Originating in the charolais and Nevre regions of the south-central to southeastern Parts of France, Charolais cattle are well-known large beef cattle breeds, which have been widely welcomed by the international market for their large size, fast growth, large meat volume and extensive tolerance since they were bred, and have been continuously exported to many countries in the world. China began to introduce Charolais cattle as early as the 1970s and 1980s, but compared with simmental cattle, which introduced beef cattle breeds in the same period, Charolais cattle have been in a tepid state. Let's introduce the advantages and disadvantages of Charolais cattle, and see why cattle farmers are reluctant to raise them?
<h1>Advantages of Charolais cattle</h1>
1, fast growth rate
The average weight of adult bulls in Charolais cattle can reach 1100 to 1200 kg, and adult cows can reach 700 to 800 kg, which is one of the famous large beef cattle breeds. Under good rearing management conditions, 6-month-old male calves can weigh up to 250 kg and female calves can weigh up to 210 kg. After entering the fattening period, the average daily weight gain can reach 1.4 to 1.6 kg, and the male calf weight can reach 520 to 550 kg when it is about 1 year old. However, the growth rate of Charolais cattle is slightly insufficient in the later stages, and the growth rate will decrease after the general weight exceeds 600 kg.
2. Good meat production performance
As a specialized large beef cattle breed, Charolais cattle have good meat production performance, and the slaughter rate can reach 60% to 70%, which is much higher than that of general beef cattle breeds. In addition, Charolais cattle also have a high lean meat rate, and their carcass lean meat rate can reach 80% to 85%. However, Charolais cattle have thick muscle fibers, muscle tenderness is not good enough, and are not suitable for producing high-grade beef.
3, the price of the column is high
Because the meat production rate and lean meat rate of Charolais cattle are much higher than those of general beef cattle breeds, their price is also higher than that of general beef cattle breeds. For example, compared with the weight and affection of Charolais cattle and Simmental cattle, the former sells for 0.5 to 1 yuan / kg higher, and a cow can sell for 300 to 600 yuan more.
<h1>The disadvantages of the Charolais cattle</h1>
1. The rate of dystocia is high
The newborn male calves of Charolais cattle can weigh up to 45 kg, and the newborn female calves can weigh up to 42 kg, which is much higher than the weight of the newborn calves of other beef cattle breeds. In addition, the skeleton of the Charolais cattle itself is not too large, and the large size is only due to the fullness of the muscles, and its difficult birth rate is relatively high, with an average of 13.7%. Especially in the case of small size, low activity and good skin conditions, the difficult birth rate is higher. There must be an experienced veterinarian in the local area to raise Charolais cattle in order to give birth or plan obstetrics and gynaecine in time, otherwise there may be a double death of large cattle and calves.
2. There are many limb and hoof diseases
Charolais cattle are not badly resistant to disease, but weak limbs and hooves are prone to carryoff disease, loofitis and arthritis, and the incidence of limb and foot disease is as high as 33.8%, second only to the incidence of foot disease in dairy cows. In addition, due to weak limbs and large weight, Charolais cattle can only graze in relatively flat plains, and hilly and mountain grazing will seriously wear out their hooves.
Although Charolais cattle have more advantages, because of the high rate of difficult production, cattle farmers are reluctant to breed. At present, the main production areas of Charolais cattle in China are Liaoning and Henan provinces, and the total stock is about 500,000 to 600,000 heads.
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