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Received: February 19, 2026

Revised: March 2, 2026

Published: March 30, 2026

 

In animal husbandry, there are several types of animal grouping that allow for more efficient organization of their maintenance, breeding and use. Grouping can be carried out according to various criteria, including age, sex, physiological state, productivity and intended purpose. Depending on the type of animal, conditions of keeping and goals of the farm, various combinations of these grouping criteria can be used. In addition, there is a concept of hierarchy in animal groups, where animals occupy certain places in the group, which also affects their maintenance and behavior. Grouping of young animals in animal husbandry is the process of uniting animals of a certain species, age and sex into separate groups for more efficient management. This allows you to optimize the processes of feeding, keeping and caring for animals, and also facilitates control over their development.

The article presents the results of studying the effect of the constant composition of heifers in technological groups aged 0-6 months on growth and development.

The live weight of heifers in the experimental group was higher in all three series of studies than in the control group. Heifers in the experimental group were also characterized by higher gains and, accordingly, more intensive growth dynamics during all three series of studies. Thus, a comparative assessment of the average daily live weight gain of heifers in the first series of studies indicates that in 1 month, experimental animals compared to the control had a greater value by 30 g or 4.0% (p<0.05); 2 months – by 97 g or 15.8% (p<0.05); 3 months – by 133 g or 14.8% (p<0.001); 4 months – by 32 g or 4.5% (p<0.05); 5 months – by 100 g or 12.0% (p<0.001); 6 months – by 451 g or 18.5% (p<0.001). A similar trend was observed in subsequent series of studies.

Heifers in the control group, compared to their experimental peers, spent more time on basic life activities (feed consumption, chewing gum while lying down, chewing gum while standing up, sleeping, resting in a lying position (passive), resting in a standing position (passive), moving around).

Behavioral elements such as lying down and standing up in the experimental groups were longer by 45.0 min and 10 min, respectively, or by 15.0%, than in the control group counterparts. These heifers also rested longer, their sleep was 55.0 min or 14.1% longer compared to the control group counterparts. The experimental group animals rested longer lying down (laying passively) compared to the control group counterparts by 13 min or 32.5%. The control group heifers rested longer standing up (standing passively) than the experimental group animals by 4.8%. As evidenced by the data of timed observation, the control group animals moved 2.1 times more than the experimental group counterparts.

 

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