Cattle breeding, or cattle for short, people began to engage in the earliest period of human development, constantly improving the breed, depending on their needs. So, there are cows meat, dairy and universal. The latter are especially popular, and their brightest representative is Schwyz.

Breed description

Schwyz cows were introduced in the 14th century in the canton of the same name Schwyz, which is located in Switzerland. From there, the breed spread throughout the world and is now bred on all continents. It is considered universal, as it is suitable for producing high-quality milk and meat at the same time. For these basic indicators, the breed can be characterized as follows:

The generalized characteristics of the appearance are as follows:

Horns	Small, hollow inside or completely absent
Head	Medium with a wide forehead
Neck	Muscular but short, wrinkled
Rib cage	Moderately broad and deep, with pronounced muscles
Body	Folded proportionally, long, wide
Muscle	Pronounced in the chest, on the legs
Skeleton	Thin but strong
Limbs	Muscular, regular, even, ending with two-toed hooves
Wool	Short, stiff
Suit	Solid brown
Height at withers in centimeters	from 130 to 150

Did you know? The largest cow, nicknamed Mount Katadin, weighed 2270 kilograms during her lifetime. She lived four years and died more than a century ago.

Advantages and disadvantages

Pinworms are especially popular in their country of origin. Famous Swiss cheese is made from their milk. They are also widely distributed in Germany, Italy, Austria, America. But on the expanses of the former USSR, pedigree cows are a rarity.

• This phenomenon is difficult to explain, because the breed has a large number of positive qualities, namely:
• • strong immune system;
  • quick acclimatization and adaptability regardless of weather conditions;
  • even character, characterized by calm and peacefulness;
  • fairly high reproductive rates;
  • rapid growth and development.

• Cons are few, but they are still there. The main ones:
• • selectivity and some finicky in nutrition;
  • low milk yield, namely: about a liter per minute;
  • the structure of the udder in some individuals does not allow them to be milked automatically.

Maintenance and care

The Shvitsky cow breed is considered rather unpretentious in leaving and keeping. She does not need to create any special conditions in comparison with other cows. Of course, how much milk and meat gives a burenka directly depends on the way of life and nutrition.

Such cows can be kept both in stalls and combine this form with grazing. The stall method is in most cases used on large farms, but the combined or, in other words, the stall-pasture method is more suitable for households.

Important! Be sure to keep clean not only the stall, but the animal itself. The cow is regularly recommended to wash and comb out to avoid skin and other diseases.

Summer walking area

Even if cows are constantly kept in cowsheds, they still need fresh air and movement. To do this, near the cowsheds they make the so-called walking grounds. If the livestock is large, then animals can be placed there alternately. As a rule, bulls can walk there year-round, but cows are not recommended to be taken to frost because of the risk of damage to the udder by cold.

Moving outdoors is very important for animals. This helps to strengthen immunity, better blood circulation, improves digestion, prevents limb diseases, improves the quality of hair and skin. All this together, of course, contributes to the productive production of milk and muscle building.

A site in size should be made at the rate of 8 to 15 square meters. m per adult animal. For calves, this indicator can be reduced by a third, and for breeding - doubled. The place of walking should be equipped with feeders with roughage such as hay. At the site, you need to drain the stool to prevent diseases, and solid excrement needs to be cleaned regularly. An important moment is the presence of awnings in the place of walking. They provide shade, and, accordingly, there the animals rest and cool in hot weather.

Settlement of a barn

When arranging a barn, it is important to consider not only your own capabilities, but also generally accepted standards. Animals must be kept in reasonable conditions. They should not be crowded, they need an influx of fresh air, they should be warm in winter and enough food. So, it is recommended to build cowsheds with a height of at least two and a half meters. The animal should be located in place or, in other words, in a stall with a width of at least 170 cm and a length of more than 2 m. The cow should be free to sit in it and be able to lie down, because in this position it is up to 14 hours a day. To optimize the space in the stall, you can install a mounted or corner feeder.

Flooring is the foundation of animal health. It must be clean and dry. The basis of the floor, as a rule, is clay with a wooden floor tightly rammed into it. For flooring, it is optimal to use peat or sawdust. These materials perfectly absorb excess moisture. The thickness of the flooring should be about 10 cm.

