Black-motley breed of cattle: description, care and feeding

The black-and-white breed of cattle provides excellent annual milk yield - in terms of milk production, it is not inferior to the red steppe and Simmental breeds, which are considered the favorites of Russian cattle breeders. Significant milk yield and unpretentiousness in the care make black-motley cows extremely popular in agriculture and farming.

Breed description

The black-motley cow was recently bred - in the 1930–40s in the USSR, and was approved as a separate breed only in 1959. The ancestors turned out to be the imported Dutch bulls, which were crossed with locally grown cows.

At first, the first representatives were rather flimsy, with poor health and fragile physique, however, despite these shortcomings, they had high milk productivity. After breeding, the animals became stronger, acquired more developed muscles, good immunity and excellent health.

Adult individuals of black-motley breed have the following exterior characteristics:

Hornsgray color, darker tips, small size
Headoblong, with elongated muzzle
Necklength is average. Folds, muscularity not developed.
Chestaverage width with a depth of about 70–75 cm
Udderlarge, voluminous. It looks like a bowl in shape, with unevenly developed lobes. The rear nipples are closer to each other than the front. Veins are pronounced
Bellylarge and voluminous
Backstraight, without deflection in the lumbar region, with a wide sacrum
Bodyhas an elongated shape proportional to
Skeletonlarge
Limbsstrong and straight, steady, short
Height at the withersabout 130–135 cm
Leatherelastic and thin, delicate
Woolshort, smooth, soft
Suitblack and white

Due to their wide distribution, all representatives of this breed are divided into three large groups corresponding to the regions of their mass breeding.

Each group is adapted to the climate of its area and differs from other groups in both external features and productivity indicators:

  1. Central. These cows are bred in the central regions of Russia. The main representatives came from the cross-breeding of black-motley cattle with other breeds: Vologda, Yaroslavl and Simmental. Non-fat milk in this group is about 3.7%, and animals weigh up to 600 kg in females and slightly less than 1000 kg in males.
  2. Siberian. She was bred after mixing blood of a local Siberian breed and cattle imported from the Netherlands. The resulting individuals differ in small sizes, but their skeleton is strong. The fat content of milk is slightly higher - 3.8%.
  3. Ural. In this region, black-motley individuals were mixed with Tagil ones. Because of this, the group began to have less weight - about 500 kg for cows and up to 900 kg for bulls, and the skeleton became thinner and lighter. However, the productivity of this subspecies is slightly higher than the other two - higher milk yields and 4% milk fat.

Did you know? The world record for annual milk productivity belongs to the representative of the black-motley breed, which gave 19106 kg of dairy products with a fat content of 4.2% for lactation.

Advantages and disadvantages

  • This breed has the following advantages:
  • Big milk yield . According to this indicator, black-motley breed is one of the best. The amount of milk obtained depends on the conditions of detention: on farms and in pedigree farms, with good fattening and proper care, the annual milk yield can exceed 8000 kg, but without careful care and pasture, these cows produce about 3500 kg of milk, which is also very good.
  • Good meat yield . Although the breed belongs to the dairy direction, its representatives quickly gain weight, and the bulls grow to 1000 kg. With painstaking care and good feeding, the bulls give a good yield of quality lean meat - about 55%. Not every dairy breed can boast of such indicators.
  • Precocity . Black-motley cows reach early maturity - by about a year and a half. However, this often happens earlier - at 13-14 months of life.
  • High survival of offspring . Cows calve easily and have a well-developed maternal instinct. Cubs are born strong and active, immediately try to get on their feet. Survive in 95% of cases.
  • Adaptability to various climatic conditions . A variety of individuals allows you to breed those animals that are most adapted to the weather of your area. They calmly tolerate snow, cold and winds, since many generations have been grown in the northern regions. Such conditions are familiar to them and do not affect the state of health. This cattle is just as successfully acclimatized in the central regions with a mild and warm climate.
  • Undemanding to the content . By providing the animal with only the minimum necessary care, you can already get a sufficient yield of milk. In summer, livestock feeds mainly on pasture.

The disadvantages of the breed include:

  • Minuses
  • Nonfat milk . Although on the shelves of stores you can often find bottles with milk, the fat content of which does not exceed 4%, nevertheless, for whole cow's milk this indicator is low, since the product may have a 6% fat content.
  • Inability to compete with the meat and meat and milk industry . Although with good fattening, calves can gain up to a ton of live weight, they require special conditions for this, which still do not guarantee a constant successful recruitment. Therefore, a meaty black-and-white goby is more a bonus than a rule. Other breeds of meat orientation are more profitable, as they give a stable and greater meat yield.
  • Noticeable differences in species groups within the breed . Although belonging to the black-motley breed is clearly visible in all groups, the differences between them are no less noticeable - from the density of the skeleton, size differences and the amount and fat content of milk.
  • Need for a warmed barn . Black-and-white cattle are adapted to live in harsh northern conditions and can tolerate cold, but drafts and high humidity are dangerous for him, like for most other animals.

