The direction of the Holstein-Friesian cow is milkness, but with proper feeding and care you can get quite an impressive amount of meat. It is not easy to keep such cows, as well as to feed, but their milk yield is high, for this given cattle is appreciated.
Origin history
The Holstein-Friesian cow appeared due to the crossing of Friesian cattle with bulls from Germany. In the 1st century in Frisia, which is currently located in the territories:
- North Holland;
- Groningen
- Friesland.
Immigrants from Germany arrived there with their cows. The Friesian cows at that time were light, and among the settlers they were black. Cows with bulls bred and new calves were obtained, which were called Holstein-Friesian.
In hysterical records, you can see that animals were fed up to 1500 kg of live weight. There were differences in the weight of the same breed, but this depended on the composition of the soil and the quality of the grass.
In the Middle Ages, Holstein cows were crossed a lot with other breeds to get even more meat and milk.
Almost every dairy breed of cows was once crossed with a Holstein cow. An exception is cattle from the islands of Jersey and Guernsey, since in those places it was forbidden by law to cross-breed with imported cattle.
Habitats of Holstein-Friesian cows
Today, Holstein-Friesian cows are popular in the following cities:
- Voronezh;
- Volgograd
- Lipetsk.
Although in the following cities there are constant cold winters, still this breed adapted to living in:
- Altai;
- Krasnoyarsk Territory;
- Khakassia.
As for red-motley cows, they are the most common in Ukraine and Kazakhstan, and black and white suits are most common in Belarus.
Description and appearance
Earlier, the Holstein-Friesian cow was recorded in history as a dairy and meat cow, but in our time it is more related to dairy breed. The fact is that the meat yield is much smaller than that of cows of the meat direction.
Holstein-Friesian bulls have an evil character.
Growth of an adult bull is 160 cm, and cows of the same breed - up to 145 cm at the withers. In some cases, the growth of the bull reached as much as 180 cm. As for the coloring of the cattle, it can be:
- black and white
- pinto;
- pinto.
The latter color is a rarity. Blue is caused by the fusion of wool: black and white. From a distance it seems that the cow is bluish, but in fact it is in a white and black speck. The most common suit of a Holstein-Friesian cow is black and white. Black-pied cattle is distinguished by a large milk yield than red-pied cattle. Red-pinto animals have less milk, but the fat content is higher than that of black-pinto.
What are the criteria for distinguishing Holstein-Friesian cows:
- the head is light, even;
- elongated body;
- there is a small hump on the neck;
- chest is deep and wide;
- the sacrum is wide and the back is long;
- straight croup;
- legs are wide, correctly set;
- the udder resembles the shape of a bowl, large in size with clearly visible veins.
The amount of milk can be determined by the shape of the udder and bulge of the veins. If the udder is large and irregular in shape, that cow will not give a lot of milk. A good udder, from which you can get a lot of delicious milk, has a cup-shaped shape, the shares are evenly developed. Nipples are small and soft. Some part of the udder protrudes between the hind legs, the bottom parallel to the ground hanging down the knee joints.
Care and maintenance
Comfortable conditions, fresh air and a clean room are important for Holstein cows. If you properly care for animals, then they increase immunity and resistance to disease. Therefore, for such animals it is necessary to build hangars with good ventilation and carefully clean the premises.
In winter, they live in warm rooms without a leash. The farmer must take care of the pens, where there should be litter, and hangars with insulated walls are being built in the Northern regions. Animals love cleanliness, so they need to be cleaned in the stall twice a day.
Holstein will not eat, or drink if the dishes are dirty, nor will they eat unwashed vegetables and drink water if straw gets into it. Improper care will adversely affect milk quantity and milk yield.
If milking occurs using a machine, the udder is fully extended within 3 minutes. After the procedure is completed, it is necessary to check the udder for the remaining milk. Milk must not be allowed to remain, otherwise mastitis may occur.
Feeding
Nutrition is compiled individually for each individual, because in food they are very whimsical. From the second month of life, when the calves stop drinking colostrum, they switch to independent food. They are given washed and peeled vegetables (400 grams per day) and concentrates, and the calves are fed oatmeal in the amount of 100 grams at a time.
From 4 months old, hay and grain should be added to the diet of young animals; by the age of six months, the calf eats per day:
- 3 kg of hay;
- 1 kg of root crops;
- 7 kg of silage;
- 1 kg of concentrates.
At 6 months, the heifer weighs 155 kg, and the calf weighs 180 kg. After this age, calves are transferred to normal cow feeding. Cows should receive plenty of both dry and wet food.
Feeding rate for cows in the lactation period:
Type of feed per 100 kg live weight | Name |
Dry food - 3 kg | concentrates, green fodder, bone meal |
Juicy - 10 kg | vegetables, haylage, silage and grass |
Coarse - up to 2 kg | straw and hay |
In the first lactation period, the heifer should be fed as follows:
Feed | amount |
Hay | 4,5 kg |
Straw | 3 kg |
Haylage | 8 kg |
Silage | 7 kg |
Compound feed | 200 g |
Syrup | 700 g |
Salt | 50 g |
In summer, animals feed on fresh grass, but 1.5 kg of hay should be offered to them before walking. The same amount should be given before bedtime. When the heifer is milked, they give compound feed, if the cow builds up milk yield, then the portion can be increased.
