Description and characteristics of Holstein-Friesian cows, their contents

The Holstein-Friesian breed is highly productive and is the most widespread in the United States and Canada within its breed. Holstein-Friesian cows are bred primarily for milk production. The second direction is meat, but provided that the animals are provided with proper care, including a properly formulated diet. As a result, it is possible to obtain significant volumes of high-quality meat.

Breeding history

This variety was obtained by crossing the Dutch and Black-and-White breeds. The Germanic breed was brought in the 1st century AD. e. to Frisia, which now occupies the territories of North Holland, Friesland and Groningen. Local cows were light in color, while the imported ones were black. As a result of their reproduction, motley calves were born, which were called Holstein-Friesian.

The starting point for active cow breeding was the acquisition of a Dutch cow by an American named Chenery. It was he who began to carry out the first selection work in 1852. The breed has become widespread due to its high productivity and ability to adapt to new living conditions.

In Holland, cows were not improved, but in the USA and Canada they paid special attention to this. The main direction is to increase the volume of milk yield and meat products. A few years later, the Society of Breeders for the Breeding of Holstein-Friesian Cattle was created, the head of which was the aforementioned Chenery. A year later, the breed became widespread in twelve more states. At the same time, a stud book for the breed was published.

Appearance and characteristics of the Holstein breed

The breed has distinctive features – both appearance and character. The main difference is the variegated color, large size and power. The most common color is black and white, less often with an admixture of red. The latter option was previously undesirable, and such cows were culled. However, later they were recognized as meeting the standard and began to be bred.

Description

The exterior of the animal is distinguished by the following features:

1. Large wedge-shaped body.
2. Wide chest.
3. Long limbs.
4. Massive pelvis.
5. Volumetric lower back.
6. Curved back.
7. Elongated neck, elongated head (larger in males).
8. Large udder with small nipples.
9. The color is black and white or red and motley (in Germany).
10. Lack of horns.
11. Having a slight hump on the back.
12. Height is 145 centimeters for a cow, 160 centimeters for a bull.
13. The male weighs about 900 kilograms (maximum 1.5 tons), females, on average, weigh 800 kilograms.
14. Good health (if the conditions of detention correspond to the norm).
15. Fancy in food (requires a well-formulated diet).

The breed is not known for its endurance - the animals do not do well in hot weather. In such conditions, milk yield rates decrease. Thanks to breeding work, it was possible to achieve increased endurance. Improving the qualities of the breed continues to this day. Animals are demanding in terms of living conditions: regular airing and ventilation, thorough cleaning of the premises.

The breed is capricious. For example, under the influence of stress or non-compliance with care rules cows may lose milk. If an animal is unhappy with something, it may well knock over a container of water or food. The most important characteristic of any breed is its productivity. Both meat and milk are obtained from the Holstein-Friesian, so the productivity indicator is divided into two types.

Particularly good results in terms of milk yield, for which Holsteins are especially valued.

Milk productivity

Milk yield reaches 20 liters per day with proper care and a balanced diet. The maximum is 45 liters of milk per day.They produce up to 7.3 thousand liters of milk per year. The fat content of the product is 3.8%.

The amount of milk depends on several factors:

• cow nutrition;
• age;
• number of births (very young heifers show poor results, since their udder is not sufficiently developed, but good performance remains until the sixth calving);
• lactation period;
• habitat;
• genetics;
• seasonality;
• coat color (red-and-white cows produce less milk than their black-and-white counterparts).

Meat productivity

Young individuals up to a year increase to 65-70% of the weight of adult cows. By the age of two years, bulls weigh approximately 500 kilograms (with a properly formulated diet). The weight of an adult bull varies from 850 to 900 kg.

Disadvantages and advantages

Features of maintenance and care

In order for cows to feel comfortable, not get sick and show good results in terms of milk yield, they need to be provided with normal living conditions:

1. Regular and thorough cleaning of the premises where individuals are kept.
2. Availability of ventilation and air conditioning.
3. Drafts are not allowed.
4. Animals should not be exposed to stress.
5. The recommended type of housing is loose-box housing.
6. Proper care for a newborn. Careful hygiene (the immune system is weak, so the body is susceptible to infections).
7. During the first two weeks, calves are adapted to external conditions.The place where the birth took place must be treated with disinfectants.

Diet planning

Depending on the age of the animal, the type of food it eats differs:

• month-old calves feed on colostrum;
• at two months the young animals eat root vegetables, oatmeal, and boiled potatoes;
• at four months the calves are switched to hay and grain mixture;
• for six months the diet consists of hay, root crops, silage and concentrates.

The diet of cows during lactation includes:

• dry food (grain, bone and meat meal, concentrates);
• vegetables, silage, green grass, root vegetables;
• hay, straw, cake, bran, haylage (improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract).

To improve milk fat content, cows are given sunflower meal and mixed feed. To increase milk yield, you should add carrots, molasses, and potatoes to the menu.

Breeding

Before starting breeding, you need to arrange a room for cows. Its area is determined depending on the planned livestock and the availability of free space. The barn should be located fifteen meters from a residential building and twenty meters from water sources. A rational solution is to place the barn next to the garden to make it easier to dispose of manure.

It is advisable that the room have an attic. The area of ​​the barn for one individual is eighteen square meters. With a larger number of cows, six square meters per animal is enough (nine with calves).

The room must have feeders, a place for passage, a drain for waste, and ventilation. The walls of the barn are made of bricks. The concrete floor rises ten centimeters above the ground and is positioned at a slight angle to drain waste. The optimal air temperature for animals is 10-15 degrees.

The Holstein breed is bred both in its pure form and mixed with other colors. The bottom line is that dairy heredity is passed down through the male line. On a large scale, cows are bred artificially, but in private farming, crossing occurs naturally. The average weight of calves is 38 kilograms (heifers - 35).

Diseases and their treatment

The breed has strong immunity, but if the rules of care are not followed, diseases such as:

• necrobacteriosis;
• leptospirosis.

Antibacterial therapy is prescribed for treatment. If there are drafts in the barn, the animals develop mastitis. Antibiotics are also used for treatment, which are injected into the affected areas using a catheter. The Holstein-Friesian breed is famous for its productivity - both meat and dairy. Keeping these cows requires labor and financial costs, but with good care, high milk yields will more than make up for the costs.