Meat productivity of beef bulls grown according to the technology of free-range and mountain husbandry
The purpose of the research was a comparative assessment of the meat productivity of Hereford and Kazakh white-headed cattle in the conditions of free-range and mountain husbandry of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. The object of the research are the gobies of Kazakh white-headed (group I) and Hereford (group II) breeds. The production cycle of breeding and fattening of experimental livestock was 18 months: the suckling period - from birth to the age of 8 months, then up to 12 months - on pasture, from 13 to 16 months - on the paddock, from 17 to 18 months - on the final fattening. The results of the control slaughter indicate the superiority in the pre-slaughter live weight and the weight of paired carcasses of Hereford bulls, which, in comparison with peers of the Kazakh white-headed breed, amounted to 15,4 kg (P > 0,95) and 12,9 kg (P > 0,99), respectively. This provided the young Herefords with an advantage in slaughter weight and its yield at the level of 15,2 kg (P > 0,99) and 1.3 abs. % (P > 0,95). The analysis of the morphological composition of carcasses indicates its maximum values in Hereford bulls and superiority over peers of the Kazakh whiteheaded breed by 12,9 kg (P > 0,99). According to the meat content coefficient, the carcasses of the experimental groups of bulls practically did not differ and amounted to 5,0-5,1 units. The obtained results of a comparative assessment of the meat productivity of Kazakh white-headed and Hereford cattle indicate a high genetic potential of the meat productivity of these animals and allow us to recommend their widespread distribution in the farms of the foothill zone of the North Caucasus, practicing the driving-mountain keeping of cattle.