AYRSHIRE BREED IN THE CONDITIONS OF UKRAINE
Authors: Voitenko S. L. , Hladii M. V. , Porkhun M. H. , Sydorenko O. V. , Tsybenko V. H. 
Published: January 2022

Introduction. Most of the breeds of cattle in Ukraine, especially those created in recent years, have been intensively studied for economically useful features depending on the influence of various factors on them, which facilitates their improvement. At the same time, information on this breed of cattle in Ukraine is limited. To expand information about Ayrshire cattle in Ukraine, we considered it appropriate to analyze the state of Ayrshire breed in breeding herds, determine the origin of animals, determine the productivity of cows depending on milk production technology, lineage, lactation and its duration, and year of birth.

Materials and methods of research. The general condition of Ayrshire cattle in Ukraine and its genealogical structure was determined according to statistical reports and reports on cattle evaluation results of the SE "Experimental Farm named after Dekabrystiv of Institute of Pig Breeding and Аgro-industrial production of NAAS" (Poltava region) and farm "Mezhyrichchya" (Lviv region) for 2020.

Monitoring of milk productivity of Ayrshire cows in SE "Experimental Farm named after Dekabrystiv of Institute of Pig Breeding and Аgro-industrial production of NAAS" depending on the year of birth, milk production technology, lineage and lactation was made using the database of the dairy management system ("Buryonka") as of 01.01.2021.

To determine the influence of genealogical formation on the yield of cows of different lactations were divided into 5 groups depending on the linear affiliation. Dairy productivity of cows, depending on the year of birth, was studied by forming 8 groups (2010–2017). To determine the effect of age of cows in calving on the duration of lactation and milk productivity of animals were divided into 8 groups depending on the ordinal number of lactation. Processing of experimental data was carried out by methods of mathematical statistics by means of the software package "Statistics 10.0".

Research results. At the beginning of 2021 in the breeding breeder of SE "State Enterprise "Experimental Farm named after Dekabrystiv of the Institute of Pig Breeding and Аgro-industrial production of NAAS" kept 892 heads of Ayrshire cattle, including 543 cows, and in the breeding breeder FG" Mezhyrichchya "(Lviv region) – 70 heads, including 30 cows. Cattle of these herds differ significantly in both origin and productivity. Yes, in the farm nd. a. Dekabrystiv average yield of cows in 2020 was 7396 kg, and for the first lactation – 7239 kg, in the farm "Mezhyrichchia"– 4042 and 3790 kg, respectively.

In the farm "Mezhyrichchia" cows and heifers are the daughters of bulls of the lines Redad’s 711620016, Chif’s 14273381 and Romulius’s 929189864, ie, along with purebred breeding of Ayrshire cattle, crossbreeding with Holstein and Simmental breeds is used.

The modern genealogical structure of the Ayrshire breed in SE "EF nd. a. Dekabrystiv of Institute of Pig Breeding and Аgro-industrial production of NAAS" formed from the descendants of the breeders of B. I. Milkmen’s 693744, T. Bruno’s 93907, V. V. Pardner’s 811799, K. Kelli’s 40347, Reim’s 23597, Torpan’s 83882, as well as bulls united in genealogical formation. There are almost no descendants of Finnish bulls left in the herd, which were used in the early stages of the Ukrainian Ayrshire population. It was established that in the herd of the experimental farm there are 156 descendants of the bull Oblikiu 843 of the Torpan’s line 83882, 151 heads – the bull K. Desaph’s 105115743, 112 heads – the bull L. Dzhumper’s 105650307 line T. Bruno’s 93907 and 128 heads – K. Radar’s 107737811. The number of cows and heifers, daughters of other bulls, is not so large (4–90 heads). Cows of existing genealogical formations produced 7239 kg of milk in 305 days of the first lactation.

It was found that with the advanced technology of milk production the average yield in the herd was 7174 kg, which is 745 kg more milk than with the traditional technology, and the advantage of milking for 305 days of the first lactation was 1057 kg.

Yield and fat milk yield of Ayrshire cows in SE "EF nd. a. Dekabrystiv of Institute of Pig Breeding and Аgro-industrial production of NAAS" for I–III lactations depended on the year of birth, but did not tend to increase in dynamics. The yield of the first-born cows born during 2011–2017 varied between 5688–6924 kg, 6336–7751 kg for the second lactation and 6784–9904 kg for the third, respectively. The highest yield for the first and second lactations – 6924 and 7751 kg (respectively) were found in cows born in 2017, and the fat content in the milk of first-born and second lactation – 3.91 and 3.95%, respectively, in cows born in 2015.

The yield of cows of different linear affiliation for 305 days of I – III lactation were analyzed and it was found that the daughter offspring of the studied lines were characterized by different ability to produce milk with age. Cows of genealogical line T. Bruno’s 93907 and K. Kelly’s 40347 increased yield depending on the ordinal number of lactation, V. V. Pardner’s 811799 and Reim’s 23597 – decreased for the second lactation and significantly increased for the third, and B. I. Milkmen’s 693744 – increased for the second lactation and reduced the third. Based on this, it was concluded that the herd cows are heterogeneous in milk productivity with increasing age in lactation, which is most likely due to the physiological characteristics of females.

During the first lactation, among the representatives of 5 genealogical formations, the most milk was produced by the daughter descendants of bulls of the K. Kelly’s genealogical line 40347 – 7193 kg, and Reim’s 23597 – 7152 kg. According to the second lactation, the cows of the K. Kelly’s line 40347 had the highest productivity, from which 7694 kg of milk was obtained, which is 444 – 1086 kg more than the representatives of other studied lines. The yield of the third lactation cows varied at the level of 6913–7519 kg at the highest rate among the daughters of bulls of the Reim’s line 23597.

Yield during the II–VIII lactation 457–1731 kg more milk was obtained, compared to the first one without a clear tendency to increase it with increasing age of cows in calves. The cows were found to have steadily increased their yield until the fifth lactation with subsequent fluctuations. At the same time, their milk yield was not consistent with the duration of lactation. Thus, in 442.4 days of the seventh lactation, 7539 kg were obtained from cows, and in 389.8 days of the fifth lactation - 7364 kg. At the same time, for 429.5 days of the second lactation 7160 kg of milk was obtained, and for 396.3 days of the third – 7556 kg, ie the difference was 396 kg compared to the latter, although lactation of cows after the third calving lasted 33.2 days less. Similarly for other lactations. The correlation coefficient between the duration of lactation and milk yield for 305 days was: I lactation -0.487; II – (-0.047); III – (+0.318); IV – (-0.515); V – (-0.319); VI – (+0.726); VII – (+0.726); VIII – (+0.856), indicating both weak and strong correlations.

Conclusions. The current livestock of Ayrshire cattle in Ukraine is concentrated in two breeding herds, which differ significantly in productivity and genealogical structure.

In the dynamics of 2002–2020, the milk productivity of cows of the experimental farm increased 2.2–3.6 times, which is consistent with a number of selection and technological factors.

The advanced technology of milk production, compared to the traditional one, helped to increase the average milk yield per herd by 745 kg.

During the first lactation, the largest amount of milk was produced by the daughter descendants of bulls of the K. Kelly’s genealogical line 40347 – 7193 kg, and Reim’s 23597 – 7152 kg. Cows of genealogical lines T. Bruno 93907, B. I. Milkmen’s 693744, V. V. Pardner’s 811799, K. Kelly’s 40347 and Reim’s 23597 were characterized by different ability to increase milk productivity with age, which should be taken into account when forming a highly productive herd.