Effects of early weaning and breed on calf performance and carcass and meat quality in autumn-born bull calves

Alibés, Mireia Blanco; Mata, Daniel Villalba; Ripoll, G.; Sauerwein, H.; Casasús, I.

doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2008.05.003

Cited by 38 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The design of this experiment did not allow us to test whether breed differences in rate of growth were due to a limitation in milk supply or in the growth potential in early life. The mean energy-corrected milk yield in the present experiment tended to be greater for the PA than for the PI cows (8.4 vs. 7.290.5 kg, P 00.08, reported in Á lvarezRodrı´guez et al in press), but mean feed intake and average daily gain of calves were similar when they were offered the same diet ad libitum after weaning (Blanco et al 2009). As suckling duration was similar in both breeds within each nursing system, we theorized that the rate of milk intake might have been greater in PA than PI calves to support a higher rate of growth prior to weaning.…”

Section: Animal Performancesupporting

confidence: 46%

Does breed affect nursing and reproductive behaviour in beef cattle?

Álvarez-Rodríguez¹,

Palacio²,

Casasús³

et al. 2010

Can. J. Anim. Sci.

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Á lvarez-Rodrı´guez, J., Palacio, J., Casasu´s, I. and Sanz, A. 2010. Does breed affect nursing and reproductive behaviour in beef cattle? Can. J. Anim. Sci. 90: 137Á143. This experiment was designed to assess the role of genetic differences in nursing behaviour and the resumption of post-partum ovarian cyclicity of beef cows with different types of calf management. Twenty-four multiparous winter-calving cows, 12 Parda de Montan˜a (PA) and 12 Pirenaica (PI), were randomly assigned to once-daily restricted nursing during 30 min (RESTR) or ad libitum nursing (ADLIB). Cow-calf behaviour was recorded at weeks 3, 8 and 13 of lactation. Results were compared within suckling system. Twice-weekly blood samples were drawn throughout lactation to analyse progesterone as an indicator of ovulation. Within each type of calf management, both breeds nursed their calves for a similar amount of time (23.0 and 57.2 min in PA vs. 25.9 and 59.0 min in PI, when nursing once daily or ad libitum, respectively; P0.10). Furthermore, ovarian cyclicity was initiated at a similar time after calving between breeds (70 vs. 73 d in PA and PI, respectively), although it was shorter in RESTR than in ADLIB (54 vs. 89 d; PB0.001).

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Section: Animal Performancesupporting

confidence: 46%

Does breed affect nursing and reproductive behaviour in beef cattle?

Álvarez-Rodríguez¹,

Palacio²,

Casasús³

et al. 2010

Can. J. Anim. Sci.

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“…In a previous study with the same population (González-Rodríguez et al, 2011), it was shown that genetic correlations between weight gain and weights recorded earlier in life were very low and that residual correlations between them may even be negative. These results imply the presence of compensatory growth in the Pirenaica beef cattle population, something that has also been suggested by Blanco et al (2009).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…Nevertheless, the potential presence of compensatory growth (Smith and Hodnett, 1962;Blanco et al, 2009;Neto et al, 2011) may reduce the efficiency of the use of early weights as a predictor of weight at slaughter. In a previous study with the same population (González-Rodríguez et al, 2011), it was shown that genetic correlations between weight gain and weights recorded earlier in life were very low and that residual correlations between them may even be negative.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-linear recursive models for growth traits in the Pirenaica beef cattle breed