It should be noted that still breeding work is underway to improve the breed and to develop even more universal groups adapted to different climatic zones.

Maintenance and care

The content of any cattle is reduced to the implementation of a number of points:

  • preparation of feed - dry (hay) and succulent (fruits, root crops, silage);
  • organization of the feeding process with a difference in summer and winter;
  • regular milking process;
  • arrangement of the barn in accordance with the needs of the animal;
  • cleaning livestock;
  • hygienic care for cows and bulls.

The needs of black-motley breed do not differ much from the needs of other breeds.

Summer walking area

In summer, cows need free grazing. Their diet is mainly pasture - juicy, fresh grass. However, if it is not possible to organize livestock grazing, it can be replaced by a summer walking area.

Such a site is most often organized on the south side of a building - this arrangement protects animals from drafts. In addition, its size should be large enough.

So, if the coating is not hard, then at least 15 square meters are required per adult animal. m of free space, young animals - 10 square meters. m, and calves - 5 square meters. m. If the coating is hard, less than one square foot is required: 8 sq. m. m to livestock, 5 sq. m. m young and 2 square. m cubs.

The site is fenced, place feeders and drinking bowls on its territory. Necessarily the presence of a large canopy - its function is to protect livestock from heat and direct sunlight. In order not to overheat, the animals will be located under a canopy, which will allow them to maintain good health.

On a walking platform, cows should move freely, keeping on a leash is not recommended. The meaning of such a place is precisely to satisfy the animal's need for movement.

While walking, cows strengthen their legs and hooves - due to this they are less susceptible to injury than in a closed and cramped room. They also increase immunity.

The favorite of the summer content of cattle, of course, is free grazing. In such conditions, animals clean their hooves about plants, are less polluted and eat high-quality, juicy pasture feed.

This allows you to save not only on the purchase of special feed in the summer, but also on other expensive resources, such as cleaning and stall cleaning, as well as procurement and organization of feeding.

Did you know? European dairies pay farmers bonuses for pasture milk. Such milk, collected from cows grazing in grassy meadows, is considered the most useful and high-quality.

Arrangement of a barn

Black-motley cows are sensitive to the environment - they like freedom of movement, poorly tolerate crowding, dirt, high humidity and drafts.

Therefore, when building, you need to consider two main points:

  1. Large volume - in such conditions, cows grow better and give more milk yield.
  2. Southeast direction - in order to protect animals from drafts, frostbite, cold and humidity, all windows and doors in the barn should face the south or east side.

Also important is the interior arrangement of the barn.

Important! Cows lie for at least 14 hours a day, and the amount of milk depends on the length of the bed. If the floor is hard, wet and cold, then the animal will lie for no more than 6 hours, which will significantly reduce its milk production.

In it, you must definitely equip:

  1. Stall . This is the main place of pasture of cattle, and it should be spacious enough so that each individual has 2.5 m of free space. The animals are kept on a leash, for this they most often use strong metal chains. At the same time, the chain should not hamper movement, allowing you to move around and reach food and water. It is unacceptable if the leash injures livestock or is difficult to remove.
  2. Feeder . She needs to equip every stall, designed for one animal. The size of the feeder must be such that at least 6 kg of hay is placed in it. In addition, it is better to make two feeders - one for dry roughage, and the other for succulent feed. The shape should be such that cows can freely get feed from the bottom. The material for manufacturing is wood (used indoors) and metal (most often they are made on pastures).
  3. Drinking bowl . Each cow must have access to a drinking bowl, so they must also be kept in each stall. The shape and size requirements are the same as for feeders. The ideal option is an automatic drinking bowl. It will provide the animals with a constant supply of fresh water and save owners time on its replacement.
  4. Litter . The barn floor is always lined with litter - it makes the cover soft so that the cattle is comfortable lying down, and also absorbs excrement and smells. With regular replacement, the pollution of the room is significantly reduced. The litter is most often made from straw, sometimes from peat, but it is best to use both materials in a ratio of 2 to 1. The volume of litter is calculated based on the fact that each animal needs at least 3 kg daily.

Conditions of detention

In order for the animals to develop well and produce large milk yields, their content must meet the basic requirements:

  1. Temperature Black-motley cows tolerate both cold and heat. However, with a long stay in the stable, the stability of the temperature regime is important to them. In winter, the optimum temperature will be from +5 to + 12 ° C. In summer, these figures should ideally rise only to + 20 ° C.
  2. Ventilation . High humidity (over 70%), the accumulation of excess gases and the presence of drafts are fatal to livestock. Therefore, the room should be well ventilated daily. The best option is to equip the ventilation system of the supply and exhaust type.
  3. Lighting Burenki need a long daylight hours - at least 16 hours. Therefore, in the barn, spacious and tall windows are made, facing the southeast direction. They should be placed so high that the cows could not reach their horns. In winter, daylight hours are extended by artificial lamp lighting. You can use ordinary incandescent or emergency lights, but they tend to heat up, which increases the temperature in the room. To avoid this and significantly save on constant lighting, it is best to use LED lights.

