scholarly journals Variation in gestation length as breeding season advances in Bruna dels Pirineus beef cattle breed

2000 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 353-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jes�s Piedrafita ◽  
Jos� Luis Ruiz de la Torre ◽  
Raquel Quintanilla ◽  
Xavier Manteca
1985 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 583-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. NEWMAN ◽  
A. K. W. TONG ◽  
H. T. FREDEEN ◽  
G. W. RAHNEFELD

Charolais-, Simmental- and Limousin-sired calves are compared for calving traits and preweaning growth based on observations of 3939 calves born in 48 western Canadian beef cow herds of Hereford, Angus and Shorthorn breeding during the period 1970–1972. Hereford cows produced calves with longer gestation lengths, higher birth weights, slower preweaning growth, and lower weaning weights than Angus cows. Shorthorn cows produced progeny with the shortest gestation lengths and intermediate performance in other traits. Limousin sires produced calves with the longest gestation lengths, the least calving difficulty, the lightest birth weights, the lowest birth-to-weaning mortality, and the slowest preweaning growth. Charolais-sired and Simmental-sired calves did not differ significantly in gestation length, postnatal mortality or preweaning growth rate, but Simmental-sired calves were lighter at birth and calved more easily. Breed-of-sire effects interacted with breed-of-dam effects for birth weight and with sex-of-calf effects for calving ease and most measurement traits, but these interactions did not generally involve a re-ranking of sire breeds. The economic impact of the results is briefly discussed. Key words: Beef cattle, breed effects, preweaning traits


ZOOTEC ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 486
Author(s):  
Umar Paputungan ◽  
Manopo Jouke Hendrik ◽  
Surtijono Edmundus Siswosubroto

BODY WEIGHT SELECTION AND EVALUATION OF CALVING DIFFICULTY (Dystocia) IN BALI BREED FEMALE CATTLE MATED WITH OUTSTANDING LOCAL BULL OF NORTH SULAWESI. Records on calving performances of 217 parental dams of Bali beef cattle breed including their calves were used to study calving difficulty of Bali beef cattle breed heifers and cows with experiencing in delivery of more than one generation of calving. The difficulties of calving were scored into calving difficulty scores of six scores, initiated at score 0 indicating normal calving to score 5 indicating the most difficult calving delivery requiring surgery. The parental heifers and adult cows as well as their calves grazed onto places within local grass pasture all days starting at 07.00 a.m. to 17.30 p.m. without supplementary feeds of concentrate as the main management system practiced by 104 farmers as the animal owners at rural areas. Differences of calving difficulties in both Bali beef cattle breed groups of heifers and cows were analyzed by nonparametric test of “The Mann-Whitney U test”, using ranks of data based on the incidence frequencies of calving difficulty scores. Data of calving difficulty scores of both Bali beef cattle breed heifer group and cow group were ranked in to the numerical rank initiated from the lowest to largest numerical order. The calculated z value in this study indicating the incidence frequencies of calving difficulty in heifer group was significantly higher than those in cow group. Frequencies of calving difficulty on the category score basis in Bali beef cattle breed heifer group were significantly higher compared with those in Bali beef cattle breed cow group. Low live weights and body dimensions of heifer group highly tended to experience in the incidence and severity of calving difficulty compared with those of cow group. Selection of heifers with relatively well developed body dimensions and live weight relative to expected calf birth weight would be recommended to reduce calving difficulty.Keywords: Bali beef cattle breed, dam and calf body measurements, calving difficulty


2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 158-159
Author(s):  
Chad A Russell ◽  
E J Pollak ◽  
Matthew L Spangler

