UDC 636.2.083+636.2.034.4
DOI 10.36461/NP.2026.77.1.015
MILK PRODUCTIVITY AND COW CONFORMATION TRAITS DEPENDING ON BODY TYPE
O.V. Oskina, Postgraduate Student; I.V. Kaeshova, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor;
T.V. Shishkina, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor;
Penza State Agrarian University, Penza, Russia,
tel. 8-937-428-38-30 e-mail:
Along with milk productivity indicators, body type is an important breeding trait. This article deals with evaluation of milk productivity and cow conformation traits depending on body type on the example of a Holsteinized Black-and-White cattle herd. Groups were formed based on the cow body type, with 20 heads in each: Group I – leptosome type, Group II – mesosome type, Group III – eurysome type. The results of evaluating cows for milk productivity over 305 days of lactation showed that animals of the mesosome type had the highest milk yield (7138 kg) and the highest yield of milk fat and protein (284 and 220 kg, respectively). Cows in all experimental groups had strong conformation traits and high-productive dairy characteristics. The general comprehensive evaluation showed that cows of the leptosome and eurysome types belong to the “Good” category, while those of the mesosome type belong to the “Good plus” category. Cows of the mesosome type had the highest number of conformation defects such as: winged scapula, roached back, steep rump, wide interdigital cleft, udder asymmetry, convergent teats, and supernumerary teats. Based on the results of the current research, it can be concluded that animals of the mesosome type demonstrated the highest milk productivity and the highest overall comprehensive conformation score; however, at the same time, cows of the leptosome type had the best conformational traits.
Keywords: body type, cow, productivity, conformation, linear scoring.
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