Exterior Features and Productive Qualities of Young Beef Cattle of Various Genotypes

Abstract

The article describes the issues of comparative assessment of economic and biological features and productive qualities of beef cattle bred in Western Kazakhstan. The authors present norms and rations for feeding young animals of different genotypes. The results of studying the exterior features, body weight and average daily gain of Kazakh Whiteheaded breed and foreign Hereford and Aberdeen Angus breeds are presented. The authors conduct a comparative analysis of body weight and average daily gain of young animals of different breeds grown in the semi-desert zone of Western Kazakhstan. It has been found that during the growing period from 8 to 15 months, the average daily gain of body weight of the Hereford breed was 658.1 g for bull calves and 587.1 g for heifers, of the Aberdeen Angus breed – 603.8 g and 500.9 g respectively and of the Kazakh Whiteheaded breed – 758.8 g and 561.1 g respectively.