Contents
The Red Steppe cow does not have a very long history compared to many Western dairy breeds. It began to be bred at the end of the 1783th century, crossing western cattle with an old draft breed of cattle, bred at that time in Ukraine. “Aborigine” of Ukraine – gray steppe breed of cattle was intended more for use in harness. On powerful and hardy oxen of this breed, the Chumaks went to the Crimea for salt. But after the conquest of the Crimea in XNUMX by Catherine the Great and the establishment of communication between the peninsula and the mainland, as well as the elimination of the military threat from the south, horses firmly took their “legitimate” place of draft animals.
Strong and hardy, but very slow oxen of the gray steppe breed were no longer needed, and foreign dairy cattle began to be imported to Ukraine. This was done, of course, not by the peasants, but by the German colonists. As a result of absorption crossbreeding of gray steppe cows with sires of red East Frisian, Simmental, Angeln and other breeds, a new breed of dairy cattle arose, which was named after the color and the steppe region of breeding.
Officially, the red steppe breed was recognized at the beginning of the 70th century. In the XNUMXs of the same century, as a result of migration processes, the red steppe breed of cows from the Black Sea steppes penetrated into the more eastern parts of the Empire: the Volga region, Kuban, Kalmykia, Stavropol, Western Siberia. In each of the districts, the red steppe breed was mixed with local cattle, changing the productive and exterior characteristics. As a result, several types of the “German” red cow were formed.
In the photo, a sire of the Kulunda type.
Breed description
General impression: cattle of a strong, sometimes coarse constitution. The frame is light but strong. The head is not large, usually light and graceful. But depending on the type, it can be somewhat rough. The nose is dark. The breed is horned, the horns are light gray in color.
When fighting in a herd for hierarchy, a cow can flog an opponent with a horn. Red steppe cattle are best dehorned as calves, if possible.
The neck is thin, of medium length. The body is long. The topline is uneven, with distinct differences between sections of the spine. The withers are high, wide. The back is narrow. The loin is long and narrow. The sacrum is raised, wide. The croup is of medium length. The legs are short, with the correct set.
Cattle of the red steppe breed of medium size. Height at the withers 127,5±1,5 cm, oblique length 154±2 cm, stretch index 121. Chest depth 67±1 cm, width 39,5±2,5 cm. Metacarpal girth 18±1 cm, bone index 14 .
The udder is well developed, small, rounded. The nipples are cylindrical.
The color of the red steppe breed corresponds to its name. Cows are solid red. There may be small white markings on the forehead, udder, belly and limbs.
Exterior flaws
Unfortunately, there are also enough shortcomings in cows of this breed. In fact, there was no full-fledged breeding work, and peasants could have cows with any shortcomings just to get milk. Therefore, the breed contains:
- thin skeleton;
- narrow or drooping croup;
- little weight;
- udder defects;
- poor muscularity;
- wrong foot position.
When choosing a cow for purchase, be sure to pay attention to the presence of flaws in the exterior and udder. Often they affect either the health of the cow, or the well-being of calving, or milk production. In particular, the incorrect structure of the udder during machine milking leads to mastitis.
Productive characteristics of the red steppe breed of cows
The weight of an adult cow ranges from 400 to 650 kg. Bulls can reach 900 kg. At birth, heifers weigh from 27 to 30 kg, bulls from 35 to 40 kg. With properly organized feeding, by six months, calves gain weight up to 200 kg. By the year, the weight of a calf can reach up to 300 kg. The slaughter yield of meat is 53%.
Milk production depends on the climatic zone of breeding. On abundant succulent feed, a red-steppe cow can produce over 5000 liters of milk per lactation. But the average indicators are 4 – 5 tons of milk for the lactation period.
The fat content of milk in cows of this breed is “average”: 3,6 – 3,7%.
Breed benefits
Bred in the arid Black Sea steppes of Ukraine, the red steppe has high adaptive qualities and easily adapts to any climatic conditions. She is undemanding to the conditions of detention. In the Black Sea region, green grass grows only in spring and autumn. In summer, the steppe completely burns out under the hot sun, and in winter, the frozen ground is covered with snow. The red steppe is able to quickly gain weight on the grass until this grass burns out. In times of drought, livestock maintain their weight gain by eating low-nutrient dry grass.
Cattle of this breed tolerates summer heat over 30 ° C and cold steppe winds in winter. Cows are able to graze all day in the sun without water. In addition to these advantages, the Red Steppe breed has very strong immunity.
Recommended breeding areas for the Red Steppe: Ural, Transcaucasia, Stavropol, Krasnodar Territory, Volga Region, Omsk and Rostov Regions, Moldova, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
Features of breeding
The breed is characterized by precocity. On average, heifers happen for the first time already in a year and a half. When selecting manufacturers, care should be taken and possible hereditary defects of the exterior should be taken into account. If the heifer has any defect, she should choose a bull without hereditary defects as a pair. True, this does not guarantee the birth of quality calves, but it increases the chances of this.
Reviews of owners of cows of the red steppe breed
Conclusion
Given the ability of red steppe cows to give good milk yields even on scarce feed in the steppe regions, they can be bred in regions where droughts often occur. The breed requires further selection, but this issue is being resolved today in the breeding farms of the southern regions of Our Country. Due to the unpretentiousness to feed, heat and frost resistance, the red steppe cow is well suited for keeping in private backyards.