Sire Effects on Birth Weight, Gestation Length, and Pre-Weaning Growth of Beef-Cross-Dairy Calves: A Case Study in New Zealand
| Autor: | Rebecca Hickson, Nicolas Lopez-Villalobos, Penny Back, Coleman Lw, Hugh T. Blair |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
calf
040301 veterinary sciences Dairy herds Birth weight pre-weaning growth Sire General Engineering birth weight 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences Biology SF250.5-275 beef-cross-dairy Genetic correlation 0403 veterinary science Animal science gestation length 040103 agronomy & agriculture Herd dairy-beef 0401 agriculture forestry and fisheries Weaning Gestation length Genetic merit Dairy processing. Dairy products |
| Zdroj: | Dairy, Vol 2, Iss 30, Pp 385-395 (2021) Dairy; Volume 2; Issue 3; Pages: 385-395 |
| ISSN: | 2624-862X |
| DOI: | 10.3390/dairy2030030 |
| Popis: | Production of beef-cross-dairy calves from dairy cows increases the value of non-replacement calves born to the dairy herd. The use of beef-breed sires may impact on calf birth weight, gestation length and pre-weaning growth rate of calves, which in turn influences the profitability of the dairy farm. The aim of this case study was to compare the birth weight, gestation length, and pre-weaning growth of progeny born to mixed-aged dairy cows on a single farm which were artificially bred to a selection of Angus and Hereford bulls, typical of those used over dairy herds in New Zealand. The birth weight, gestation length and pre-weaning growth of 980 calves sired by 65 sires were compared. Mean progeny birth weight (range 33.3–41.4 kg), gestation length (range 276.1–288.6 days), age at weaning (range 70.3–88.3 days) and pre-weaning ADG (range 0.63–0.76 kg/d) differed among sires (p < 0.001). There was a negative genetic correlation (−0.31) and positive phenotypic correlation (0.36) between gestation length and birth weight. Age at weaning was negatively correlated with birth weight (genetic: −0.56, phenotypic: −0.57). Bulls used in this study, and other bulls with similar genetic merit for birth weight and gestation length would be suitable for mating mixed-aged dairy cows in New Zealand. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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