Equally important in a barn are properly designed and constructed gutters. The floor should be made at a slight angle, so that animal excrement flows into the ditches. They should not stagnate, their regular washing is obligatory. In general, the lack of proper hygiene in the barn leads to diseases and, ultimately, to the death of livestock.

Important! In no case should cattle be kept on a concrete cold floor. This leads to limb diseases and bronchial problems.

Conditions of detention

There should be constant access to fresh air to the place of residence, so ventilation is mandatory in the ceiling area and through the windows. The only thing to avoid while doing this is drafts. The latter are harmful to animals, they can easily catch a cold. That is why it is recommended to place the windows at the level of the end of the withers of the cow, and this is approximately at the level of one and a half meters. The cow house should also have enough windows for sunlight. The window should be for every 10-12 square meters. m barn. Animals must distinguish between day and night, the yield of milk is very dependent on the regimen. With a lack of lighting in the daytime and in the evening, you need to turn on the light until night, that is, until their sleep.

It is necessary to create a comfortable temperature regime for the cows. Ventilation during hot weather should provide them with coolness. And in winter the room needs to be heated. At this time, the temperature in the barn should not be lower than + 15-17 ° C. Cows are still considered domestic animals and can get sick from low temperatures, especially when they are not moving in a stall while standing or lying down.

Crib Cleaning

If the gutters work correctly in the barn, then the urine will not accumulate in them, but will go to the places of discharge. Ditches must be washed so that the air is not stale and harmful microorganisms and bacteria do not form. There should also be a flooring that needs to be cleaned periodically. As a rule, heavy excrement is cleaned once a day, but if there is a lot of waste, this should be done twice. Flooring changes as it gets dirty. Ideally, it should be changed once a day.

The key to cow health is clean litter. Cleaners should also be kept clean. The animal should eat as much as it should be, and at a certain time. If the food remains, which is rare or due to the fact that it does not like, its remnants must be removed. And then figure out what the animal did not like in the diet. You should also pay attention to the fact that wet and dry food must be scattered in different feeders so that the food does not spoil. Hay and friable feed should be poured into a suspended rectangular container. But for the stirrer you can easily use large aluminum or plastic buckets.

Did you know? Cows, like humans, can cry.

Feeding ration

Schwitz cows must be fed with high quality dry and succulent feeds. You can dilute them with mixed feed, vegetables. It is worth noting that these cows are often finicky in food, so feed is recommended to change and diversify. If cattle is stall, then in summer it is simply necessary to include fresh grass in the diet, in addition to hay. Milk yields from this increase significantly. Most Schwitz love alfalfa, clover, peas.

Summer walk in the pasture

In summer, of course, the best will be the withdrawal of cows in the pasture. At their best, these cows should graze in a meadow with succulent perennial grasses. If the cow grazes in the meadow, then she does not need additional food in the stall. It’s enough to drink the animal well.

Differences in winter feeding

In the winter season, the diet of the Swiss cow should also consist of succulent and dry feed. The first ones at this time of year are replaced by vegetables; straw, cake, hay are suitable from dry ones. In the morning and evening you need to add feed to them. In winter, animals need additional vitamins and minerals, so they also give salt, bone meal.

Water

Schwick cows need water in large quantities. This is due to the fact that milk is more than 80% water, and this breed gives it in large quantities. As a rule, the right amount of water is calculated from the fact that an animal needs 3-4 liters of water to produce one liter of milk. Shvitsa drink up to 10 times a day from 10 to 20 liters. They drink especially much after eating and eating dry food. The optimum temperature of the liquid should be at the level of + 15-17 ° С. In winter, it must be heated. At this time of the year you can not give water, the temperature of which is below +10 ° C, this is fraught with diseases. It is important to keep drinkers clean and constantly clean them of plaque.

Schweiz cows produce a lot of meat and milk of excellent quality. That is why they are deservedly popular in Western countries. On the expanses of the former Union of pedigree animals, there are not very many, as a rule, imported material is used for insemination. Perhaps our breeders should pay more attention to the cows of this breed, as they are well acclimatized and not picky in care.