Content
Any farmer wants his animals to have a high level of productivity. In this case, it is necessary to carry out breeding work and understand how to correctly evaluate cattle for productive qualities. Grading of cattle is necessary in order to determine the necessary criteria as accurately as possible, as a result of which only valuable individuals remain in the herd.
What is cattle grading and why is it needed?
Valuation is an assessment of cattle, which makes it possible to determine their qualitative value taking into account breed, constitution, exterior, origin, live weight and milk production. As a rule, all work is carried out by farm employees; it is quite rare that outside specialists are invited.
Before you begin grading cattle, you will need to perform a number of procedures:
- check the assigned animal number;
- take into account information on feeding and keeping individuals;
- fill out a special card - F2-mol;
- sum up the milk yield of each cow for the last year;
- carry out all necessary preparatory work.
To classify cattle, the Ministry of Agriculture has specially developed instructions that describe in detail all kinds of distinctive features of livestock. After a full assessment of the cattle has been carried out, each animal is assigned the appropriate class.
How is grading carried out?
Both farm workers themselves and specialists invited from outside can carry out cattle assessments. All work, as a rule, is carried out in a certain sequence, after which the identity of the animal is determined.
The sequence of work is as follows:
- the first step is to determine the breed of each individual, and the breed must be confirmed by official documents;
- each cow is assessed for relative milk production;
- assess the constitution and exterior of the body;
- give a final assessment;
- assign a class.
After assigning a class, the further purpose of the cattle is determined. In most cases, if an individual scores less than 50 points, it is sent for slaughter.
Criteria for evaluation
After grading, cattle collect the data obtained during the research and compare it with a special table.
Cows are assessed according to the following criteria:
- milk productivity;
- body constitution;
- body exterior;
- genotype.
In bulls they evaluate:
- genotype;
- body exterior;
- body constitution.
In young animals they take into account:
- genotype;
- body exterior;
- body constitution;
- degree of development.
When grading cattle, animals are assessed according to all of the above parameters. Grades are assigned in accordance with the data presented in special tables. After this, the points are summed up to give an overall score, after which the animal is assigned a class.
By origin
First of all, they carefully study the documentation on the origin of each individual, including the breed of the parents. The animal is examined and the type of breed is determined: purebred or crossbred.
Purebred, as a rule, is considered to be animals whose parents are of the same breed. In this case, there must be documentary evidence of the breed or a crossbreed in the 4th generation must also be documented - the breed is clearly expressed, the class is no less than the elite. A crossbreed includes individuals that were obtained by mixing several different species.
By exterior
In this case, the following indicators are taken into account for heifers:
- udder shape;
- suitability for automated milking;
- udder size;
- expressiveness of the breed;
- harmonious physique.
Bulls pay attention to:
- breed characteristics and their severity;
- hind limbs;
- harmonious physique;
- lower back.
After the inspection, each animal is assessed on a scale from 1 to 10. In the process of grading cattle, defects and deviations in each individual are taken into account. Exterior is assessed on a scale from 1 to 5. At the same time, only those animals that have:
- well developed withers in accordance with age;
- wide chest, no interception on the shoulder blades;
- straight sacrum, back, lower back;
- well developed pelvis;
- legs are placed correctly.
In cows, special attention is paid to the udder.
By live weight
When assessing young animals, you should adhere to the additional table of the average daily weight gain of animals aged 8 to 15 months.
Points | Bulls | Chicks |
2 | Less than 700 g | Less than 560 g |
3 | From 701 g to 850 g | From 561 g to 560 g |
4 | From 851 g to 1 kg | From 651 g to 750 g |
5 | From 1 kg and more | From 751 g and more |
In order for the information obtained to be subjective, it is necessary to weigh the animals daily and record the data in a book specially designed for this purpose.
By productivity
Productivity grading is usually carried out taking into account the quality and quantity of milk.
In this case, the following indicators are taken into account:
- amount of milk yield in kg;
- milk fat content in percent;
- speed of milk release.
During the research process, a special table is used. It indicates the productivity data that the cow must meet for 1, 2 and 3 lactation periods. Each individual is individually checked for compliance with these data.
It is important to take into account that control milking must be carried out monthly, after which the average level of milk fat content is calculated. In addition, it is worth taking into account the amount of milk received per day and the time spent on it.
By reproductive ability
When assessing reproductive characteristics, data obtained from livestock specialists and veterinarians is taken into account. When bulls are assessed during grading, they take into account the number of standard sperm obtained throughout the year or the number of fertilized cows during the mating season. Cows are assessed based on calving progress and the duration of the intercalving period.
By quality of offspring
After the bull has reached the age of 12 months, it is put for progeny testing.During the testing period, semen is collected daily from the bull, and the resulting material is frozen. All tested bulls are used simultaneously, and an equal number of cows are inseminated with the taken semen. The resulting offspring is registered and checked for abnormalities in the calves.
Grading classes
After all the research has been carried out and the total amount of data has been calculated, the animals are assigned the appropriate class.
Today, there are the following classes assigned after cattle grading:
- elite record – the animal scored more than 81 points;
- elite – the number of points ranges from 71 to 80;
- 1st class – varies from 61 to 70 points;
- 2nd grade – from 51 to 60 points;
- extracurricular – less than 50 points were scored.
As a general rule, out-of-class animals are not recommended for breeding. In most cases, they are immediately sent for slaughter after grading, since such individuals do not represent any value.
Each animal has the opportunity to score up to 100 points. The maximum score for performance is 60, up to 24 points for constitution and conformation and a maximum of 16 points for genotype.
Subsequent appointment of animals
Once all the necessary data has been obtained and the individual characteristics of each animal have been taken into account, you can proceed to determining the purpose of the cattle.
The purpose of cattle is determined as follows:
- As a rule, only the best part of the herd belongs to the breeding core.In most cases, this part does not exceed 60% of the total number of animals;
- selection individuals included in the breeding core make up about 20% of the number of individuals included in the breeding stock after grading.
Among the animals that are part of the breeding core, mainly young heifers and bulls are selected. If the young animals do not have any breeding values, they are fattened and then sent for slaughter.
Conclusion
Grading of cattle is a procedure based on the results of which the purpose of each animal on the farm is determined. Individuals with the highest indicators form the breeding core. Outstanding individuals are used for custom matings, which are carried out to obtain breeding individuals. As a rule, farm workers themselves can carry out this work, but if necessary, you can turn to professionals from research institutes for help.
