CATTLE
From page 14
"yellow" milk which has a very
high butterfat content. Jersey
cows are famous for their
good temperament, but the
bulls have been known to be
aggressive.
The Guernsey is similar in
many ways to the Jersey, with
ease of calving and milk with
a high butterfat content. The
Guernsey is, however, a larger
animal than the Jersey.
Mature cows average 450 kgs.
Owing to the low numbers of
this breed, the availability of
bulls is limited.
The speckled red to brown
and white Ayrshire is a
medium-sized dairy breed,
mature cows weighing 450 to
500 kg and good cows are
known for their sound udder
conformation.
The availability of both cows
and bulls is an important
consideration when you make
your choice. Jerseys are far
more heat resistant than
Holstein-Frieslands and are
also better foragers. Ayrshires
are also said to be good
foragers but they are more
sensitive to bad stockmanship
than are Holstein-Frieslands or
Jerseys.
Beef breeds are stockier and
more muscled than dairy
breeds. Gauteng smallholders
will be looking for a hardy
breed with the ability to fight
parasites and diseases,
hardiness, with good mothering abilities, good fertility
Hugenoot
Drakensberger
14
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under marginal conditions,
and long life spans.
There are three main types of
beef production systems:
K Cow-calf production mainly produces calves for
sale.
K Purebred breeding produce bulls for the cow-calf
operation
K Slaughter cattle production
- cattle from the cow-calf
system are fattened for
slaughter.
With 39 suitable beef breeds
in South Africa to choose
Continued on page 16