Productive traits of calves depending on the method of their rearing

Abstract

The rearing of young animals is an important and fundamental stage in obtaining highly productive animals. The traditional technology of calves rearing in typical heated rooms provides for significant costs for their heating, ventilation, manure removal and feeding. The purpose of the work was to study the productive traits of calves depending on the method of their rearing. Research has been carried out to study the influence of different conditions of housing calves during the preweaning period under conditions in the farm “Ershov” (Vykhodnyi village) in the Buguruslansky area in the Orenburg region. The influence of housing methods on the dynamics of live weight, morphological and biochemical parameters of blood, conformation characteristics and body type indices of replacement heifers has been established. During the entire study period the average daily gain in calves of the experimental group was higher by 66 g or 9,4 % (P < 0,05), live weight by 7,0 kg or 6,9 % (P < 0,05). There was no significant difference in the morphological and biochemical parameters of the blood of the experimental calves. At 3 months of age the animals of the experimental group had superiority in all the measurements taken: in height at the withers by 2,0 cm or 2,2 % (P < 0,05), height in the rump bone by 0,5 cm or 0,5 %, length of the body by 2,8 cm or 3,1 %, chest width by 0,9 cm or 3,6 %, chest depth by 1,5 cm or 3,9 %, chest circumference by 2,0 cm or 1,9 %, width in hook bones by 0,4 cm or 1,8 %, hip joint width by 1,1 cm or 5,4 % (P < 0,05), rump half–circumference by 1,0 cm or 2,2 %, pastern circumference by 0,1 cm, or 0,8 %, compared with the corresponding indicators of calves of the control group.. Similarly, the calves of the experimental group had superiority over the analogues of the control group in terms of body type indices. Thus, according to the thoracic index the calves of the experimental group outperformed their herdmates by 9,2 abs.% (P < 0,01) and according to the meatness index they outperformed the herdmates of the control group by 3,5 abs.% (P < 0,05).