Cleaning

Regular cleaning in the barn is a prerequisite for maintaining livestock health. This is necessary not only for reasons of maintaining cleanliness and combating pathogenic bacteria; Another good reason is that, together with the excrement, cows emit carbon dioxide and ammonia.

If these substances accumulate in large quantities in the room, this concentration becomes toxic to animals.

When maintaining cleanliness in the crib, you must adhere to these rules:

  1. Excrement harvesting . Usually, to simplify the cleaning process, the stall is equipped so that at its end there is a gutter in the floor, about 30 cm wide and with an inclination to one of the walls. Excrement will flow to the place of discharge, from where it will be easier to clean them with a shovel. Such a procedure should be carried out every day.
  2. Litter replacement . The litter absorbs the contents of fecal matter and urine, so its replacement should be daily. Spoiled litter is collected and replaced with fresh.
  3. Cleaning feeders and drinking bowls . In the remnants of water and food, bacteria multiply, food rots. If you do not remove the remnants of the old food and fill in a new portion from above, then bacteria and putrefactive processes will spread to fresh food, after which they will enter the body of the cow and can cause gastrointestinal tract diseases.
  4. Sanitary day . Ideally, a full barn cleaning is recommended once every couple of months. Animals are taken out of the room, manure and bedding are completely cleaned, feeders, drinking bowls, stalls, handrails, floor and walls are thoroughly washed (often the livelihoods of livestock are sprayed and fall onto the walls). After complete cleaning with water, disinfect all surfaces of the room. For disinfection, materials such as quicklime or soda ash are quite suitable.

Did you know? The capacity of the cow’s stomach is amazing - it can reach almost 200 liters!

Milking preparation

If you do not adhere to hygiene norms and rules when milking, bacteria can get not only into milk. Microbes through the milk duct in the nipple are able to penetrate into the mammary gland and cause inflammation, which ultimately leads to the development of mastitis - a dangerous disease, often fatal to the animal.

Milking preparations include the following steps:

  1. Room preparation . It must be ensured that the room is clean, with good ventilation, without excrement. If the litter under the cow has become contaminated, it must be removed.
  2. Cow training . Usually, the milking process is carried out when the cow is on a leash. It is necessary to bind it, as it can suddenly go when you are under it. As a result, injuries and an inverted can with milk. Also, if the animal likes to kick, you can snap one of the legs. It is also advisable to tie the tail of the animal to one leg, as it cuts the insect from the burenka - with this wave it can hit you, or this will cause dirt and wool to get into the milk container. The tail can be tied to the leg with a soft thin rope, or with the strands of hair on the brush.
  3. Preparation of milkmaids . Before milking, be sure to thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water, put on clean clothes, the presence of an apron will be a plus. Hair needs to be collected and hidden under a hat so that they do not get into milk. Hands must be warm, otherwise the animal will be frightened by a cold touch and may not allow to milk itself. All these requirements apply not only to manual milking, but also automatic. In both cases, sterilization of the milk tank is necessary, and in the latter case, sterilization of the milking machine is also added.
  4. Preparing the udder . Before milking, you must first wipe the entire area of ​​the mammary gland with a dry, clean cloth - it will remove dry dirt, dust and loose hair. Then the udder and nipples are washed with warm boiled water. Water temperature should be 38–39 ° С. After washing, the udder is wiped dry with a clean cloth.
  5. Breast massage . After carrying out hygienic manipulations with the udder, it should be lightly massaged for 30-60 seconds. It is not necessary to press and crush the iron, it is enough to gently stroke all the udder shares with your hands. This massage evenly distributes milk throughout the gland, stimulates lactation, facilitates the process of milk separation and milking, and also helps to increase milk yield.

Feeding ration

Feeding of black-motley cows, like most cattle species, varies in winter and summer.

Livestock pasture and feeding in the summer

The main part of the livestock diet in summer is pasture grass. Cows leave for free pasture in the early morning, return for lunch milking and rest, after which they again go to pasture until evening. Therefore, the main daily diet is fresh meadow grass.

The choice of pasture must be approached responsibly, since the taste of grass affects the taste of milk and can give it bitterness. Plants also affect the fat content of the resulting product.

Important! Корова на пастбище без разбора поглощает всю попавшуюся под ноги траву, и потому может съесть ядовитое растение!

