Meat breeds of bulls: characteristics and names of the best, how to choose for fattening

The domestication of cattle occurred in ancient times and, apparently, almost simultaneously. This explains the fact that in different parts of the world there are different variations of meat breeds of bulls, because the progenitors of dozens, if not hundreds, of representatives of modern cattle began to be domesticated. A number of them no longer exist, and the rest have become the basis for breeding the most famous breeds.

General Features

Historically, in the New World, the main livestock of bulls grown for meat belongs to meat breeds, and in Europe, both dairy and meat-and-dairy cattle are used for this purpose.

Specialized domestic bulls have been purposefully bred over the past three hundred years. The purpose of this activity was to obtain cattle that are able to increase body weight as efficiently and quickly as possible when using feeds typical for the animal habitat.

At the same time, cows for meat are capable of producing milk, but its quantity is enough to feed their own young, but not to supply their owners with this product.

Despite the existing differences associated with the origin of gobies from different progenitors, they have common features:

Massive, strong bones, rectangular outlines of the body, wide chest, rounded buttocks and hips.
Significant dimensions.
High performance and productivity, early maturity.
Fast weight gain.
Unpretentious.
Durable leather.
Small udder.

Such traits are characteristic of the cattle of most beef bull breeds, regardless of origin and habitat.

Meat breeds of bulls of British origin

These are the most common representatives of cattle, the first copies of which were bred in Great Britain in the 18th century. Since this empire had many colonies in different parts of the world, the settlers brought with them livestock, which became the basis for breeding and selecting local livestock adapted to the climate and feed. The most popular breeds of British origin for fattening are:

Aberdeen Angus.
Beefbuild.
Galloway.
Hereford.
Devonian.
Dexter.
Lincoln.
Longhorn.
Sussex.
Highland.
Shorthorn.

The Aberdeen Angus breed is more famous than others. It is divided into two subspecies depending on the coat color: black and red Aberdeen Angus. These are powerful animals with excellent taste characteristics of meat, suitable for obtaining a sought-after and expensive marble product.

French breeds of beef bulls

France also gave the world a lot of cattle, which is used in its “pure form” and as a base for further selection:

Limousine.
Maine-anjou.
Salerskaya.
Charolais.
Light Aquitaine.

Some pedigreed representatives of French origin have the ability to gain weight perfectly when kept on pastures. For example, Men Angevin cows are also called red meadow cows because of their color and ability to efficiently use pasture forage.

Bulls of Central Asian origin

The following meat breeds of gobies are popular in this direction:

Kazakh, or Kyrgyz.
Kazakh white-headed.
Kalmyk.
Gray Ukrainian.

Such animals are perfectly adapted to the conditions of life in Central Asia and the steppe, desert regions of Russia and the republics of Central Asia. They are very large, reaching 900-1000 kilograms.Cows regularly bring calves, and breeding bulls cross with other breeds, improving their gene pool.

Russian breeds

In the Russian Federation, many different bull-calves are bred for meat, and most of them are adapted variations of the most popular foreign-selected cattle. In this case, cows of both Western and Asian breeds are used, which are better than others adapted to the conditions of the country.

In Russia, dairy and meat-and-dairy cows are more often bred, many of which are bred by Russian breeders, and some of them are primordially local, with ancient roots. Combined cows, obtained by hybridization of animals of various imported breeds, are also popular.

For example, the famous animals of the Kostroma breed were obtained by Soviet breeders by crossing local cattle with Swiss and Algauz bulls.

The rating of meat breeds of bulls of domestic selection is headed by Russian polled. These are large black animals, devoid of horns, with strong legs and thin skin. They are perfectly suited to the harsh climate, have excellent he alth, quickly gain weight, and at the same time produce expensive marbled meat. Cows weigh over 500 kilograms, while bulls can reach a ton.

How to choose the right one

If a new meat breed of bulls is chosen for breeding, it is necessary to take into account, first of all, its adaptability to the climatic conditions in which the animals will live. Many varieties that have proven themselves in warm climates begin to get sick in harsh conditions, do not gain weight, as expected, and do not reproduce well.

The same goes for forage and pasture requirements, for example, cows accustomed to mild conditions and abundant forage of the plains are not suitable for growing in mountainous areas with sparse vegetation.

When purchasing livestock for meat, it is necessary to select young, strong and he althy animals. They have tender, soft, devoid of coarse fibers flesh and a minimal amount of fat, which makes such meat good for he alth. For slaughter, it is better to choose bulls, because cows have a lower body weight. Buying a bull for meat will be more profitable.

Subtleties of content

In order for a beef steer farm to be profitable, two factors must be achieved:

Receipt of at least 85-90 calves per 100 mature cows ready for breeding. If the yield of calves is below 85 per hundred mothers, then the farm will be unprofitable.
Intensive fattening of calves and culled animals not suitable for livestock reproduction. In order to reduce costs and production costs, low-cost intensive pasture fattening technology is used. With her, animals are kept on pastures in summer, and in winter they are transferred to feeding roughage.

It is not profitable for the enterprise to keep the animal for too long before slaughter and send bulls for meat until they reach 450-500 kilograms (weight depends on the breed). Therefore, when growing meat breeds of bulls, a combined method is used that combines extensive and intensive methods.

After weaning from the cow, until the calf reaches 300-350 kilograms, inexpensive bulk feeds are used that cause accelerated saturation. In this case, the weight gain will be no more than 750 grams per day. At the final stage of fattening, which lasts from 120 to 1810 days, intensive feeding is carried out, in which the weight gain should reach 1000 grams in 24 hours.If the meat breed of bulls is chosen correctly and a competent fattening method is used, the agricultural producer will receive a profit, and consumers will receive he althy beef.