It is very strange, but for some reason we are accustomed to distinguish cows not by breed, but by color. Of course, for an experienced breeder, the suit can talk about many things, but color lovers will not be a criterion for assessing the performance of a cow.
Therefore, acquaintance with this beautiful animal should begin with what breed it belongs to, and after studying all the characteristics of the breed, to draw conclusions about the characteristics of a particular animal.
Therefore, if you had to meet cows of Aberdeen-Angus breed, we are happy to tell you about what advantages and disadvantages it has, and how productive it can be under home-keeping conditions.
We share the history of origin and characteristics of Aberdeen-Angus cows
This breed of cattle has long become traditional for farm breeding in its homeland - English Scotland. But it is no less widespread in the territory of other countries and continents.
Such popularity is well deserved, since the main direction of breeding this cattle is beef, although it is also possible to get small amounts of milk. With that, Aberdeen-Angus breed is one of the few that, thanks to the peculiarities of their body, are producers of marbled beef.
Such good productivity was inherited by this breed from two other English breeds of cattle with the following characteristics:
- Aberdeen cattle, the main advantage of which is a very strong build and very fast growth of young animals. These are cows of exclusively meat type, which inherited the breed described by us.
- Angus large cows, which are one of the largest in terms of the size of the body. In addition, Angus cows are considered among the most dairy, but this characteristic is not transmitted Aberdeen-Angus breed.
Description of the exterior and other parameters of Aberdeen Angus cows
The very first distinctive feature of the appearance of this breed is that it belongs to the cattle species. This means that animals are both male and female, don't have horns. This makes life in the wild quite difficult for the breed, however, it plays absolutely no role in home keeping.
The second sign by which you can distinguish the breed of Aberdeen-Angus cows is their suit, mostly presented in black. However, representatives with red suit are also often found, which is not a sign of hybrids or deterioration of animal characteristics.
Basically, these cows have the following features of the appearance of the body:
- The head of the representatives of the breed, although heavy, is small in size. The forehead protrudes slightly forward, and the back of the head is very narrow. The muzzle is short.
- Their legs are very muscular, which is noticeable even with the naked eye, and therefore fleshy. In height they are short, but strong and correctly set.
- The body is quite wide, deep and heavy, so that the legs of these cows have to carry a very heavy load. The top line of the body of the breed is almost perfectly flat.
- The neck is almost invisible, because from the head it immediately merges with the shoulders.
- Very well made in the representatives of the breed loin and cross. The legs are round, their muscles are well developed and descend along the leg to the hock.
Due to the presence of the above characteristics, with good feeding, cows are gaining rounded shapes that are simply impressive with their muscles.
Insofar as leather this cattle pretty loose, very elastic and thin, the muscles are practically visible through it.
It is worth noting that the backbone of animals is very thin, and therefore its weight in relation to the weight of the entire carcass can be only from 15 to 18%.
In the other parameters of the body, Aberdeen-Angus cows are even more impressive:
- The height of adults at the withers varies from 120 to 150 centimeters (bulls are larger in size, so they are usually taller).
- The width of the chest can be 45-65 webs.
- In maklokah torso width ranges from 50 to 60 centimeters.
- From 135 to 140 centimeters on average can vary the length of the body of these cows.
From the above material it follows that we are talking about very large animals. But with all this, by their nature, they are quite docile, they do not even show signs of aggression (except for bulls in the period of puberty).
The most important advantages of Aberdeen-Angus breed
Since the main value of these cows is their meat, the main goal of any cattle breeder is to grow this meat quickly.
In the case of the described breed, it is not worth worrying about this especially, because not only it feeds well, but it does it quickly. The merit of such a feature undoubtedly lies in the structure of the digestive tract of animals and in the way in which their fatty tissues are deposited.
The fact is that fat is not stored in them separately from meat, as a result of which whole fat "Klondike" can be formed.
Aberdeen Angus cows fatty layers are formed right in the muscle fibers, as a result, and it turns out such famous marble meat. More details about meat and its accumulation features will be described below.
It is important that the cows of this breed are able to have a good increase even in the absence of any other feed, except for green grass on the pasture. Accustomed to the wild, Aberdeen-Angus cows can even feed on shrub leaves. The basic diet of young stock naturally makes up the mother's milk.
The great merit of the described breed lies in the fact that its genes can transmit meat qualities. Moreover, when crossed with them, not only the quantity but also the quality of the resulting meat increases.
Also, when crossed with other breeds to their descendants, Aberdeen-Angus cows transmit their precocity (the ability to very quickly stop the growth of the body and begin to actively gain its weight, and also relatively early to enter puberty). In this regard, the breed is very widely used in breeding.
What important features of the breed should be known before buying it?
I think, having read the information about the origin of the breed, many immediately doubted whether it could be kept on the territory of our country. The question is logical, but immediately we hurry to inform you that this cattle adapts very well to the climate of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
Despite the fact that native to the Aberdeen Angus cows cold climate with very intense precipitation, they can adapt in warmer countries.
Of course, this does not mean that they can immediately be diverted to subtropics and get good productivity. You may have to wait for a new generation until full acclimatization. Although, a much better option would be to simply purchase animals that are already adapted to your conditions.
However, it does not matter what climate you will breed these cows in, anyway no need for sheds. After all, another advantage of the breed is the ability to easily endure even very strong air temperature drops.
