sell the bulls without diverting staff to caring for small calves. Therefore, even for fattening, the owners of private farmsteads take dairy animals.
Specialized meat breeds of cows have a number of advantages: they grow quickly, give a large slaughter yield of meat from the carcass, the quality of their meat is better than that of dairy cows. But to maintain a breeding herd, you need to have a whole farm. And the second for growing young animals for meat.
General characteristics
Animals of meat breeds of cattle look like powerful muscular animals. Their weight is greater than that of dairy cattle, but the skeleton is quite elegant. Muscles give them the impression of very large massive animals. General standard for beef cows:
- small head;
- short powerful neck;
- well developed withers;
- long body;
- wide flat back;
- wide waist;
- raised sacrum;
- high-set tail;
- wide round chest;
- well developed dewlap;
- short legs.
The structure of meat animals is such that the amount of waste is as small as possible. Therefore, due to short legs (unnecessary tubular bones of the metacarpus and metatarsus), meat cattle breeds do not differ in impressive growth like Holstein dairy cattle, but their weight is much larger.
Beef cows only produce milk for their calves, and therefore their udders are very small, although well-shaped.
Beef farming originated in England in the XNUMXth century. It was then that cattle breeds were purposefully bred, actively gaining muscle mass. Until today, the best breeds of beef cattle trace their pedigree from the cattle of the United Kingdom. Not only the UK tried to breed beef cattle, but the most popular beef cattle breeds in the world are Hereford and Aberdeen Angus. Both are from the islands.
Hereford
Due to its high adaptation to different climatic conditions, today it is distributed throughout the world, including Australia and South Africa. These are massive animals, already divided into three types:
- red horned;
- red polled;
- the black.
Meat producers prefer polled cattle, as they are easier to work with. Because of this, the original horned Hereford is becoming a thing of the past.
The Black Hereford originated from the influx of Aberdeen Angus or Holstein blood into red cattle.
This is an industrial cross that gives an increased yield of meat in the first generation. If you continue backcrossing, you can get a black Hereford. That is how it was received. The black type is slightly larger than the red type, which is why it is preferred by industrialists. Plus, he’s also chubby.
The weight of Herefords ranges from 900-1200 kg, cows weigh up to 850 kg. The slaughter yield from the carcass reaches 62%.
Aberdeen Angus
Originally a Scottish breed of cattle. They have good adaptive abilities and can live even in northern regions. They have a very fast development. Bulls reach 1 ton of weight, cows are medium-sized, weighing an average of 550 kg. The Aberdeen Angus breed of beef cattle and their external characteristics are more reminiscent of dairy cattle. They have thin loose skin, graceful bones. The structure of the uterus is more like a dairy cow, which is not milked and fattened for slaughter. The only thing that indicates their meat purpose is a well-developed dewlap.
Competing with these two English breeds are two French breeds.
Charolais
A very old French breed, the original purpose of which was to work in the yoke. Draft animals for the transport of heavy loads must have significant muscle mass. This feature was fixed in the Charolais cattle. Later, the ability to gain muscle rather than adipose tissue made Charolais one of the most sought-after meat breeds. The modern weight of adult Charolais bulls is 1,1 tons, cows – 0,9 tons.
Therefore, Charolais cows do not look muscular, unlike bulls, which for the last 100 years have been selected for the quality of their muscle mass. The Charolais meat breed of cows brought to Our Country is generally more reminiscent of an ordinary cow. Including nutrition. However, nothing surprising. Where will energy and muscles come from if you drive cattle 20 km at the speed of a trotting horse, that is, Charolais queens with calves, according to the shepherds, should overcome 20 km in 2 hours.
A serious disadvantage of Charolais is heavy calving, which is why it cannot be recommended for breeding in private farms. The ease of childbirth in animals is one of the main conditions for raising livestock. Only at first glance it seems that it is not difficult to spend several days a year near a giving birth animal. In fact, caring for cattle is very exhausting and the best option for the owner is “in the morning he came and rejoiced, looking at the newborn”, the rest was done by the uterus. This approach does not suit Charolais.
Limousinskaya
It received its name from the French province of Limousin, in which it was bred. Bulls have pronounced features of the meat breed. Cows are more graceful. The weight of bulls is 1100 kg, cows 600 kg with a small growth of animals about 125-130 cm.
Limousines steadfastly transmit their characteristics when crossed with other breeds. These are animals with thin, strong bones and a significant amount of muscle. They are in good health. Suitable for the climate, as it is able to tolerate frosts up to 30 degrees, provided there is plenty of roughage.
Limousines are characterized by easy, problem-free calving and a high yield of calves: up to 95%. The problem-free calving is explained by the fact that calves are born, albeit large (32-34 kg), but not wide.
