Santa Gertrudis

Santa Gertrudis

Heaviest breed of beef cattle, developed in the 20th century by the King Ranch in Texas by crossing Brahman bulls with shorthorn cows. It is usually solid red with occasional small white markings on the forehead or the flanks. It has a long, deep body and much loose skin about the neck, brisket, and navel.

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Santa Gertrudis 

a breed of beef cattle. It was developed in the mid-20th century on the Santa Gertrudis Ranch in Texas by crossbreeding shorthorn cows with zebu sires. Santa Gertrudis cattle have a cherry-red coloring; sometimes there are light spots on the lower trunk. These hardy animals can travel long distances and do not require special pasturage. The adult male weighs 700–800 kg, and the adult female 500–600 kg. Santa Gertrudis calves develop more rapidly than the calves of other meat breeds. The cattle graze and fatten well, even during the hot season. The average daily weight increase during fattening reaches 1,200 g. The dressed yield is 63–65 percent, with a maximum dressed yield of 70 percent.

Santa Gertrudis cattle are distributed in many countries. They were first brought to the USSR in 1956. They are raised on some farms in the Kazakh SSR; small groups are raised in other areas. Crossbreeding with native breeds is conducted in order to produce various types of meat cattle that are adapted to particular zones. Santa Gertrudis bulls are also commercially crossbred with dairy and dairy-meat breeds.

REFERENCES

Rekomendatsii po razvedeniiu i razmnozheniiu krupnogo rogatogo skota porody “santa-Gertruda”ν Kazakhstane. Alma-Ata, 1964.
Matskevich, V. V. Miasnoe skotovodstvo i razvedenie skota porody santa-gertruda. Moscow, 1968.