Abstract The commercial beef cattle industry relies heavily on the use of natural service sires. Either due to the size of breeding herds or to safe-guard against injury during the breeding season, multiple-sire breeding pastures are utilized. Although each bull might be given an equal opportunity to produce offspring, evidence suggest that there is substantial variation in the number of calves sired by each bull in a breeding pasture. DNA-based paternity assignment enables correct assignment of calves to their respective sires in multi-sire pastures and presents an opportunity to investigate the degree to which this trait complex is under genetic control. Field data from a large commercial ranch were used to estimate genetic parameters for calf count (CC; n=623) and yearling scrotal circumference (SC; n=1962) using univariate and bivariate animal models. Average CC and SC were 12.1±11.1 calves and 35.4±2.30 cm, respectively. Average number breeding seasons per bull and bulls per contemporary group were 1.40 and 24.9, respectively. The model for CC included fixed effects of age during the breeding season (in years) and contemporary group (concatenation of breeding pasture and year). Random effects included additive genetic and permanent environmental effects, and a residual. The model for SC included fixed effects of age (in days) and contemporary group (concatenation of month and year of measurement). Random effects included an additive genetic effect and a residual. Univariate model heritability estimates for CC and SC were 0.237±0.156 and 0.456±0.072, respectively. Similarly, the bivariate model resulted in heritability estimates for CC and SC of 0.240±0.155 and 0.461±0.072, respectively. Repeatability estimates for CC from univariate and bivariate models were 0.517±0.054 and 0.518±0.053, respectively. The estimate of genetic correlation between CC and SC was 0.270±0.220. Parameter estimates suggest that both CC and SC would respond favorably to selection and that CC is moderately repeatable.


2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 70-74
Author(s):  
SM Grobler ◽  
MM Scholtz ◽  
JPC Greyling ◽  
FWC Neser

The estimated calving percentage of beef cattle is 62% in the commercial sector of South Africa. Fertility is regarded as the main component influencing total herd efficiency in beef cattle. If the long calving seasons can be shortened and the calving percentage increased, more and heavier calves with a more uniform age can be weaned. Cows calving earlier in the season also have an extended “recovery period” and have the opportunity to calve in a better body condition during the next season, compared to cows calving late in the season. Cows that calve early also have a better chance of conceiving in the next breeding season and are generally seen as the more fertile animals. Research has been undertaken to evaluate the effect of oestrous synchronization followed by natural mating on the calving rate and calving distribution of multiparous beef cows. In this trial Bonsmara cows were mated naturally after synchronization over a period of four years (2009 - 2012) in an extensive production system on natural sour-mixed bushveld. The synchronized cows calved earlier during the 2009 calving season and cows in anoestrus started cycling again. The average days-to-calving after the start of the breeding season was 243 days for the synchronized cows and 267 for the non-synchronized cows. The calves born from the synchronized cows were therefore, on average, 24 days older than the calves born from the non-synchronized cows. From 2010 onwards the difference declined and it seems the biggest effect was obtained during the first year of synchronization.Keywords: Beef cattle, Marikana thorn veld, natural mating, oestrous synchronization


2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 127
Author(s):  
J. R. Saenz ◽  
G. T. Gentry ◽  
W. Forbes ◽  
B. Olcott ◽  
J. Chenevert ◽  
...  

