Contents
Any farmer wants his animals to have a high level of productivity. In this case, it is necessary to carry out selection work and understand how to correctly evaluate cattle in terms of productive qualities. Grading of cattle is necessary in order to determine the necessary criteria as accurately as possible, as a result of which only valuable individuals remain in the herd.
What is cattle valuation and why is it needed
Bonitation is an assessment of cattle, which allows you to determine their qualitative value, taking into account the breed, constitution, exterior, origin, live weight and milk production. As a rule, all work is carried out by employees of the farm, and outside specialists are rarely invited.
Before proceeding with the evaluation of cattle, you will need to perform a number of procedures:
- check the assigned animal number;
- take into account information on feeding and keeping individuals;
- fill out a special card – F2-mol;
- sum the milk yield of each cow for the last year;
- carry out all the necessary preparatory work.
In order to classify cattle, the Ministry of Agriculture has specially developed instructions that describe in detail all sorts of distinguishing features of livestock. After a full assessment of the cattle has been carried out, each animal is assigned the appropriate class.
How is grading carried out
Cattle evaluation can be carried out both by the farm workers themselves and by specialists invited from outside. All work, as a rule, is carried out in a certain sequence, after which the belonging of the animal is determined.
The sequence of work is as follows:
- first of all, it is necessary to determine the breed of each individual, while the breed must be confirmed by official documents;
- each cow is given an estimate of relative milk production;
- assess the constitution and exterior of the body;
- give a final assessment;
- assign a class.
After assigning a class, the further purpose of the KRS is determined. In most cases, if an individual scored less than 50 points, then it is sent for slaughter.
Criteria for evaluation
After the evaluation of cattle, the data obtained during the research are collected and compared with a special table.
Cows are evaluated according to the following criteria:
- milk productivity;
- body constitution;
- body exterior;
- genotype.
Bulls are evaluated:
- genotype;
- body exterior;
- body constitution.
Young people take into account:
- genotype;
- body exterior;
- body constitution;
- degree of development.
When carrying out the grading of cattle, animals are assessed for all of the above parameters. Grades are assigned in accordance with the data presented in special tables. After that, the points are summed up, an overall score is obtained, after which the animal is assigned a class.
By origin
First of all, they carefully study the documentation on the origin of each individual, including the breed of the parents. The animal is examined, the type of breed is determined: a purebred individual or a mixture.
Purebreds are generally considered to be animals whose parents are of the same breed. In this case, there must be a documentary confirmation of the breed or a crossbreed in the 4th generation is also documented – the breed is clearly expressed, the class is not less than the elite. Crossbreeds include individuals that were obtained by mixing several different species.
Exterior
In this case, the heifers take into account the following indicators:
- udder shape;
- suitability for automated milking;
- udder size;
- expressiveness of the breed;
- body harmony.
Bulls pay attention to:
- breed characteristics and their severity;
- hind limbs;
- body harmony;
- lower back
After the examination, each animal is evaluated on a scale from 1 to 10. In the process of grading cattle, defects and deviations in each individual are taken into account. The exterior is evaluated on a scale from 1 to 5. At the same time, only those animals that have:
- well developed withers in accordance with age;
- wide chest, no interception on the shoulder blades;
- straight sacrum, back, lower back;
- well developed pelvis;
- legs are set correctly.
In cows, special attention is paid to the udder.
By live weight
When evaluating young animals, it is worth adhering to an additional table of the average daily weight gain of animals aged 8 to 15 months.
Points | Bulls | Chicks |
2 | Less than 700 g | Less than 560 g |
3 | From 701 g to 850 g | From 561 g to 560 g |
4 | From 851 g to 1 kg | From 651 g to 750 g |
5 | From 1 kg and more | From 751 g and more |
In order for the information obtained to be subjective, it is required to weigh the animals daily and record the data in a book specially designed for this purpose.
Productivity
Performance appraisal, as a rule, is carried out taking into account the quality and quantity of milk.
In this case, the following indicators are taken into account:
- milk yield in kg;
- milk fat percentage;
- milk release rate.
In the process of research, a special table is used. It indicates the performance data that a cow must meet for 1, 2 and 3 lactation periods. Each individual is individually checked for compliance with these data.
At the same time, it is important to take into account that monthly control milking should be carried out, after which the average level of milk fat content is calculated. In addition, it is worth taking into account the amount of milk received per day and the time spent on this.
By reproductive ability
When evaluating reproductive characteristics, data obtained from livestock specialists and veterinarians are taken into account. When bulls are assessed during grading, they take into account the number of standard spermatozoa received throughout the year or the number of fertilized cows during the mating season. Cows are evaluated according to the course of calving and the length of the intercalving period.
By the quality of the offspring
After the bull has reached the age of 12 months, it is put to check the offspring. During the check period, semen is taken daily from the bull, the resulting material is subjected to freezing. All tested bulls are used simultaneously, while inseminating an equal number of cows with the semen taken. The resulting offspring are recorded and checked for abnormalities in calves.
Appraisal classes
After conducting all the studies and calculating the total amount of data, the animals are assigned the appropriate class.
To date, there are the following classes assigned after the grading of cattle:
- elite record – the animal scored more than 81 points;
- elite – the number of points is from 71 to 80;
- Grade 1 – varies from 61 to 70 points;
- Grade 2 – from 51 to 60 points;
- extracurricular – less than 50 points were scored.
As a rule, out-of-class animals are not recommended for breeding. In most cases, they are immediately sent for slaughter after grading, since such individuals are of no value.
Each animal has the opportunity to score up to 100 points. The maximum score for performance is 60, for the constitution and conformation you can get up to 24 points and for the genotype give a maximum of 16 points.
Subsequent appointment of animals
After all the necessary data have been obtained, the individual characteristics of each animal have been taken into account, you can proceed to determining the purpose of cattle.
The purpose of cattle is determined as follows:
- as a rule, only the best part of the herd belongs to the breeding core. In most cases, this part does not exceed 60% of the total number of animals;
- breeding individuals included in the breeding core make up about 20% of the number of individuals included in the breeding stock after grading.
Among the animals that are included in the breeding core, mainly young heifers and bulls are selected. If the young animals do not have any breeding values, then they are fattened and then sent for slaughter.
Conclusion
Cattle appraisal is a procedure based on the results of which each animal on the farm is assigned a purpose. Individuals in which the highest rates were identified form the breeding core. Outstanding individuals are used for mating to order, which are carried out to obtain breeding individuals. As a rule, the farm workers themselves can carry out these works, but if necessary, you can turn to professionals from research institutes for help.