How to choose a calf

Aspiring farmers and backyard owners often do not have the necessary skills to choose the right calf. Choosing and purchasing a healthy calf is a daunting task for inexperienced breeders. Regardless of the purpose of acquiring young cattle, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the features and rules for choosing calves.

Features of the choice of calves

When choosing a calf, first of all, you need to pay attention to the appearance. In a healthy calf, the coat should be shiny, supple and soft. A tousled, dull and harsh coat should alert you.

Also, when choosing a calf, you should pay attention to the eyes - they must be clean, without purulent crusts. Lachrymation from the eyes and purulent discharge indicate the presence of an inflammatory process (conjunctivitis, keratitis, thelaziosis). The heifer's nose should be slightly moist, without discharge. When choosing a calf, you should also pay attention to the ears - they should be mobile, not lowered.

When choosing and examining a heifer, you should also pay attention to the presence of damage to the skin and coat (mites, lice, fungus). Improper feeding, lack of vitamins in the body, metabolic disorders lead to the development of rickets. Often, such individuals are noted:

• curvature of the limbs;
• lameness;
• gibbosity;
• loss of hair;
• disruption of the digestive tract and respiratory system.

Bald patches in the anus, gluteal region and hocks often occur with frequent diarrhea, after the use of antibiotics. The calf's tail should be dry - a tail stained with feces, the sides indicate disturbances in the functioning of the digestive system.

When choosing a calf, the future owner should follow his behavior - healthy bulls are active, curious, not afraid of people and have a good appetite.

How to choose a dairy calf

Choosing a dairy calf for productivity, each farmer primarily pursues the goal of obtaining large milk yields of high quality milk. Choosing dairy calves - future dairy cows - is recommended in breeding farms, livestock complexes, dairy farms or from trusted breeders. They can provide assurance that the animal is healthy and provide a pedigree with information about the productivity of the mother of the future cash cow, as well as information about the breeding bull, the productivity of his mother and daughters.

When choosing a future dairy cow, you should pay attention to the Holstein, black-and-white and Yaroslavl varieties of cattle, common in Russia and abroad.

The Holstein type of cattle is one of the most popular and profitable in Russia due to its high milk yield - up to 8 tons of milk per year, fat content - 3.7-3.8%, as well as rapid growth and significant live weight of the livestock. Animals are very susceptible to changes in microclimate, feeding, housing conditions and other stress factors. Therefore, before making a choice in favor of Holsteins, it is necessary to prepare good conditions of keeping and food supply.

Holsteins are bred in pedigree and farm households throughout Russia.However, in private subsidiary farms, these animals are less common due to the capriciousness and complex characteristics of the content.

The black-and-white breed of cows is widespread throughout Russia. These animals adapt well to new climatic conditions and housing without losing milk yield. During the lactation period, cows give 6.5 tons (up to 8 tons) of milk with a fat content of 3.5-4%. Heifers reach puberty early, at about 13-14 months, and calve easily with a high offspring survival rate of about 95%.

The Yaroslavl breed of cattle is famous for its high milk productivity, unpretentiousness in feeding and keeping. A cow per year gives 3.5-6 tons of nutritious milk with a fat content of 4.5%. During reproductive years, a healthy cow can bring up to 5 calves. Animals have good immunity. The disadvantages of representatives of this type of cattle include poorly developed muscles and thin bones.

The following breeds of dairy cattle are also common in Russia:

1. Ayrshirskaya.
   
2. Kostroma.
   
3. Dutch.
   
4. Kholmogorskaya.
   
5. Red steppe.
   
6. Jersey.
   

How to choose the right calf for fattening

When choosing a calf for fattening, it is advisable to pay attention to meat and meat and dairy representatives of cattle. For specialized breeds of cattle for meat production, a high intensity of growth of young animals is characteristic for a long period, as well as high indicators of the final live weight and slaughter yield.

The ideal age for buying calves for fattening is considered to be 1.5-2 months, however, experienced breeders and farmers advise choosing bull calves at the age of at least 4-6 months, and when choosing, you should pay attention to the weight of the animal. Youngsters of six months are already adapted to eating feed and, with high-quality feeding, begins to rapidly build up muscle mass with an increase of 800-900 g per day.

