Lactation Characteristics of Red Steppe and Simmenthal Cows in Yakutia

Abstract

Abstract This article considers the comparison of the lactation characteristics of local and imported cow breeds. The winter rations of milk cows contain 9.4 EFU of fodder and 1139 g of digestible proteins, which is 89.9 and 107% of the feeding reference values. The rations comprise 36% of bulk feed, 24% of succulent feed, and 40% of concentrated feed. The proportion of sugar and proteins is 0.43, which means that the content of carbohydrates in the diet is insufficient. The authors established that the research cows had different lactation curve levels even if they had the same housing conditions and diets. For both groups, lactation curves were at the highest during the summer with 5-6 months of lactation and when animals were in the open grazing. The lactation curve of the dairy breed beings to drop rapidly since the 6th month of lactation, and the lactation curve of the local Simmenthal cows reduces more smoothly. The lactation persistency coefficient for the Red Steppe breed equaled 66.5%. Local Simmenthal cows had the highest lactation productivity of 89.7%.