Перед тем как вывести животных на луг, нужно тщательно выбрать место для их выпаса — там не должно быть ядовитых растений, место также должно быть сухим.

Во влажной среде скапливается большое количество моллюсков, которые корова съедает вместе с травой, а данные организмы — промежуточный хозяин для многих гельминтов, через которых и происходит заражение коров глистами.

Лучшей травой для КРС являются такие растения:

  • alfalfa;
  • clover;
  • мятлик луговой;
  • peas;
  • timothy
  • вика.

Эти травы благоприятно сказываются на молоке и повышают его жирность.

Переход на пастбищный рацион должен происходить постепенно, чтобы дать пищеварительному тракту животных перестроиться для переваривания новой пищи. Поэтому в первые дни скот выпускают на выпас всего на пару часов утром и на такое же время вечером.

Время выпаса постепенно увеличивают. А на ночь животным дают подвяленную траву — она облегчает пищеварительные процессы.

Взрослому скоту требуется в сутки около 50 кг травы. Из них подвяленной травяной массы коровам дают не более 5 кг. Остальные 45 кг — луговые свежие растения.

Помимо зелёного корма, в летнее время коровы также нуждаются и в корнеплодах.

It can be:

  • свёкла;
  • potatoes;
  • турнепс;
  • swede;
  • carrot.

С удовольствием бурёнки едят и смесь из отрубей, нарезанного картофеля, соли и воды.

Important! Летом пастбищный выгул удовлетворяет суточную потребность скота в питательных веществах на 80 %. Остальные 20 % животные получают из овощей и корнеплодов. Поэтому концентрированные корма на летний период нужно полностью исключить из рациона.

Differences in winter feeding

Зимой выпас невозможен, поэтому свежую траву заменяют грубыми кормами:

  • hay;
  • мякиной;
  • thatch.

Основу рациона составляет сено, а мякина и солома являются низкопитательными кормами.

Помимо этого чёрно-пёстрым коровам дают:

  • концентрированные корма — злаковые, бобовые, шпроты и жмыхи;
  • сочные корма — корнеплоды, силос, овощи.

Рассчитывая количество продуктов в зимнем рационе, нужно исходить из таких показателей на одно животное:

  • от 50 % до 80 % суточного рациона должны составлять грубые корма;
  • 30 % — концентраты;
  • 20 % — силос и сенаж;
  • от 10 % до 15 % — корнеплоды.

Дойные коровы с высокой продуктивностью больше других нуждаются в витаминной и минеральной подкормке, поэтому им необходимо давать витаминные комплексы. Также надо обеспечить бурёнок солью.

Water

Вода входит в основу рациона КРС — она составляет более, чем 80 % состава молока, на выработку 1 кг которого требуется около 5 л воды. При недостатке воды удои будут значительно сокращаться.

Рассчитывать суточную потребность коровы в воде нужно, исходя из следующих факторов:

  1. Преобладание сухих и сочных кормов . Чем больше сухих кормов, тем меньше воды в них содержится — наверстать объём жидкости нужно через питьё.
  2. Температурный режим . Летом потребность в воде возрастает из-за жары; при росте температуры свыше 27°С на образование 1 кг молока требуется 6–8 л воды.
  3. Объём удоев . От количества молока, которое образуется у коровы, зависит и её потребность в жидкости. Так, тёлке, дающей около 10 кг молока, нужно примерно 50–70 л воды в сутки. А высокоудойной бурёнке, производящей свыше 30 кг молочной продукции, нужно не менее 150 л воды.

При нахождении коровы в стойле у неё всегда должен быть свободный доступ к поилке. Летом воду в ней меняют раз в двое суток, а зимой — два раза в сутки. Нужно следить, чтобы жидкость всегда была свежей, чистой и не слишком холодной. Идеально, если температура воды примерно равна температуре тела животного.

Недостаток жидкости в организме коровы можно определить по следующим признакам:

  • уменьшение количества молока;
  • редкое мочеиспускание;
  • образование твёрдых каловых масс;
  • беспокойное поведение.

Если у скота обнаруживаются подобные признаки, нужно как можно скорее восстановить водный баланс в организме и впредь постараться не допускать подобных ситуаций.

Did you know? Предполагается, что именно коровывиновники парникового эффекта. Оказывается, при переваривании травы эти животные выделяют метан как продукт своей жизнедеятельности. Причём объём вредного газа, выделяемого скотом, превышает объём метана, который вырабатывается автомобилями и самолётами.

Чёрно-пёстрая порода коров является одной из фавориток современного фермерского животного хозяйства. Она даёт большие молочные удои, быстро растёт и развивается, имеет хороший иммунитет и крепкое здоровье, а также легко акклиматизируется к любым погодным условиям, что делает возможным содержание этих животных даже в суровых северных районах.

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