Strength of limbs and hoof horn from local Ukrainian cows and their crossbreeding with Brown Swiss and Montbeliarde breeds

This work aimed to study the strength of the hoof horn of the first-calf cows of domestic breeds (Black-Spotted and Red-Spotted breeds) and their crossbreeds of the first generation (F1) with Brown Swiss and Montbeliarde breeds. The study was performed with first-calf cows during increasing the milk yield (60-70 days of lactation). Two groups of purebred and local analogs were formed. It was found that local cows left behind purebred analogs in the primary measurements of the hooves and biotechnological and biophysical features of the strength of the hoof horn. Domestic cows of the Ukrainian Black-Spotted and Brown Swiss breeds predominated purebreds in length, width, girth, height, and diagonal by an average of 0.44 cm, 0.27, 0.17, 0.12, and 0.39 cm. Respectively, crossbreeds of Ukrainian Red-Spotted and Montbeliarde breeds dominated over the purebred analogs by the same indicators by 0.51 cm, 0.38, 0.78, 0.27, and 0.51 cm. In some ways, the crossbreed first-calf cows surpassed the purebred cows by the indexes of hardness and turgidity of hoof horn. Live weight while increasing the milk yield in purebred Black-Spotted first-calf cows was higher by 18.35 kg. Regarding the crossbreeds of Red-Spotted with Montbeliarde breed, all the estimated indicators of body measurements showed a significant advantage over purebred Red-Spotted analogs. It was found that local first-calf cows had better indexes of area and strength of the hoof horn compared with purebreds. Also, Red-Spotted crossbreeds with Montbeliarde breeds had a higher live weight during increasing the milk yield: by 21.22 kg (P ≥0.95). Keywords: crossbreeding, dairy cows, limbs, hoof horn, limb strength.   References   Baird, L.G., O'Connell, N.E., McCoy, M.A., Keady, W.J., & Klipatrick, D.J. (2009). Effects of breed and production system on lameness parameters in dairy cattle. 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