The Kazakh white-headed cattle variety is characterized by early maturity, easy adaptation to harsh climatic conditions and the possibility of rapid weight gain even with a meager forage base. The weight of a newborn calf is 25-30 kg, with intensive fattening by the age of 15-18 months, the live weight reaches 450-470 kg. The Kazakh white-headed variety is widespread in the Orenburg, Saratov, Volgograd regions.

The Hereford breed of cattle is considered the most widespread among animals for meat production in the world. Herefords perfectly adapt to the harsh climate conditions and gain weight intensively even with a meager diet. Calves are born quite large, calves at the age of 18 months weigh about 500-550 kg. Hereford meat is prized for its marbling and high quality. In Russia, herefords are widespread in the Rostov, Saratov, Orenburg, Chelyabinsk, Novosibirsk regions, Altai and Krasnoyarsk territories, in the Far East.

The Kalmyk variety of cattle is distinguished by unpretentiousness in terms of keeping and feeding. When choosing calves of this breed, one should take into account the fact that these animals have good immunity, perfectly adapt to feeding on pasture. Newborn calves weigh about 24-30 kg, and young calves at the age of 18 months reach a live weight of 500-550 kg. The digestive system of these animals is adapted to digest any grass that grows in the pasture. The Kalmyk variety is distributed over most of Russia, Kalmykia, Buryatia, Rostov and Astrakhan regions.

Aberdeen Angus cattle adapt well to any climate and have excellent immunity.Aberdeen calves are born with a relatively low weight of 20-22 kg, however, by the age of one and a half years, young animals, due to intensive growth, reach a weight of 350 kg or more. Aberdeen meat is prized for its marbling, characterized by the presence of veins of intramuscular fat. In Russia, this type of beef cattle is widespread in the steppe regions, the Orenburg and Volgograd regions, the Stavropol and Altai territories.

The Simmental breed (meat and dairy, meat type) is one of the most popular types of cattle in Russia. These animals adapt perfectly to any climatic conditions, are very hardy, mobile, resistant to diseases. Simmentals are valued for high-quality meat with a fat content of no more than 12-17%. The average milk yield of cows is 3000-5000 kg of milk with a fat content of 3.7-4.1%. Newborn calves weigh 40-45 kg, and bull calves weigh about 400 kg at the age of 18 months. The Simmental variety of cattle is widespread in the Belgorod and Voronezh regions, in Bashkiria, Altai and Krasnoyarsk territories, and in the southern regions of Siberia.

Also on the territory of Russia the following representatives of cattle breeds for meat production are bred:

1. Charolese.
   
2. Limousin.
   
3. Galloway.
   
4. Russian hornless.
   
5. Santa gertrude.
   
6. Salers.
   

Tips & Tricks

When choosing a calf for fattening, it is advisable to give preference to those breeds that are most common in the region. Otherwise, there may be difficulties with acclimatization. The severe stress that the animal experiences during transportation, climate change and conditions of detention will certainly affect its health.

Do not rush to purchase and choose a calf based on photographs alone. When choosing and purchasing a calf, you must carefully examine the animal, talk to the breeder, study the documents and ask all your questions.

When choosing and buying a calf at a large livestock enterprise, it is necessary to clarify the age, weight, and obtain information about the vaccinations made.

Also, when choosing young animals, you should pay attention to the housing conditions and feeding of calves. Young animals raised in dirty calves, in unsanitary conditions (dirty feeders, drinkers), as well as not receiving high-quality feed in the required quantities, regardless of breed and value, will often get sick and will not even reach average productivity indicators.

Conclusion

In order to choose the right calf for a farm or part-time farm, first of all, it is necessary to define goals for acquiring cattle. For dairy farms, the Holstein, Kostroma, Black and White, and Dutch breeds will be the ideal choice. For livestock breeding in order to obtain a high-quality meat product with a large slaughter yield, attention should be paid to healthy strong calves of Kalmyk, Kazakh white-headed, Hereford and Simmental cattle varieties.

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