Kalmyk breed of cows

The Kalmyk breed of cows is on the list of domestic cattle, known for a long time. She has established herself as a good meat producer.

Kalmyk breed of cows

About the Kalmyk breed

Bred once by the nomadic tribes of Kalmykia, the Kalmyk breed of cows was formed under the influence of adverse climatic conditions during the year-round feeding on natural pastures. the most Kalmyk cows and bulls differ in their endurance from artificially bred European representatives of cattle, which grew in the steppes and mountains of the Central Asian regions under conditions of strict natural selection. They were bred in Mongolia and China.

В In Russia, the popularity of the described breed of cows began about 3 – 3.5 centuries ago. At that time, she was bred in Siberian regions, in the Volga region and on the banks of the Don. Today, similar cattle up to 90% of their livestock are kept on Russian territory in arid steppe regions and semi-deserts.

Kalmyk animals that survived in harsh continental conditions lay a thick fat layer before the onset of the cold period, which allows them to tolerate frosts .At the same time, the quality and quantity of feeds do not particularly affect the formation of the subcutaneous fat layer.

In the Kalmyk line today, 4 different zonal types differ in live weight: the Lower Volga, from Siberia, Kazakhstan and the North Caucasus.

The Kalmyk breed of cows is characterized by a seasonal change in weight indicators. Even with poor nutrition, animals are able to stock up on fat, sometimes losing up to 30-50 kg of weight during the winter season, while maintaining their fatness and tight constitution. Weight loss is quickly compensated by grazing during spring heat, when the animals completely restore the lost mass.

The breeding work of modern domestic livestock raising is aimed at improving the quality characteristics of Kalmyks, including increasing early maturity, increasing live weight gain and slaughter yield, improving the external data of animals.

Appearance of Kalmyks

Today, the breed owes its exterior to its past nomadic image knowledge and year-round stay in open pastures with sharp changes in temperature conditions.

In appearance, the breed from Kalmykia is quite squat, with well-developed muscular-muscle mass. The height of the animals at the withers does not exceed 1.3-1.4 m with an oblique body length ranging from 1.45 to 1.6 m. The back of the animals is especially developed.

Animals are easy to recognize in the photo. The characteristics of the Kalmyk breed include a description of the main differences:

• a harmoniously folded body with a fairly developed deep (0.7 m) and wide (0.45-0.5 m) underbelly, short neck, immediately rolling into the shoulder girdle,
• strong constitution with straight stable straight straight limbs,
• occipital crest on a small head, giving the impression of the presence of a hump,
• animal horns fold in the shape of a crescent,
• undeveloped udder, characteristic of animals of meat, but not milk direction.

The color of cows and gobies of the Kalmyk breed is mainly red or red, diluted with white spots. The head of animals is most often covered with white marks, sometimes spots can be seen on the trunk and extremities.

In the cold season, animals are covered with a thick woolen layer with underfur, which plays the main role in thermoregulation. Thanks to such wool, Kalmyk cows are not afraid of frosts up to 35-40 ° С. When the summer season begins, their hair becomes smooth and shiny, reflecting the exhausting sun’s rays, because cows easily tolerate the sultry heat, staying around the clock on mountain elevations and in the steppe regions.

Breeders began to distinguish two types from the Kalmyk breed of cows:

• The first, precocious, which is characterized by rapid growth with the lowest final mass, their skeleton is slightly lighter, the skin is thin, slaughter yield as a result, it is 2-4% less.
• The second, late-ripening one, which does not differ in development intensity, but yields more live weight at the exit.

By the sexually mature age of the Kalmyk goby breeds by the time of growing up gain weight up to 0.9-1.1 tons, cows weigh a little less, reaching a maximum weight of 0.5 tons. Calves are born with a weight of 22- 25 and more kg.

Productive characteristic

In ancient times, representatives of the Kalmyk breed of cattle were used mainly as draft animals. Currently, these gobies and cows of Kalmykia have become a source of valuable meat product, known for its quality and taste.

Pedigree gobies of Kalmyk breed in live weight reach 0.8-0.9 tons, while they are characterized by intensive growth and set weight. By six months of age, they weigh in the range from 400 to 450 kg. Subject to favorable living and feeding conditions, the slaughter yield reaches 67%, significantly exceeding the performance of the Shorthorn and Angus cattle.

Calves from cows of the Kalmyk breed per day gain 0.8-0.9 kg in weight.

With the carcass of the Kalmyk bull breed, up to 57-58% of meat and up to 10-11% of the fat component, which is formed in the form of marble layers, are obtained.

The meat-bearing Kalmyk breed of cows does not differ in milk production. Its characteristic as a source of milk is satisfactory: annual milk yield is up to 1.2-1.5 thousand kg with a fat content of 4.5-6%. The protein component in milk is in the range of 4.3–4.8%.

Bulls from Kalmykia act as genetic material in production by cross-breeding with high quality characteristics.

Advantages and disadvantages of breeding

Domestic animal husbandry in Kalmyk breed of cows has several advantages that make this cattle attractive for breeding:

• animals are endowed with natural endurance and independence from climatic conditions of detention,
• unpretentious cows and bulls gain weight on pasture walks, which in warm times reduce the cost of farmers to keep them,
• well adapted to pasture vegetation the digestive system is easy to digest makes rough feeds,
• in winter, cattle do not lose their slaughter indicators even with a decrease in feed quality,
• Kalmyk young animals have good survival rates,
• meat products possesses high quality characteristics, therefore milk obtained in small quantities from Kalmyk cows has good fat content,
• cows remain capable of reproduction for up to 15 years, calving is characterized by the absence of complications, the offspring born are distinguished by their health and viability,
• Kalmyks are characterized by high reproduction rates: about 90-95 calves per average on 100 heifers.

The hardy Kalmyk cows and bulls do not require themselves special care, and caring for them comes down to feeding and providing rest for at least 5-6 hours a day.They show regular gains, even under conditions of long haul, overcoming distances of 15-50 km per day in search of suitable food.

When choosing the Kalmyk breed of cows as livestock, it should be borne in mind that this cattle directions requires large pasture areas for walking, keeping them in a confined space does not justify the finances invested.

Among the features of keeping Kalmyk animals is the obligatory supply of cattle with water. In artificial living conditions, it is recommended to drink Kalmyks at least 4 times a day, while at high temperatures in the hot summer period, the amount of water consumed, which is on average up to 5-6 buckets per person, increases by 20-30%.

Among the shortcomings that complicate the maintenance of Kalmyks, livestock breeders note the manifestation of an aggressive nature in heifers after calving, when due to a highly developed maternal instinct, the cow does not allow the newborn the calf that Parts Required to know and take into account the newcomers, who in the household were Kalmyks.