The Swiss breed cow is an animal with universal productivity. They are suitable for both meat production and milk production. The versatility of the breed allows you to breed animals of meat, dairy, dairy and meat or dairy. All three types allow you to get high-quality products from animals.
History
The brown Schwyz breed of cows was bred in the mountain canton of Schwyz, in Switzerland. The source material was local indigenous short-livestock. By careful and very long selection for a number of economic attributes, a modern Schwyz breed was obtained.
Initially, the selection went not only in terms of productivity, but also in the use of cows as draft force. After the mechanization of field work, all efforts of breeders were focused on obtaining universal cattle of meat and dairy direction. The conditions for keeping and feeding animals improved . This allowed at times to increase their productivity.
Current state
The universal and highly productive breed in the nineteenth century was widespread not only in Europe, but also in America.
Each natural-economic zone has left its mark on the animals of the Swiss breed. In different countries, specific tasks were set to improve the livestock. On the American continent, breeders of dairy direction are bred. One cow of the Swiss breed of American breeding on average gives 5,000 kg of excellent milk per lactation, the average fat content is 4.5%. The high productivity of the Swiss breed allowed her to enter the top five of the best dairy breeds on the North American continent.
In Europe, the main type of livestock is dairy and meat. Depending on the specific country, there are some peculiarities.
- Germany, Austria - small animals on the lower extremities.
- France, Italy - large cattle, has a large live weight, is characterized by high milk yield and excellent feeding qualities.
In Russia, animals are bred meat and milk. Livestock productivity is high: the weight of cows is 700 kg (this is an average indicator), bulls - up to 1000 kg. With intensive fattening, by the age of eighteen months, the calves gain live weight of 500 kg, the meat yield is 60%. Milking from cows of meat and milk direction reaches 4000 kg of milk with a fat content of 3.8%.
Description
The cow of the Swiss breed is as follows:
- the body is slightly stretched, oblique length - up to 170 cm, height at the withers - up to 135 cm;
- strong bone framework;
- the neck is slightly shortened, muscular;
- wide forehead, short head, horns of a dark color;
- the back and lower back are even;
- legs set correctly, strong, metacarpal girth - up to 20 cm;
- the chest is deep (up to 70 cm) and wide (up to 46 cm), with a well-developed chest
- bowl-shaped udders with cylindrical nipples, an average udder index of 43%;
- the skin is dense and thin;
- short, thick hair;
- color from brown to light gray, a characteristic feature is a lighter hairline along the upper line of the body.
Animals of different types of productivity may have some differences in appearance. In dairy and meat cows, the trunk is more elongated, it has angular shapes, and the muscles are poorly developed. The meat and milk type is distinguished by the proportionality of addition and well-developed muscles.
Characteristic
Representatives of this breed steadily pass on their economically useful traits. When breeding the Kostroma, brown Carpathian, Lebedinsky, Alatau, Caucasian borax, the Schwitz breed of cows was used. Characteristics of productivity of shveits (average indicators):
- milk yield - 3500 kg;
- fat content - 3.7%;
- milk flow rate - 1.2 kg per minute;
- protein content - 3.4%;
- live weight of a bull - 900 kg;
- live weight of a cow - 600 kg;
- at birth, calf weight is 35 kg;
- gain in live weight per day - up to 1 kg;
- the weight of young animals at the age of twelve months is 250 kg;
- the weight of young animals at the age of eighteen months is 350 kg;
- slaughter yield - 55%.
Performance indicators, depending on the type of animals, are slightly different.
1. Milk and meat:
- milk yield - 5000 kg, sometimes up to 12000 kg;
- weight of adult cows - 550 kg;
- weight of adult bulls - 900 kg.
2. Meat and milk:
- milk yield - 4000 kg, individual cows give milk yield up to 10000 kg;
- weight of adult cows - 800 kg;
- weight of adult bulls - 1100 kg.
Advantages and disadvantages
So far, breeders have not bred the ideal breed of cattle. Each of them has its advantages and disadvantages, and the Swiss breed of cows is no exception. There are pros and cons to her. The reviews of those who dealt with such cows make it possible to clearly distinguish them.
Benefits:
- resistant to disease, have good health;
- animals are precocious;
- have a calm character;
- perfectly adapt to various climatic conditions;
- reproductive functions are well developed in animals.
Persistent transmission of their productive qualities to offspring allows today to use these animals for breeding new breeds of cows.
Along with good productive and economic indicators, there are also disadvantages. One of the main ones is the fact that the cow of the Swiss breed is very demanding on the conditions of detention. Not in the last place and feeding animals.
As a significant drawback, one can also consider a large percentage of cows having an irregular shape of the udder, close placement of the nipples, which does not allow the use of machine milking. In addition, certain difficulties arise in mechanized milking of cows due to the very low rate of milk transfer. On average for the breed, this indicator ranges from 1.1-1.3 kg per minute.
Prospects
The plasticity of the breed allows to improve animals, increasing their productivity. The efforts of breeders are aimed at increasing the rate of milk yield, the task is to bring it to at least 2 liters per minute. In addition, the selection of cows continues, steadily transmitting the correct form of the udder by inheritance.
Reviews indicate that the Schwyz breed of cows is very promising for a private farmstead. The price for a heifer can reach 1000 dollars. But high productivity and guaranteed offspring quickly pay back the investment. Manual milking allows you to ignore some possible defects of the udder.
According to cow owners, the taste and color of milk are great. It makes excellent cheeses. The animals themselves are smart and calm.
High milk yield (along with the prospect of obtaining meat in a relatively short period of time) makes it possible for Swiss cows to adequately withstand competition with other breeds.