After three lactations, the amount of milk in the cow is leveled, it produces good productivity, at this point the feeding changes. To increase the fat content of milk, the animals are given compound feed and sunflower meal. For a large amount of milk, animals are offered:
- potatoes;
- molasses;
- carrot;
- beets.
For the proper functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, cows are fed as follows:
Feed | amount |
Hay | 12 kg |
Silage | 30 kg |
Haylage | 7 kg |
Straw | 3 kg |
Roots | 15 kg |
Vegetables | 6 kg |
Cake | 1,5 kg |
Bran | 1 kg |
Syrup | 700 g |
Salt | 70 g |
In the summer, feed is replaced by lush fresh grass, the amount of which one cow can eat 100 kg per day. A serving of straw and hay remains the same. If the amount of milk yield becomes greater, then the diet is revised.
Breeding
The body of these cows is designed in such a way that energy is spent as much as possible to get a large amount of milk. Recently, difficulties have arisen with the delivery of this breed to Russia. They did not give the desired result:
- small yields of milk;
- birth problems;
- metabolic disorder.
Chenery released a studbook, which included the Holstein-Friesian breed of cows. Soon after this, cows began to be bred in 12 states of America.
Productivity
The productivity of this breed of cows directly depends on the country from which it comes. For example, in the USA, cows have a high milk yield, but a low percentage of fat and protein. If the animal is lacking in nutrients, the fat content of milk can drop up to 1% even with proper feeding.
Selectors cross Holstein-Friesian cows with zebu bulls to get more milk fat. The result was a black-and-white suit, the fat content of milk is 5%.
The average rate for English cows is 10.5 thousand liters per year, but these indicators are achieved thanks to additives, namely hormones that stimulate milk production. But there are few proteins, fats and proteins in this milk.
Russian-European cows have slightly lower milk indicators - up to 8 thousand a year. At Russian plants, a black-pinto cow gives from 7.3 to 7.5 thousand liters per year, the fat content of which is 3.8%. As for the red-piebald, their milk yield is small, only 4 thousand liters per year, the fat content of which is almost 4%. The slaughter yield of meat is 50%, for a dairy cow it is not bad enough.
The amount of milk in the lactation period varies. After birth, colostrum is produced, which differs from milk in consistency and color. Its quantity does not exceed 5 liters per day; the calf must receive colostrum. Next, the cow is crushed three times a day.
After a month and a half, the cow appears milk, which is not only fed to the calf, but also used for drinking and selling. The duration of this period is 4 months, then the cow is again mated. During pregnancy, the amount of milk gradually decreases, and 3 months before birth, the cow is ceased to be milked.
For this breed of cows, the milking regime is important, if you milk a cow every day at the same time, the amount of milk yield will increase. The yield of the cow also affects the milk yield; Holstins are very fond of warmth and moderate humidity. For this reason, in Cuba, cows produce the most milk.
The breed cannot be called early ripening, since for the first time it can bear a calf only in two years. The female undergoes 14 pregnancies and childbirths. The duration of pregnancy is 285 days, and the lactation period can last up to 305 days.
A newborn calf weighs from 40 to 50 kilograms, and only one calf can be in the calf’s stomach. When creating the right conditions for feeding and keeping, he will weigh 360 kg of live weight at 1 year and 3 months. After this age, the bull-calves are not profitable to keep, since then the mass stands still or even decreases, therefore, at this age the bull-calves are slaughtered.
Calf care
The first days after birth, the calves are weakened and susceptible to various diseases, so they need special care. For 14 days, they adapt to life and adapt to the environment. All manipulations with calves must be carried out with clean hands.
Calves should be kept in a warm room, because they can get sick with a sharp change in temperature. In the summer, the stall should be cool, and in the winter - warm. It is also important to maintain optimal humidity and temperature in the room.
Pros and cons
Hardy animals can not be called, they do not tolerate heat, namely, the amount of milk during milk yield is reduced. For many years, breeders have worked on weather resistance, but today they continue to improve cows.
Advantages of Holstein-Friesian cows:
- high milk yield;
- normal fat content of milk;
- cleanliness.
As for the cons, they are as follows:
- difficulty in feeding;
- difficulty in maintaining and maintaining;
- susceptibility to infectious diseases (diseases of the udder, inflammation of the mucous membranes).
Farmers Reviews
Below are reviews of farmers holding Holstein-Friesian cows in a private courtyard.
Yuri Melnik, p. Novgorod.I was advised to buy this breed to get a big milk yield, but I just need milk for sale. I expected that I would make butter, sour cream and other dairy products from this milk, but it turned out that there was very little cream in the milk.
Katerina Chumazova, p. Transcarpathian.I knew that the Holstein-Friesian breed of cows gives a lot of milk, got a cow, now milk is everywhere and there is really a lot of it. But I did not know before that the fat content of milk is very low, there is practically no cream. They explained to me that fat content depends on feeding and the quality of keeping animals. To get a lot of cream, I fed the cow with alfalfa and timothy, and also added cereals to the diet.
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There are not so many Holstein-Friesian cows left, because their cost is not small, and they are not adapted to all weather conditions. As for productivity, it all depends on the country of residence, the quality of feeding and the content of cows. The meat yield is less than that of meat breeds, but greater than some dairy animals.
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