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One of the most dairy breeds, which has already begun to win back points from the famous Friesian cattle, is the Ayrshire cow. Farmers now prefer these animals because of their high milk production, longevity and trouble-free calving.
County Ayr in Scotland is considered the homeland of the Ayrshire. The first mentions of this breed appeared before 1800, but in those days the Ayrshire was called “Dunlop”. The name was later changed to "Cunningham". As a result, the name “Ayrshire” was assigned to the breed.
No one knows for sure which representatives of cattle were used in breeding the Ayrshire cow. But theories, of course, exist.
History of the Ayrshire breed
According to one version, to improve local livestock, Shorthorns, Jerseys, Herefords, Tyswater and Alderney breeds. And in the last third of the 18th century, Dutch cows also arrived. True, not black-and-piebald, but brown and brown-piebald. As a result of this mixture, the modern Ayrshire breed arose.
According to the second version, the Ayrshire cow breed originated in Holland. And it is unlikely that English historians studying the origin of cattle breeds will be dissuaded from this. In 1750, they were crossed with some other breed of cattle, from which the Ayrshires received their red color.
In 1814, the breed was registered with the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) and from that moment its modern history began.
Thanks to their unpretentiousness, high quality milk, productive longevity and easy calving, Ayrshires have gained popularity not only in Scotland and England, but throughout the world. At the beginning of the 19th century, Ayrshire cattle were exported to the USA. And in the 20th Ayrshire could already be seen in many European countries.
At one time, Friesian (Holstein) black and white cattle became widespread due to the large volumes of milk produced. But despite the impressive volumes, the fat content of this milk is very low. The protein content of milk is also low. Holstein milk is watery and has almost no cream.
Ayrshires are almost as large as Friesians in volume, but produce fattier milk. Because of this, today a reverse trend has already emerged: the gradual replacement of Frisians with Ayrshires. In addition to its homeland, the Ayrshire breed is actively bred in Australia, Finland, New Zealand, South Africa and many other countries. It is easy to notice that this breed of cattle is common in countries with very different climatic conditions. Ayrshire breeding is carried out everywhere to increase milk yield without losing the quality of milk.
Description of the Ayrshire breed
Ayrshires are medium-sized cattle with a typical weight of 540 kg. Some representatives of this breed of cattle can reach 600 kg. The weight of the bull is 800 kg. Ayrshire cattle are short in stature. Usually up to 130 cm.
Ayrshire cows have an ideal conformation for dairy cattle: light bone structure, deep chest, graceful head, proportional build and thin skin. The sacrum is straight. The legs are short and well set. The udder is medium in size.
The color of the Ayrshire cattle is red-piebald. Color options for red spots can range from light red to dark brown. Depending on how the genes responsible for piebald color are shuffled, red or white may predominate in the color of individual cows.
The difference between a polluted animal and a dehorned one is that the dehorned animal is burned almost immediately after birth at the place from which the horns will grow. If an Ayrshire calf is not cauterized, it will grow beautiful horns up to 30cm long as an adult.
The photo shows the head of an Ayrshire cow without horns.
What happens if calves are not dehorned in time?
Fortunately for farmers, the Ayrshire breed today already has polled lines. Still, cauterization of horns is a rather complex process and dangerous to the health of the calf. But “horniness” has its advantages.
Pros and cons of horned and polled animals
The advantage of polled animals is that they are safer not only for humans, but also for their relatives. Not only bulls, but even cows fight among cattle, arguing for a place on the hierarchical ladder in the herd. With its horns, a cow can pierce its rival's stomach or udder. Polled ones are calmer on their own and even in a fight they will not be able to cause serious damage to their relatives.
In horned cows, the number of times the cow has calved is determined by the horns. With each pregnancy, a “interception” or “ring” forms on the cow’s horns. Since a cow must calve every year, the age of the animal can be determined quite accurately from the rings.2 years are added to the number of rings, since it is at this age that the heifer is born for the first time.
This point must be taken into account when determining the age of an adult cow.
When purchasing a heifer up to 1.5 years old, the age is determined by the length of the horns. In calves, horns appear at the age of 1 month, and each month they increase in length by 1 cm. By measuring the horns and adding 1, you can determine the age of the calf in months.
In polled and deferred cows, age is determined by their teeth. But tooth wear is not a very reliable sign, since it largely depends on the hardness of the enamel on the teeth of a particular animal and the feed that the cow ate. Therefore, we can only guarantee that an animal is an adult if it has 24 molars in its mouth and 8 incisors on the lower jaw.
By the age of 16, only yellow thin stumps remain in place of the incisors. By the age of 17-18, the remains of the incisors also fall out.
Productive characteristics of Ayrshires
In Australia, Finland, England and other countries, over 9,000 liters of milk per year are obtained from Ayrshires. In Russia, the figures are traditionally lower: 5 – 7 thousand liters. This situation is observed not only with Ayrshires, but with all breeds of cattle. Previously, this could be attributed to poor maintenance and theft. Today farmers work for themselves and many of them try to farm using Western technologies. But milk yield is still lower.
Nevertheless, Russian farms are also working to increase the milk yield of Airshire cows.During breeding work, they use not only their own producers, but also Finnish ones through artificial insemination. In addition, Russian standards allow the infusion of blood from Swedish Red and Danish Red cattle as related breeds. Breeding material from the Canadian Ayrshire population is also used. Thanks to all these measures, the milk yield of one of the Russian types of Ayrshire breed bred on the Novoladozhskoe farm has already reached more than 8,000 liters. Milk per year.
But the quality of the milk is really very good. Fat content 4.2%, amount of protein in milk 3.5%.
The Ayrshire breed was bred for milk, not meat. Although individual bulls of the Ayrshire breed can weigh 1000 kg, the slaughter yield of meat from a carcass is 50 - 55%.
How to choose a cow
Since Ayrshire cows are bought for milk production, you need to know certain signs of high milk production of a particular cow. A “milk” exterior does not always guarantee a cow’s good milk yield.
If the cow's appearance corresponds to the dairy type, further examination can be continued. The animal must be healthy. A healthy cow has smooth, soft fur and a hard coat. The eyes are clear. Good health is noticeable in behavior. The suffering animal will stand dejectedly, poorly reacting to stimuli.
Age is determined by horns or teeth. When deciding on age, you need to remember that when buying a heifer, you can only guess about its future milk production, based on information about the productivity of its mother. When buying an adult cow, it is better not to buy an animal older than 10 years. After this age, the cow's milk yield begins to decline.
The udder of a good dairy cow should be cup-shaped and well developed.A very large udder hanging below the hock is not an advantage, but a disadvantage. A cow injures such an udder on bushes, dry grass stems and other debris.
A high-quality udder is cup-shaped, wide, highly attached at the back and protruding far forward, smoothly turning into the abdominal wall. The bottom of the udder is almost horizontal and located at the level of the hock joint.
The “goat” udder looks like a triangle from the back. The nipples are close together, long and thick.
Another feature of a high-yielding cow is the good development of the so-called milk vein.
The photo shows an Ayrshire cow with signs of high productivity: a cup-shaped udder and a well-developed milk vein.
Reviews from owners of Ayrshire cows
Conclusion
The Ayrshire breed is the golden mean between the rare ones in Russia Jersey breed of cows and Holsteins. The Ayrshire breed is good for those who want to receive large quantities of milk with high fat content.In addition, the Jersey breed is very expensive and the higher quality of milk does not compensate for the cost of purchasing it.
