Meat bull: photo and review of the most famous bull breeds

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

All breeds of cows are divided into three large groups: meat, dairy and meat and dairy. Of course, the most popular type of cattle is the second. However, beef cows are kept quite often on farms. There are many breeds of such animals. The most popular in Russia are only five.

Main classification

Meat breeds of bulls, in turn, are divided into three main groups:

• British origin. This group includes the Aberdeen Angus, Galloway, Shorthorn and Hereford breeds. The main distinguishing feature of cows of this variety is precocity. The best meat breeds of bulls in this group are Hereford and Aberdeen Angus.
• Franco-Italian origin - Pale Aquitaine, Charolais, Maine Anjou, Chianese, Marchian, Piedmontese, Simmental. Common features of these breeds are considered to be large weight and late maturity. The meat of the gobies of this group does not contain too much fat.
• Zebu breeds and new ones,derived from them. This group includes Brangus, Santa Gertrude, Bramuzinskaya, Kanshen, etc. Distinctive features are large size, adaptability to heat, resistance to parasitic diseases.

Popular meat breeds of gobies in Russia

In our country, the following varieties of beef cows are most often bred:

• Kazakh white-headed. It was obtained by crossing the British Herefords and the local Kazakh-Kalmyk population. The breed was bred in the USSR in the first third of the twentieth century.
• Aberdeen Angus. This breed originated in Scotland.
• Hereford. Bred in England from local unproductive cattle.
• Limousine. This cow is from France.
• Kalmyk. It ranks first in terms of numbers in our country. It was bred a long time ago by the Kalmyk nomadic tribes.

Kazakh Whitehead

This variety is bred in almost all regions of our country. A meat bull (Kazakh white-headed) has:

• strong bones;
• short legs;
• barrel-shaped body, overgrown with thick hair in winter.

The withers, back and sides of the gobies of this variety are red, and the legs, belly, head and chest are white. The breed is characterized by precocity and a very high yield of meat - 58-68%. Adult bulls reach a weight of 900 kg. ATdepending on the region and conditions of detention, the last figure may increase or decrease by 200-300 kg.

One of the distinguishing features of the Kazakh white-headed is that it tolerates heat very well. This breed is grown mainly according to pasture technology. Gobies of meat breeds (the photos presented on the page clearly demonstrate their impressive size) in most cases are quite whimsical to feed. This almost does not apply to the white-headed Kazakh. In winter, these animals can even be fed straw instead of hay.

Kalmyk breed

Gobies of this species are also bred everywhere in our country. The main features of the Kalmyk breed are:

• light bones;
• crescent horns;
• the presence of an occipital crest on the head.

The majority of these cows are red with white markings. Sometimes there are also individuals of a brown-motley suit. The average weight of an adult Kalmyk bull is 950 kg, but in some cases it can reach 1100 kg.

This variety has gained popularity among farmers primarily due to its precocity and rare ability to quickly fatten. In autumn, before the start of wintering, the Kalmyk goby specially accumulates a reserve of nutrients (fat in the form of "marble" layers).

The skin of cows of this variety contains several outlets of the sebaceous glands at once. Due to this feature, these animalsare insensitive to precipitation. Also, these cows have a fatty layer under the skin, which allows them to easily endure both heat and cold. Such features, according to scientists, do not have any other breed of meat gobies. Some disadvantage of the Kalmyk breed is considered to be sensitivity to lack of water.

Aberdeen Angus Gobies

In Russia, this breed is bred mainly in the Volga region, Bryansk and Kaluga regions. Also, such cows can be found in the North Caucasus and in the central regions of the country. The main distinguishing features of the Aberdeen Angus breed are:

• rounded short torso;
• short legs and neck;
• small head with a prominent forehead;
• muscular back, lower back and sacrum;
• thin loose skin with noticeable fiber;
• hornless (hornless).

Most of the bulls and cows of this breed have a dark color. Adult animals reach a weight of 850 kg. The breed is characterized by precocity and high quality meat. Slaughter yield can reach 70%.

The main advantages of cows of this breed are fast adaptation to any climatic conditions, fertility and easy calving. Unfortunately, the Aberdeen Angus beef goby can have a wild disposition and even show aggression towards humans. This is considered the main disadvantage of this variety.

Hereford gobies

This breed is the second largest in Russia after the Kalmyk. It is distributed in the Orenburg, Chelyabinsk, Saratov, Rostov regions, as well as in the Altai Territory. The main distinguishing features of representatives are:

• barrel-shaped squat torso;
• heavily protruding dewlap.

The color of the Hereford bulls is dark red. At the same time, the legs below, the head, the dewlap of the withers and the belly are white. The body weight of adult bulls of this breed is 850-1000 kg, cows - 550-650 kg. In this case, the slaughter yield is 58-62%. The breed tolerates adverse weather conditions and stages well.

Limousine cows

Gobies of this variety are not as widespread in our country as the breeds described above, but still sometimes bred by farmers (about 1.8% of the total). The main distinguishing features of the limousine cattle are:

• thin skeleton;
• developed muscles;
• strong legs and hooves;
• wide sacrum.

The color of the Limousin bull-calf can be red, brown or golden brown (horns and hooves are light). The meat of these animals contains very little fat. Limousin cattle can reach a weight of 580-1100 kg. Killer yield - 63-65%.

Fatting meat bullsbreeds - business in most cases profitable. This is explained quite simply. The meat of such cattle is distinguished by “marbling” and fine fiber, and therefore is expensive. All the breeds described above gain weight quickly, and are unpretentious in care.