CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GROWTH OF HEIFFS OF DIFFERENT LINES OF THE BUKOVINY FACTORY TYPE OF THE UKRAINIAN RED-AND-WHITE DAIRY BREED

Abstract

The study was carried out in the herd of the Myrne breeding farm of the Chernivtsi region on animals of the Bukovyna factory type of the Ukrainian Red-and-White dairy breed. It was established that heifers of the Bukovin factory type of the Ukrainian Red-and-White dairy breed were characterized by good indicators of live weight. In newborn animals, this indicator was 31.9 kg, by the age of 6 months it increased by 5.4 times or by 134.5 kg, by the age of 12 months – by 9.7 times or by 266.9 kg and by 18 – one month old – 13 times or by 369.8 kg. The average age of the first insemination in the herd was 15.5 months, and the live weight of animals at this age was 365.2 kg. The coefficients of variation of live weight, depending on age, were in the range of 8.9–17.1%. This indicator was the lowest in 18-month-old animals. The variability of the multiplicity of increase in live weight was within 18.4–21.3%. It should be noted that the highest coefficients of variation of the multiplicity of live weight increase (21.3%) were observed in 12-month-old heifers. The highest average daily gains were observed in heifers from 3 to 6 months of age and amounted to 825 g, with a variability of 26.8%. Later, with increasing age of the animals, this indicator decreased and in the age period from 15 to 18 months it was 550 g with a variability of the sign of 56.2%. In general, from birth to 18 months of age, the average daily weight gain of heifers was 684.1 g. A comparative analysis of the dynamics of the live weight of heifers of different lines showed that the heifers of the Starbuck line were better in terms of live weight at birth (34.0 kg) compared to their peers other lines During the 18-month growing period, repair heifers of the Starbuck line were significantly better compared to peers of other lines. At the final stage of cultivation, with an average live weight of 417 kg, they exceeded their peers by 8–64 kg. The average daily gain of live weight in the period from birth to 18 months of age was the highest in heifers of the Starbuck line at an average of 710 g, while in their peers of other lines it was lower by 21–112 g. With the creation of proper growing conditions, heifers are capable of high growth intensity and high milk productivity in the following stages of the technological production cycle of obtaining high-quality products.