A large role in this ability of animals is undoubtedly played by the thick coat of cows, as well as a good immune system. The large size and the presence of a large number of fatty layers also warm the animals during the cold season.
Unlike many other meat breeds of cows intended for free-range on pastures, Aberdeen-Angus cows can also represent a combined type of productivity.
The point is that the cows of this breed are also capable of producing milk, although in this respect they are very much inferior to the performance of other breeds. Their milk yield is very low and in one year they can be only 1300-1700 kilogram (without taking into account the calf feeding period).
Does the breed have flaws and what are they?
Although the leg muscles of these cows are very well developedIn relation to the main body mass, they remain very weak. Therefore, with excessive obesity, animals can break their legs, or simply fall on them.
It is because of this feature that Aberdeen Angus cows not recommended for fattening. After all, if bulls are allowed to be slaughtered at a young age, and even weakness of the legs will not interfere with this, then cows cannot be obese in any case.
It is especially difficult for female animals to carry their weight during pregnancy, and calving can also occur with complications.
The spring appearance and attractiveness of the breed also spoil the carp-shaped back of the animal and a very heavy head. But, on the other hand, such features of the body constitution allow animals to better adapt to the most diverse environmental conditions.
The difficulty of breeding and maintaining the described breed includes the need for large grazing areas. They are best suited for farming, or breeding in hunting farms.
Features of productivity of meat record-holding cows
We called the champions of this breed for good reason, because they really occupy the first place in their precocity and meat characteristics. Adults already at puberty are able to achieve very high mass indices:
- The weight of a cow can vary from 500 to 550 kilograms.
- Bulls easily gain weight from 750 to 950 kilograms.
Bulls are usually sent for slaughter at a young age in order to preserve the softness and tenderness of meat. Best for this suitable animals between the ages of 1.5 to 2 years. However, it is noted that although with the age of the animal, the meat becomes stiff, it only adds to the other parameters.
Experienced tasters to taste the meat are able to determine the age of the animal from which it was obtained. At the same time, the output from the carcass is approximately 60% pure meat. All of these characteristics allow us to consider the performance of the breed is very high.
Peculiarities of breed reproducibility
The first insemination of Aberdeen-Angus cows can already be made from 14-16 months, calving can occur every year. It often happens that in one calving a cow produces two calves into the world at once.
Despite the fact that cows are kept in the open, mortality among young stock is minimal. This is facilitated not only by the care of the mother, but also by a strong immunity.
Even the weight of newborn calves can range from 16 to 28 kilograms. At the same time, all the cows who have left their bodies show their maternal instincts very well and practically independently feed calves with their milk up to the age of 8 months.
At the same time, for the period of feeding exclusively from the consumption of milk, calves gain about 180 kilograms, although in general, by the time of absence from the mother, their weight usually reaches 230 kilograms.
This factor also plays an important role in feeding the young, contributing to faster growth. When providing young stock not only with milk, but also with a good forage base in the form of an abundance of green fodder, the average daily increase can be from 700 to 800 grams.
Already after weaning the calves from the mother, the feed costs for obtaining 1 kilogram of gain are only 6.5 feed units, which is a very low indicator for cattle.
It is also interesting to read about the best beef breeds of cows.
How to grow the best marbled meat: tips on keeping and feeding Aberdeen-Angus cows
As we have already mentioned, the distinctive feature of the Aberdeen-Angus cattle breed is that their fat is deposited not under the skin, but between the muscle fibers. On the cut, such meat looks like red marble, from which it got its name. At the same time, the fat in no way impairs the quality of the meat, but on the contrary - makes it truly elite.
Thanks to the fatty layers, beef becomes not only softer, but also much juicier, thus acquiring unique taste qualities.
The meat of Aberdeen-Angus cattle is also recommended to endure for ripening, or aging. To do this, it is sent to special rooms without drafts, where the temperature is kept on the verge of freezing meat.
In this simple process, the meat not only acquires a new taste, but also becomes even softer. This is due to the fact that the connective tissue under the influence of enzymes (protein catalysts) is subjected to decomposition, enhancing the specific beef taste.
Description of the necessary requirements for the content and feed base
To grow such meat at home is not necessary at all, or rather not at all, to use various concentrates for fattening. The natural forage base of pasture will be the best and most nutritious food for the representatives of the described breed.
With that, the free-range Aberdeen-Angus cows are kept throughout the year. Additional feed they need to give only in winter periods, when the ground is covered with snow and animals are no longer able to independently produce their own food.
It is very good if natural shrub and forest thickets as well as water bodies are located on the perimeter of pastures. In this case, the animals absolutely no supervision is needed and extra care.
But this is not the only advantage of such a method of keeping: it is believed that with the natural keeping of the cows of the described breed, the taste of their meat becomes thinner and much more exploration.
Which animals are the best producers of marble meat?
In order to get high-quality marble meat, farmers in many European countries exclusively grow bulls. However, in the homeland of the breed and in Ireland, the meat of those calves, which were neutered at the age of calves, is considered more refined.
Buated bulls are called oxen, and it is their meat that is considered to be the best in taste.
The fact is that the muscle fibers of such an animal are much thinner than that of an ordinary bull, which gives the meat a higher quality taste. In addition, the maintenance of oxen allows them to be grazed along with the cows and does not force the owners to search for individual pastures.
