Kostroma breed of cows: description and characteristics, conditions of detention
One of the best domestic breeds of cattle for almost 80 years remains the Kostroma dairy and meat breed of cows. Its main advantages are good milk yield, high content of fat and protein in milk, quick weight gain by young bulls, whose products are used for meat, high-quality leather from which shoes are made. The Kostroma breed is unpretentious, but there are features in the content that it is advisable to consider in more detail.
The history of the breed
Cattle breeding began in the 1920s, when breeding farms were established throughout the country.One of the most advanced was the breeding farm "Karavaevo" of the Kostroma region. At the height of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, the country was faced with the need to supply food to the front. The government of the state set the task for scientists to speed up the breeding of cattle breeds that have a set of advantages: high meat and milk productivity, rapid weight gain in young animals, adaptability to cold, and a high degree of survival of offspring.
A group of scientists from the breeding farm "Karavaevo", which included S. I. Shteiman, V. A. Shaumyan, N. A. Gorsky, selected the best representatives of local cattle, well adapted to the climatic conditions of Central Russia, and carried out the work by crossing it with the Algauz, Swiss, Kostroma Miskan and Babaev breeds.
As a result, in 1944, a line was obtained with stable fixation of positive properties at the gene level. They named her Kostroma. In 1945, the breed was officially registered and recommended for breeding in the Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Ivanovo regions, as well as in Belarus.
Features
Description of the breed is given according to external features (exterior) and productive qualities. Let's take a closer look at them.
Appearance
Cattle of the Kostroma breed are distinguished by a strong body constitution. The direction of production is dairy and meat. The exterior standards of the Kostroma breed are given in the table.
| Exterior index | Description |
|
Bull weight | average - 600 kg, maximum - 850 kg;
medium - 1200 kg, maximum - 1500 kg. |
| 2) Coat color | Grey , fawn, dark gray, gray-brown |
| Wide, strong | |
| Powerful, well developed | |
| Medium, small forehead, tousled tuft of wool on the forehead | |
| Large size, regular cup shape , lobes cylindrical, nipples equally spaced | |
| Medium length | |
Animals of the Kostroma breed are resistant to all major diseases, almost do not suffer from leukemia, and tolerate the weather conditions of central Russia well.
Productivity
Cows of the Kostroma breed give, on average, up to 5 thousand liters of milk per year. The maximum achieved milk productivity was 16 thousand liters of milk per year. The fat content of milk is 3.8-4 percent, the protein content is 3.3-4.0 percent. Milk productivity is maintained until the age of 20-22. Meat productivity is the yield of meat at slaughter at the level of 60-70 percent. At the age of 6 months, the average weight of bulls is 170 kilograms, at 1 year 6 months - 500 kilograms.
Main pros and cons
The Kostroma breed has much more advantages than disadvantages. The breed is suitable for small and medium farms.
Maintenance and Care
When keeping the Kostroma breed, cattle should not be crowded. In small farms, it is desirable to keep animals without a leash.
Summer playground
In the summer, cattle are driven out to natural pastures. For the Kostroma breed, it is important to observe the regime of feeding and watering. A watering place is arranged approximately in the middle of grazing. The breed tolerates the transition from one type of feeding to another without digestive problems. However, in autumn, it is recommended to reduce the walking time gradually.
On large farms, an area is organized for animals on the street, on the south side of the farm building. The area of the summer playground is calculated based on the standard for keeping cows - 8 square meters per head. Part of the site should be under a canopy from the summer heat. Drinking bowls are made of a material that is easy to clean. The site provides for a slope towards the pipe for collecting and discharging wastewater to the sump.
Finishing the premises
Farm buildings or cowsheds should be made of brick or new materials, such as sandwich panels.Since the breed is cold-resistant, farm heating can be omitted, but it is provided in the design in case of a frosty winter. According to the standards of keeping, an area from 1.72 to 2.3 square meters is required for dairy cows.
Straw, sawdust or peat are used as bedding. The bedding is changed daily. The norm of straw for bedding is 5 kg per animal per day.
Containment conditions
The temperature in the barn in winter should not fall below 10 degrees Celsius. The optimum relative humidity is not higher than 75%, otherwise outbreaks of viral diseases are possible. In addition, when keeping cows, it is important to observe the rate of air circulation in the room:
- spring, winter and autumn - 0.5 meters per second;
- in summer - 1.0 meters per second.
On large farms, it is important to monitor the concentration of toxic gases in the barn: carbon dioxide - no more than 0.2 percent, ammonia - no more than 10 milligrams per cubic meter of air, traces of hydrogen sulfide are acceptable.
Regular cleaning of stalls and equipment
To avoid the development of infections, the floor in the stalls is cleaned daily with the help of scraper equipment; On small farms, the litter is cleaned with shovels and transported to a special area for storing manure with the help of wheelbarrows. Lay out new bedding. Drinkers and feeders are washed daily with laundry soap.
What is the specificity of feeding?
In summer, animals need juicy grass, they get it from free grazing. In winter, the main part of the feed is rough bulk feed: hay of legumes or cereal-legume grasses. Vegetables are added to the feed: boiled potatoes, fodder beets, pumpkin, carrots.
Are there any difficulties in breeding?
Heifers should not be allowed to be inseminated before the age of 15 months. The first calves in heifers should appear no earlier than 2 years of age, otherwise their milk yield will not be high. Heifers are born with a weight of 28-33 kilograms, bulls - 25-30 kilograms.
Calving is often easy, there is no need to invite a livestock specialist. When feeding calves, vitamin and mineral premixes and acidophilus are added.
Diseases and prevention
Vaccines have been developed against dangerous diseases - foot-and-mouth disease, anthrax, rabies, which can be transmitted to humans. Vaccinations are mandatory, according to the generally accepted calendar. Other diseases that are possible when keeping cows are diagnosed on the basis of tests. Each cow must have a vaccination and disease record.
In the Karavaevo breeding farm, work is underway with 14 breeding lines - improvements to the Kostroma breed.New hereditary lines of Kostroma cows are promising for breeding - lettuce CTSK 83, caro CTSK 101, strongman CTSK 84. Kostroma cows themselves do not lose popularity for keeping in rural areas, according to reviews, their milk is the most delicious.
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