González‐Rodríguez

Mouresan

Altarriba

et al. 2014

Animal

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One of the main goals of selection schemes in beef cattle populations is to increase carcass weight at slaughter. Live weights at different growth stages are frequently used as selection criteria under the hypothesis that they usually have a high and positive genetic correlation with weight at slaughter. However, the presence of compensatory growth may bias the prediction ability of early weights for selection purposes. Recursive models may represent an interesting alternative for understanding the genetic and phenotypic relationship between weight traits during growth. For the purposes of this study, the analysis was performed for three different set of data from the Pirenaica beef cattle breed: weight at 120 days (W120) and at 210 days (W210); W120 and carcass weight at slaughter at 365 days (CW365); W210 and CW365. The number of records for each analysis was 8592, 4648 and 3234, respectively. A pedigree composed of 56323 individuals was also included. The statistical model comprised sex, year-season of birth, herd and slaughterhouse, plus a non-linear recursive dependency between traits. The dependency was modeled as a polynomial up to the 4th degree and models were compared using a Logarithm of Conditional Predictive Ordinates. The results of model comparison suggest that the best models were the 3rd degree polynomial for W120-W210 and W120-CW365 and the 2nd degree polynomial for W210-CW365. The posterior mean estimates for heritabilities ranged between 0.29 and 0.44 and the posterior mean estimates of the genetic correlations were null or very low, indicating that the relationship between traits is fully captured by the recursive dependency. The results imply that the predictive ability of the performance of future growth is low if it is only based on records of early weights. The usefulness of slaughterhouse records in beef cattle breeding evaluation is confirmed.

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“…Thus, animals refeeding after a nutritional restriction showed a higher kg of fat in carcass (Cassar-Malek et al, 2004). Although, Blanco et al (2008Blanco et al ( , 2009) did not detect differences in the conformation or fatness scores of calves weaned at different ages. In our study, the conformation scores indicated that the carcass measurements and indexes of the two groups of young bulls did not differ significantly.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…Very few studies have assessed the effects of production systems before the finishing period, even though production systems are varied and complex, including mainly the influence of the origin of the animals, age at weaning, diet and management before the fattening period. In this sense, Blanco et al (2008Blanco et al ( , 2009) studied the effects of early weaning on performance, carcass and meat quality, and Pordomingo et al (2012) examined the feed backgrounding phase in cattle finished on pasture. Then, the objectives of this study were to assess the effect of production system before the finishing period on bovine productive characteristics and carcass, meat and fat quality in intensively finished cattle.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of production system before the finishing period on carcass, meat and fat qualities of beef

Guerrero

Albertı́

Ripoll

et al. 2013

Animal

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Twenty Gascon young bulls that had been reared either in intensive conditions (INT) (n = 10) with early weaning at 3 to 4 months, or in a traditional extensive (EXT) system (n = 10) with weaning at 7 months, were subjected to the same conditions during the 145-day finishing period. Production system before the finishing period did not affect conformation, dressing percentage or morphology of the carcass; nevertheless, tissue composition differed somewhat between the two groups. Display had a stronger effect on meat colour than did production system. Percentage of myoglobin was highest in INT (P ⩽ 0.001), although meat texture and sensory quality did not differ between rearing conditions. EXT animals had darker, more yellow fat, a higher percentage of n-3 fatty acids (P ⩽ 0.001), a lower percentage of saturated fatty acids (P ⩽ 0.05) and a lower n-6/n-3 index (P ⩽ 0.001) than did the INT-reared animals. Production system before the fattening period might modify some of the characteristics of commercial beef, especially those associated with fat.Keywords: Gascon breed, beef cattle, colour, panel test, fatty acids ImplicationsThe effect of background before the entrance in a feedlot on meat quality in beef has been hardly studied for the literature available on this topic is very scarce, especially when the productive life of the animals is considered as a whole and animals are fed a common finishing diet. Our results show new information and complement the existent helping to understand the possible influence of the previous fattening production system, as grazing at an early stage provokes certain distinctive characteristics that are kept even after several months of concentrate feeding.

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Effects of early weaning and breed on calf performance and carcass and meat quality in autumn-born bull calves

Cited by 38 publications

References 36 publications

Does breed affect nursing and reproductive behaviour in beef cattle?

Does breed affect nursing and reproductive behaviour in beef cattle?

Non-linear recursive models for growth traits in the Pirenaica beef cattle breed

Effect of production system before the finishing period on carcass, meat and fat qualities of beef

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