Effect of health status on fattening performance in young crossbred polish Holstein‐Friesian × Limousin Bulls and steers

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of disease incidence on selected parameters of cattle fattening performance and carcass quality, and the fatty acid profile of beef. The experimental materials comprised 16 bulls and 16 steers, Polish Holstein-Friesian × Limousin crossbreeds (including 10 healthy and six treated animals of each category). At 5 weeks of age, bloodless castration was carried out using a rubber elastrator. The calves were fed milk replacer provided in automatic feeding stations. Until 540 days of age, the animals were fattened in an Animal Research Laboratory equipped with the Roughage Intake Control (RIC) system (Insentec, the Netherlands). In comparison with healthy (untreated) bulls and steers, sick (treated) animals had lower average body weight at 180 days of age, by 37 kg (P ≤ 0.05) and lower average final body weight at 540 days of age, by 56 kg (P ≤ 0.05). Sick animals were characterized by lower feed intake and worse feed efficiency (not statistically significant differences). Hot carcass weight reached 318 kg in healthy animals and 258 kg in treated bulls (P ≤ 0.05). In treated steers, the percentage of lean meat and bones in the three-rib section was higher and the percentage of fat was lower, compared with their healthy counterparts (P ≤ 0.01). There was a category × health status interaction for carcass tissue composition. There were no significant influences of type of sickness on analyzed traits. In comparison with healthy steers, intramuscular fat of Musculus longissimus dorsi (MLD) from treated steers had significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-6 and n-3) and a lower content of conjugated linoleic acid.

16S rRNA Sequencing Reveals Relationship Between Potent Cellulolytic Genera and Feed Efficiency in the Rumen of Bulls

“…Although research investigating the role of the rumen microbiome in influencing feed efficiency phenotype exists, data are limited, especially for beef cattle. Furthermore, many of these studies are restricted to only investigating rumen liquid digesta and use alternate methods of measuring feed efficiency, such as feed conversion ratio (FCR), which can be problematic due to the unfavorable genetic correlations with between growth rate and mature body size ( Schenkel et al, 2004 ). This implies that selection of cattle for improved FCR will lead to an increase in mature body size and therefore, maintenance requirements ( Schenkel et al, 2004 ; Crews, 2005 ).…”

“…Furthermore, many of these studies are restricted to only investigating rumen liquid digesta and use alternate methods of measuring feed efficiency, such as feed conversion ratio (FCR), which can be problematic due to the unfavorable genetic correlations with between growth rate and mature body size ( Schenkel et al, 2004 ). This implies that selection of cattle for improved FCR will lead to an increase in mature body size and therefore, maintenance requirements ( Schenkel et al, 2004 ; Crews, 2005 ). This has negative economic and environmental ramifications for beef production ( Arthur et al, 2001 ; Schenkel et al, 2004 ; Crews, 2005 ).…”

“…This implies that selection of cattle for improved FCR will lead to an increase in mature body size and therefore, maintenance requirements ( Schenkel et al, 2004 ; Crews, 2005 ). This has negative economic and environmental ramifications for beef production ( Arthur et al, 2001 ; Schenkel et al, 2004 ; Crews, 2005 ).…”

Effects of Rearing System and Fattening Intensity on the Chemical Composition, Physicochemical Properties and Sensory Attributes of Meat from Young Crossbred (Holstein-Friesian × Hereford) Bulls

“…In a study by Osorio et al [ 43 ], ewes’ milk had a beneficial influence on the concentrations of n -3 fatty acids and the n -6/ n -3 PUFA ratio in the IMF of lamb meat, compared to milk replacer. Wielgosz et al [ 4 ] reported that diseases and infections during the rearing period negatively affected IMF composition in calves. In addition, in this experiment, diseases that occurred in the pre-weaning period might have influenced the post-weaning health status of calves and, consequently, the fatty acid profile.…”

“…However, those machines are expensive and the group housing of calves is associated with an increased risk of disease transmission. Therefore, alternative calf rearing systems are being sought [ 4 ]. One of these alternatives is a foster cow system [ 5 ], where one cow usually nurses two calves, and unrestricted access to fresh milk affects beneficially in later fattening results and, ultimately, beef quality [ 6 , 7 ].…”