Luxi cattle

(1) Origin and distribution: Luxi cattle is one of the four major breeds of Central Plains yellow cattle in China. It is mainly produced in the Heze and Jining regions in southwestern Shandong Province, namely the triangular zone bounded by the Yellow River to the north, the old course of the Yellow River to the south, and both banks of the Grand Canal to the east. Among these, the central production areas are the counties of Echeng, Nacheng, Heze, Juye and Liangshan in the Heze region, and Jiaxiang, Jinxiang, Jining and Weishang in the Jining region. It is distributed in southern Liaocheng region and southwestern Tai'an region, but the quality there is slightly poorer. At present, there are about 400,000 Luxi cattle in the production areas.

(2) Main production performance: 1. Draft performance. Luxi cattle are docile and easy to manage, making it easy to bring their maximum working capacity into play. Generally, medium-sized bulls and oxen in medium body condition can plough 5-6 mu of sandy land per day, while cows can plough 3-1 mu. 2. Meat production performance. Meat production performance is good. The hide is thin and the bones are fine, the dressing percentage is relatively high, the muscle fibers are fine, and the fat is evenly distributed, showing distinct marbled patterns; the beef is exported to Hong Kong, China and other countries and is very popular. According to experiments, under conditions of mainly green grass, mixed with a small amount of wheat straw, and a daily supplementary feed of 2 kg of mixed concentrate (40% soybean cake, 60% wheat bran), fattening cattle aged 1-1.5 years gained an average of 610 g per day, and each kilogram of gain consumed 6.3 feed units (oat units). The general slaughter rate is 53%-55%, and the net meat rate is about 47%.

(3) Reproductive performance: Reproductive ability is relatively strong. Cows reach sexual maturity early; some can be mated and conceive as early as 8 months of age, generally beginning estrus at 10-12 months of age. The average estrus cycle is 22 (16-35) d, and the duration of estrus is 2-3 d. The conception rate from mating 21-30 h after the onset of estrus is relatively high. The age at first mating for cows is mostly 1.5-2 years, and they can produce 7-8 calves in their lifetime, with a maximum of 15. The gestation period is 285 (270-310) d, and the average interval to the first postpartum estrus is 35 (22-79) d. Bulls reach sexual maturity somewhat later than cows; generally they can produce mature sperm at about one year of age and begin mating at 2-2.5 years. The service life is 5-7 years; if used properly, they still have good mating ability after 10 years of age; the age of greatest sexual vigor is before 5 years. Semen volume is generally 5-10 ml, and sperm freezability varies greatly among individuals.

(4) Main biological characteristics: 1. Adaptability. Luxi cattle is a superior local breed developed under careful management and year-round barn feeding in the production area. Although it shows the characteristic of tolerance to coarse feed (it can maintain life even when fed only wheat straw), it generally does not require elaborate feeding and management conditions; therefore, local people manage Luxi cattle very carefully, requiring grass and feed to be chopped fine and ground fine. In winter they mostly feed "flower grass," and some even have the habit of feeding cattle soybean dregs and sorghum porridge. There is no grazing habit in the production area, especially because its legs are relatively long and its hooves are relatively soft, making it even less suitable for mountain labor and grazing. It has relatively strong adaptability to high temperatures but relatively poor adaptability to low temperatures. Generally, at high temperatures of 30-35 degrees C, it can basically work normally, whereas Mongolian cattle or introduced breed cattle under the same conditions pant heavily and have accelerated heartbeats. Under winter conditions below -5 to -10 degrees C, Luxi cattle require tightly insulated barns; otherwise, cattle deaths are likely to occur in severe winter, whereas Mongolian cattle in the winter of the Luxi region can generally overwinter safely. Therefore, the local government issues a notice every late autumn on "safe overwintering of plough cattle," which shows that Luxi cattle have relatively weak cold resistance. 2. Disease resistance. According to year-round observation of Luxi cattle, their disease resistance is relatively strong. In addition, Luxi cattle have a relatively strong resistance to piroplasmosis.

(5) Evaluation and prospects: Luxi cattle is a famous dual-purpose draft and meat breed in China, known for its large body and great strength, uniform appearance, distinct breed characteristics and good meat quality, but it still has shortcomings such as relatively late body maturity, low daily gain and insufficiently full hindquarters. In the future, selection and breeding should be strengthened, mainly through purebred selection, so that it gradually shifts from being mainly for draft use and dual-purpose draft and meat use to dual-purpose meat and draft use or dairy use, in order to meet the needs of domestic and international markets.