How to choose the shelf cow?

Shelf cattle is a breed of cattle. First of all, it is necessary to buy shelf cattle that are crossbred with local cattle, such as Charolais, Simmental, Limousin, Heyford, and other foreign improved breeds of beef cattle. Secondly, buy the cross offspring of Holstein bull or Holstein bull and local cattle. This kind of beef has good meat quality, fast growth and high feed reward. Shelf cattle are characterized by large size, flat shoulders, deep chest, straight waist, round abdomen, curved ribs, broad buttocks, large head, large nostrils, large corners of mouth, broad and moist nose, developed lower palate, large eyes, hairy and bright, soft and loose skin and elastic skin, squeezed with thumb and index finger like a rubber band, with fingers inserted into the back of a grip, a large handful of skin, such beef long meat, easy to fatten.

Selection criteria of shelf cattle

1. Select a good breed: first, we should choose and buy shelf cattle that cross with local cattle, such as Charolais cattle, Simmental cattle, Limousin, Haiford and other foreign beef cattle, and then buy Holstein bulls or Holstein cattle crossbred with local cattle. This kind of beef has good meat quality, fast growth and high feed reward.

2. Cattle with good appearance: fattening shelf cattle should have large body, flat shoulders, deep chest, straight waist, round abdomen, curved ribs, broad buttocks, large head, large nostrils, deep corners of mouth, broad and moist nose, well-developed lower palate, big eyes, hairy and bright, soft, loose and elastic skin, squeeze a rubber band with thumb and index finger, hold it with fingers at the back, and hold a handful of skin. Such cattle gain a lot of weight and are easy to fatten.

3. Accurately judge the age of cattle: the best age of shelf cattle is between 1.2 and 2.0 years old, which is easy to fatten, good meat quality, fast growth and save feed.

4. choose and buy uncastrated bulls: the growth rate and feed utilization efficiency of bulls are higher than those of castrated bulls. Practice has proved that the daily gain of uncastrated bulls is 13.5% higher than that of castrated bulls, and the meat quality is better than that of castrated bulls. Therefore, when buying shelf cattle, we should try to choose uncastrated bulls to improve the fattening effect.

5. Estimated weight: generally, cattle with a weight of 300-400kg are required. After more than three months of fattening, the weight of such cattle can reach more than 500kg, which is in line with the export standards.

6. Choose the cattle with good fat condition: if the body condition is good, the carcass with good quality can be obtained, while the poor body condition and less fat deposition in the fattening process will reduce the carcass quality. Very thin cattle are often due to poor feeding and digestion, or due to some diseases, such cattle are not easy to fatten. And overcrowding in transportation, too high or low temperature, strong wind and rainstorm weather all lead to weight loss of cattle.

7. Choose and purchase healthy and disease-free cattle: quarantine cattle one by one before purchasing, and do not buy shelf cattle with infectious and parasitic diseases. After repurchase, first of all, it should be isolated for observation and timely deworming, after about 2 weeks of observation to confirm that there is no disease can be put into the fattening group. Its faeces should be treated innocuously.

The principle of selecting cattle for shelf cattle

1. Select excellent varieties.

2. Choose healthy cattle with strong growth potential.

3. The weight is more than 300 kilograms.

4. Choose 1Mel 2-year-old bull.

5. Choose cattle with gentle temperament.

6. Do not buy cattle from epidemic areas.

Reference standard for shelf cattle

1. Boss. The head of beef cattle should be short and wide, and the shape, size and horn direction of each breed of cattle head are different.

2. Neck. When identifying the neck, pay attention to the natural connection between the neck and the body. The neck of a bull is thicker and shorter than that of a cow.

3. Hammerhead. It should be flat and broad. Note that the forelegs should be well fixed on the body and ensure the free movement of the forelimbs. Do not have sharp, protruding and sunken hammerheads. Hammerhead is a sign of muscle tissue relaxation, so the productivity of this kind of cow service and milk is low. In general, the hammerhead of bulls is more developed than that of cows, that of service cattle is higher than that of dairy cattle, that of meat and dairy cattle is wider, and that of dairy cattle and service cattle is relatively narrow.

4. Back and waist. To be broad and flat, form a horizontal line from the hammerhead to the cross. Sagging back is a sign of physical weakness. Drooping backs are often found in older cattle and cows with more births, and productivity is low and unhealthy. Cattle bred under poor feeding and management conditions often have upward curved carp backs. This kind of back is often accompanied by a narrow back. Cattle with drooping backs are unproductive and unhealthy. The waist of beef cattle is wider, followed by dual-use cattle, and that of service cattle and dairy cattle is relatively narrow.

5. Rump. To be long, wide and straight, the rump of the cow is wide, which is conducive to reproduction, especially in childbirth, it is easy to produce calves. The muscles of the rump for service are developed, so that the force of service is great. The rump of beef cattle is even longer and wider, because the rump produces extremely high meat. Conical rump narrowing and downward tilting are the main rump defects, which often lead to hindlimb weakness and muscle dysplasia at the same time.

6. Tail. Slender and long, drooping to hocks, is characterized by meticulous and productive bones, and the tail should be covered with fine hairs.

7. Breasts. Cows of all uses want to have deep and wide breasts. From the front of the cow, it can be concluded that the width of the chest ribs protrude, the semicircle of the chest is barrel-shaped, and the distance between the two forelegs of the cow indicates that the chest is well developed. The volume of the chest is large, and the heart and lungs in the body are also more developed. The depth and length of the chest can be seen from the side of the cow. The chest is deep, the shoulder is long, the chest is shallow, the shoulder is short, the chest of the bull is more developed than that of the cow, and the depth, width and bucket shape of the chest are better than that of the cow. The breasts of draft cattle and beef cattle are wider and fuller than those of dairy cattle.

8. Abdomen. Abdominal volume should be large, the shape should be round, should not droop or contract, drooping abdomen is often accompanied by concave back, especially precocious cattle and breeding bulls should not have grass belly, cows should not curl belly.

9. Forelimbs and hindlimbs. To identify the limb potential of livestock, it is necessary to look at the front, side and back. All animals with good shape must have broad front and hindlimb separations, and the limbs must be straight and strong.

10. Skin and coat. The fineness of the hair is related to the thickness of the skin. the skin is thin and the hair is thick; the skin of beef cattle is thicker and softer than that of dairy cattle; and the skin of cattle grazing locally throughout the year tends to be thicker. The health of cattle can be judged by the condition of the coat. The coat of healthy cattle is smooth and shiny, and the hair is changed quickly and evenly, while the hair of sick and emaciated cattle is thick and less glossy, and the hair changing period is prolonged, and the hair changing condition is very irregular.

11. The temperament of cattle. Generally speaking, buy mild-tempered cattle, while temper, fierce cattle do not buy, several characteristics of temper cattle are: red circles, rotten eye sides of the two horns are not pointed. The bigger the bull's eye, the more honest he is.