Hereford breed is famous for its bulls, which are world producers of cattle in livestock. Hereford meat is famous for its excellent taste.
Hereford breed
Hereford breed
According to the classification existing in animal husbandry, the Hereford breed of cows belongs to the meat direction, therefore, among the main indicators that breeders are often interested in, one can note:
- rapid weight gain;
- the possibility of breeding in conditions of both private farming and on an industrial scale;
- unpretentiousness in the use of feed;
- flexible character of the bulls;
- excellent quality reproduction;
- taste features of the resulting meat products.
It is based on the blood of red breeds bred in XVIII century England, because the cattle of the Hereford branch carries the genes of dark red color.
The name Hereford comes from the name of the small homeland of the animals described - the English county of Herefordshire. At present, representatives of Hereford cattle can be found in Australian, Canadian, American and New Zealand livestock. This breed is bred on the territory of Russia in the Siberian and Far Eastern regions.
Hereford's price is based on the age of cattle. The table below contains the average cost:
Age | Weight | Price |
Sub-calf calves (up to 8 months) | weight from 25 kg and above | 130 rub / kg |
Converted non-general nutrition (to one year old) | bulls - weight 0.2-0.32 t heifers - weight up to 0.27 t | 300 rub / kg |
1.5 year olds and older | bulls - weight 0.43 t heifers - weight 0.4 t | 500 rub / kg |
External signs
Hereford bulls grow at the withers to 1.20-1.30 m with a body length of 1.5 m, they have a wide chest to a depth of 65 cm and a girth of 1.95-1.97 m. The gobies gain weight from 0 , 9 to 1.3 tons. Cows weigh a little less. Massiveness, developed muscles, impressive size and proportional coherence of Hereford bulls can be seen from the photos, clearly demonstrating them becoming full-fledged producers. In addition, the Hereford breed of cattle is characterized by other distinctive features. So, the description of the appearance suggests that beef cattle should have:
- barrel-shaped squat body with a direct dorsal section;
- protruding forward breasts;
- short cervical spine;
- tightly folded short limbs.
The skin of animals is elastic and covered with a soft fleece.
The color of the breed is manifested in the main body color. The head and lower body, including the belly, are painted white.
Attractive breed for breeders
The Hereford breed of cows is characterized by high vitality and is able to easily acclimatize to new conditions. Thanks to these characteristics, as well as taking into account the aesthetic component and the good characteristics of the reproduction of offspring, Hereford has become a frequent resident of farms.
Hereford bulls are one of the most prominent representatives actively used in breeding, passing on to the next generation the genetically fixed qualitative characteristics of the breed.
Hereford offspring are resistant to survival, deaths among newly born Hereford breed calves are observed in rare cases, calving in heifers usually pass without complications.
You should not expect that the Hereford breed of cows will bring a lot of milk. These representatives are usually not milked and bred not so much for milk, but exclusively for new offspring, crossbreeding and meat. Slaughter yield is from 60 to 70%. Hereford bulls produce marbled meat.
Reviews of breeders note not only the rapid weight gain of animals, but also their high fertility and longevity. Scott Hereford showed good results in animal resistance to infectious diseases.
Among the minuses noted by breeders, one can mention the gluttony of representatives of this breed. For the wintering of cattle, Hereford of 15 individuals is capable of destroying up to 200 tons of hay. But the resulting meat is nutritious and juicy, with a uniformly distributed layer, so the farm is often ready for such feed costs, assuming what indicators can be achieved from Hereford cows and what quality the meat is from it.
Content Features
The non-aggressive nature shown by Hereford makes it easy to keep livestock not only in large rooms, but also in confined spaces. As a rule, these are open ranges or easily constructed structures. Among the main conditions for keeping Hereford cattle are the absence of drafts and the dryness of the room.
The excellent fat layer of animals and dense skin protect livestock from cold weather, therefore keeping and feeding outdoors is permissible even at the beginning of the winter period. In summer, the best place for herefords will be a pasture.
Usually, pens and calf pens are set up around herefords, and water drinkers are located in the center. A calf is provided for young animals, where they are fed with the aim of raising offspring and fattening.
Farmer Alexey Bukharovsky. The story of Hereford cattle
Hereford breed of cattle. The content of beef cattle on a pasture. Cow paradise
Hereford Conspiracy Theory
Separately from all animals, a calving pen is located, where cows are kept several days before the intended birth and a week after the offspring. Sexual maturity of cows occurs at the age of 2-3 years.