The ability to cryopreserve epididymal sperm from mature postmortem bucks has long been of interest to both wildlife conservationists and deer ranchers. At present, there is loss of valuable genetics from the hunter harvest of trophy males. Increasing adult body weight and antler size of adult males would be of substantial economic value to the deer hunting industry. In this preliminary trial, 6 yearling pen-raised Whitetail does (47 to 58 kg), in good body condition, were isolated from all bucks prior to the onset of the fall breeding season. Females were synchronized for AI with a 14-day caprine CIDR and 200 IU of eCG (IM) at the time of CIDR removal. Does were timed AI 60 to 63 h after eCG with one 0.5-mL straw of frozen–thawed Whitetail sperm. All sperm used for AI were harvested from a single mature Whitetail buck that was hunter harvested during the previous hunting season. Within 3 h after death, the testes with scrotum were removed, enclosed in a plastic Ziploc bag, and then placed in a Styrofoam ice chest containing frozen cold packs. The ice chest was transported to the laboratory where sperm were extracted at 4�C in the late evening (<12 h postmortem) by flushing the cauda epididymides with Triladyl� one-step extender (Minitube, Verona, WI, USA) in a retrograde flow from a small incision made in the cauda. The sperm–Triladyl mixture was flushed from the cauda incision into a sterile 50-mL tube using a 10-mL plastic syringe modified by heating and then stretching the tip until small enough to thread into the vas deferens. The sperm plus extender was then held at 4 to 10�C for 12 h and frozen at a concentration of <50 million/straw using a commercial bull freezing protocol (Genex Custom Collection Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA). A random sample of straws was then thawed, resulting in an overall post-thaw motility of 60%. The remaining straws were left frozen in liquid nitrogen until the next breeding season. On the first of December, does (n = 6) were given 0.1 mL of Domosedan� (Pfizer Animal Health, Groton, CT, USA) IV and inseminated transcervically using a modified caprine speculum. All does were handled in a custom-built deer barn, and AI was performed by one technician in a drop-bottom deer chute (Deer Handler; Delclayna, Alberta, Canada). At 48 days after AI, 3 of the 6 does (50%) were diagnosed pregnant by transrectal ultrasonography. All pregnant females gave birth, producing 5 offspring (1 male and 1 female singletons and a set of mixed sex triplets) that ranged from 1.9 to 4.3 kg and had a mean gestation length of 196 days (range = 190–203 days). In summary, results indicate that live offspring can be produced from epididymal sperm harvested from mature hunter-harvested Whitetail bucks. Further experiments are needed to optimize techniques and protocols for the harvesting and usage of these gametes.


1982 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
PD Olsen

In a captive colony of H. chrysogaster most litters were born between September and March, although some were born in every month except June. Most females had regular oestrous cycles in the breeding season but there were isolated instances of oestrus in every month. In mature males, testes were scrota1 and there was full sperm production all year. There was some regression in weight of male accessory reproductive glands in the autumn and winter. Oestrus lasted 10 days (range 7-17), and its stages: pro-oestrus 1 day, oestrus 2 days, metoestrus 2 days, anoestrus 5 days. Some instances of delayed implantation were suspected. Gestation length was 34 days (33-41). Parturition was followed the next day by a postpartum oestrus, lasting 1 day. Lactation anoestrus was at least 3 weeks. Litter size was 3.29 � 1.26 (1-7) and the number of litters per breeding season was 2.6 � 0.97 (1-5). In the latter half of pregnancy there was a linear relationship between the crown-rump length of foetuses and gestation length. Young were born naked, blind and with the pinnae folded forward with edges attached to the head. The upper incisors emerged at 4 days, the lower incisors at 6 days, the auditory meatus opened at about 10 days, the eyes opened at about 14 days, some solids were eaten and young were more independent at about 3 weeks of age, and they were weaned at about 29 days. Phases in the rate of increase in weight were associated with each of these developmental stages. Females were first capable of breeding at 124 days (433 g); most matured about 240 days in the season following that of their birth. The testes descended in males between 90 and 120 days (475 g) but full sperm production did not occur until about 130-140 days. Females could breed for three seasons (until about 3.5 y old). Placental scars were visible for up to 6 months, but had sometimes disappeared at 4 months post partum. Growth curves of tail and weight were sigmoid, and those of other body measurements were exponential, as in the Rattus group of Australian rodents, and differing from the pseudomyine rodents. Body measurements showed a sigmoid relationship to the linear equivalence of body weight. Developmental events occurred earlier, in relation to growth, in Hydromys and Rattus lutreolus than in Pseudomys novaehollandiae.


2016 ◽  
Vol 94 (suppl_4) ◽  
pp. 32-32
Author(s):  
L. A. Kuehn ◽  
W. M. Snelling ◽  
A. K. Lindholm-Perry
Keyword(s):  

2009 ◽  
Vol 114 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 72-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Yagüe ◽  
F. Goyache ◽  
J. Becerra ◽  
C. Moreno ◽  
L. Sánchez ◽  
...  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document