Abstract
In beef cattle breeding, unlike dairy farming, the only product is a calf. Therefore, the industry's competitiveness directly depends on the annual retention from each cow and heifer calf, the preservation of calves, and the high growth energy of young animal growth throughout the rearing period. These indicators are influenced by many factors, one of which is the breeding technology. The colostrum period is the most critical; newborn calves that do not receive adequate attention at the beginning of this period die within the first two days of life or have growth retardation. Given this, it becomes urgent to establish the level of dependence between young animals' growth and the technology of keeping cows and calves during the colostrum period. The studies were performed on cows and calves of the Aberdeen-Angus breed having problems in interaction during the colostrum period due to a weak maternal instinct in cows or a sucking reflex in calves (problem pairs' cow-calf). The growth rates of bull-calves and heifers were studied: live body weight, average daily gains, absolute gains, and multiplicity of live weight gain. The factor of a new technological element - the transfer of problem pairs' cow-calf into correction sections, in the colostrum period, on the further growth of young growth was analyzed. Our studies have shown a potential difference (P=0.999) between the live weight of bull-calves, which in the colostrum period were transferred together with the cows to the correction sections, and those for which no correction sections were used. The advantage in live weight at the age of 18 months is 27% and 28% (P=0.999) in favor of bull-calves that were transferred; they prevailed by 28% (P>0.999) in average daily gains, and by 28% and 29% (P=0.999) in absolute terms. When compared by live weight at the age of 18 months, the heifers, which had been transferred to correction sections during the colostrum period, had an advantage of 26%. The average daily and absolute gains in these heifers were 29% greater than the heifers, which were not transferred.
Highlights
Livestock farming plays an essential role in many countries' agro-industrial complex (Alhas et al, 2020; Korobkov et al, 2020; Palii & Palii, 2019); animal husbandry is a strategic industry that provides the population with complete protein foods, including meat
Bull-calves of Groups II and III, which were transferred to the correctional sections in the colostrum period together with the mother cows, in live weight significantly (P>0.999) surpassed the bull-calves of the I Group, which were not transferred to the correction sections, during all age periods
The imperfection of the technological elements of keeping cows and newborn calves at the beginning of suckling causes a decrease in young animals' growth rate, which is confirmed by our research
Summary
Livestock farming plays an essential role in many countries' agro-industrial complex (Alhas et al, 2020; Korobkov et al, 2020; Palii & Palii, 2019); animal husbandry is a strategic industry that provides the population with complete protein foods, including meat. Mounds up to 15 m wide and up to 1.5 m high made of straw are placed in open areas (Kolisnyk et al, 2017; Palii, 2019b) This retention technology minimizes the cost of beef production and makes the meat industry cost-effective. A calf being the only, and the main, product in beef cattle breeding, the main task of the industry is to obtain a calf from each cow, to preserve it and let it fully grow throughout the growing period (Brščić et al, 2018; Palii, 2020; Shchepetilnikov, 2020). Stable growth of young animals during all age periods is ensured by both good nutrition and livestock technology, which affects the industry's profitability (Kravchenko et al, 2019; Palii & Petrov, 2020). Considering the importance of stable growth of young animals throughout the growing period, the question of studying the change in weight of young animals, which in the colostrum period were grown using different techniques, turns out to be relevant
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