This is one of the “old” meat breeds of cattle bred in Our Country. It has been bred in Central Our Country since 1961. Cattle are unpretentious to feed and are well suited for keeping in a private backyard.
When analyzing what meat breeds of cattle are, one cannot fail to mention the Belgian blue.
Belgian
This best meat breed of cows turned out actually by accident. In the genotype of ordinary cattle, as a result of a mutation, the gene responsible for limiting the growth of muscle mass “broke down”. No genetic engineering was used. A similar phenomenon exists in dogs.
Both dogs are whippets, but the black one lacks a gene that limits muscle building.
Exactly the same mutation occurred with Belgian cattle. But if Whippet Wendy is culled from breeding, then with the cattle everything happened the other way around. Animal breeders seized on such a great opportunity and fixed the mutation.
Photos of the Belgian meat breed of cattle are impressive.
The question arises how these cattle can reproduce. But in animal husbandry, only artificial insemination has been practiced for a long time. The uterus of this breed is not able to calve on its own and they are given a caesarean section. One uterus can withstand 6-10 operations.
To keep these bulls, special conditions are required. They can’t put on weight in the pastures like normal. They are kept in boxes with access to a small paddock.
But the dignity of this breed is in dietary meat with a low fat content. Living organisms are designed in such a way that it is more profitable for them to accumulate fat than to build muscle. In the case of a “broken” gene, the body, on the contrary, “refuses” to accumulate fat, “giving preference” to muscles.
But it is unlikely that Belgian cattle will ever appear on private backyards due to breeding difficulties.
Soviet breeds
Breeding beef cattle in Our Country was not engaged. All domestic beef breeds originate already in the times of the Soviet Union and, in fact, are a mixture of local national breeds with foreign beef cattle.
Meat cattle in Our Country are mainly represented by the Kazakh white-headed breed, bred on the basis of the Herefords.
Kazakh white-headed
This unpretentious breed weighs less than its ancestor Hereford. Kazakh white-headed bulls weigh up to 850 kg, cows 500. But Kazakh cattle are able to survive and gain weight where no European breed can survive. Cattle are adapted not only to poor nutrition, but also to wintering in the cold steppes. From the point of view of the household, the Kazakh white-headed is more profitable than other beef cattle, as it does not require special care, and the fertility is 96%.
Selection work is being carried out on the breed in order to improve its milk production. Already today there are two lines. If the milk yield of a purely meat line is 1-1,5 tons of milk per lactation, then the dairy line is capable of producing 2,5 tons of milk. In the case of purchasing a milk line of the Kazakh white-headed, the owner will be able not only to provide himself with meat, but also to get some milk for daily needs.
If Kazakh cattle for some reason does not suit you, Ukrainian meat breeds can be considered.
Ukrainian meat
The main composition of the parent breeds is three-quarters foreign. Charolaises, Simmentals and Kians took part in the breeding of Ukrainian beef cattle. Of the locals, there was only gray Ukrainian cattle.
Cattle are unpretentious to the conditions of detention and are able to manage pasture. True, these animals eat almost any plant, which creates a danger to fruit crops.
The animals are tall. Bulls can reach 150 cm at the withers and weigh 1,2 tons. Cows grow up to 130 cm and weigh 550 kg. Their meat yield is above average: 50-64%. But the main advantage of this breed is its thick skin, which is used to make leather shoes and other household items. The downside is that the breed is relatively new. Approved in 1993. Although the total number of livestock today reaches 10 thousand, few have heard of it and even fewer have seen it.
Volynskaya
Another Ukrainian breed is almost the same age as the previous one. The difference between Volyn and Ukrainian meat year. Volynskaya was bred in 1994. But the genetic base used to breed this cattle is slightly different:
- limousine;
- Aberdeen Angus;
- Hereford;
- polish red;
- black-and-white.
The result was a red suit of all shades: from cherry to light red.
Bulls weigh an average of 1 ton, cows – 500-550 kg. The slaughter yield from the carcass is higher than that of the Ukrainian meat carcass and ranges from 60 to 66%.
Animals of a strong constitution with a powerful skeleton, uncharacteristic for beef cattle. The head is small, the neck is short and powerful. Well developed withers and dewlap. The body is shorter than in other meat breeds, wide in the back, with a round chest. Also unlike other beef cattle, the muscles do not really stand out under the skin. Although the skin of the Volyn meat is of medium thickness.
Conclusion
Before choosing a meat breed of cows for a farmstead, it is better to familiarize yourself with the photo and description of livestock, since not all of them are docile and will be safe for the owner.