UDC 636.034
DOI 10.36461/NP.2023.66.2.009
CORRELATION BETWEEN EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR INDICATORS AND MILK YIELD OF HOLSTEIN COWS
O. A. Basonov, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor, A.S. Kulatkova, Applicant at the Department of "Particular Zootechnics and Breeding of Farm Animals"
Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education "Nizhny Novgorod State Agrotechnological University", Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, tel.: +79877576211; +78312143349 (ext.533); e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Nowadays, some scientists have demonstrated a close relationship between the exterior and productivity of cows, which is an expression of a certain metabolism. However, when selecting animals, it is important to consider a number of indicators that have a complex effect on milk productivity. It is therefore necessary to determine the degree of their influence in the combination. Studies to evaluate milk productivity, exterior and interior characteristics of the farm animals were carried out in the OOO "Plemzavod named after Lenin" on two groups of cows of the Holstein breed, distributed according to the method of housing. The purpose of our study was to determine the relationship between the exterior and interior indicators of cows and milk productivity depending on the method of housing. As a result of the investigations carried out, it was found that cows kept in tethers had a milk yield of 8434 kg in 305 days of lactation and the highest mass percentage of fat (4.09 %) and protein (3.18 %) was found in the group of cows kept in loose housing. The highest milk yield coefficient of tethered cows was 1506 kg. As far as body indices are concerned, the animals studied were characterised by long legs (44.73-45.39%), long body (113.42-113.895), large stocky body (121.4-121.92) and overgrowth (1.5.79-106.24). However, animals of loose housing method outperformed their peers in the chest index by 11.06 absolute values, which was due to the influence of locomotion. It was found that all the animals examined were characterized by good health and a good immune system. The content of formed elements (erythrocytes, leukocytes and thrombocytes) and albumin also correspond to the norm in all the animals studied. The degree of influence of housing method on exterior indicators of the cows (chest depth) was of average strength (0.68). A high degree of influence was found in relation to the phosphorus content in the blood (0.80). A reliable difference was found for all interior indicators except calcium and erythrocytes.
Keywords: housing method, first-calf cows, exterior, interior, milk productivity, body points.
