GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT INDICES OF SIMMENTAL AND HOLSTEIN × SIMMENTAL CATTLE IN THE SOUTH URALS
The article provides an overview of the regulations developed on the use of Holstein cattle for improving the Simmental cattle and creation, on this basis, of the population of highly productive animals, combining high productivity and good adaptability to climatic and fodder conditions of the Orenburg region. The most important indicators, to be used to judge on the effectiveness of animals’ outbreeding, are the live weight indices and linear measurements of animals. It is well known that the animals’ hereditary basis can be realized only by means of complex interaction between the genotype and environmental conditions. Besides, the level of young animals feeding is of great importance in this process. The half-breed hybrid animals have inherited the high growth energy which is inherent to the Holstein cattle breed. The results obtained confirm the previously made conclusions on the nature of inheritance of the economically valuable traits of the paternal breed by the Holstein × Simmental hybrids. It is this factor that induced the authors to study the performance of purebred Simmental cattle and their hybrids obtained from crossing with the Holstein breed. This is to provide the industry with more reasonable recommendations on this urgent problem.