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ARS Home » Plains Area » Clay Center, Nebraska » U.S. Meat Animal Research Center » Genetics and Animal Breeding » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #131920
Title: COMPARISONS OF ANGUS-, BRAUNVIEH-, CHIANINA-, HEREFORD-, GELBVIEH-, MAINE ANJOU-, AND RED POLL-SIRED COWS FOR WEIGHT, WEIGHT ADJUSTED FOR BODY CONDITION SCORE, HEIGHT AND BODY CONDITION SCORE

Author
item ARANGO, JESUS - UNIV. OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN
item Cundiff, Larry
item Van Vleck, Lloyd

Submitted to: Journal of Animal Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/26/2002
Publication Date: 12/1/2002
Citation: Arango, J.A., Cundiff, L.V., Van Vleck, L.D. 2002. Comparisons of Angus-, Braunvieh-, Chianina-, Hereford-, Gelbvieh-, Maine Anjou-, and Red Poll-sired cows for weight, weight adjusted for body condition score, height and body condition score. Journal of Animal Science. 80:3133-3141.

Interpretive Summary: Data from Angus, Hereford and topcross cows (n = 641) from 2 to 8 yr-old daughters of seven breeds of sires included in Cycle II of the Germplasm Evaluation program at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center comprising cow weight (CW, n = 15,698), height (CH, n = 15,676) and condition score (CS, n = 15,667) were used to estimate breed-group differences. Data were recorded in four seasons of each year. Large and significant differences were found among Angus, Hereford, their reciprocal crosses and crosses with Red Poll, Braunvieh, Gelbvieh, Maine Anjou and Chianina sires for cow weight, height and condition score at different ages. Such differences can be exploited to match breeding systems with specific production systems and market requirements to optimize beef production. Differences generally were maintained across post-yearling ages through maturity, with few interchanges in ranking at different ages. Differences in weight due to differences in condition (fatness and, indirectly, milk production) were of small magnitude. Ranking of breed groups was generally the same for actual weight and for weight adjusted for condition score. Differences among breed groups for height closely followed differences for weight. Differences for condition score were small across ages and breed groups.

Technical Abstract: Data from Angus, Hereford and topcross cows (n = 641) from 2 to 8 yr-old daughters of seven breeds of sires included in Cycle II of the Germplasm Evaluation program at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center comprising cow weight (CW, n= 15,698), height (CH, n = 15,676) and condition score (CS, n = 15,667) were used to estimate breed-group differences. Data were recorded in four seasons of each year. The mixed model included cow age, season of measurement and their interactions, year of birth, pregnancy-lactation code (PL) and breed-group as fixed effects for CW and CS. Analyses of weight adjusted for condition score included CS as covariate. Model for CH excluded PL. Random effects were additive genetic and permanent environmental effects. Differences among breed-groups were significant for all traits at different ages and were maintained across ages, with few interchanges in ranking through maturity. Cows ranked (by breed of sire) in the following order for weight: Red Poll (lightest), Hereford-Angus (reciprocal), Braunvieh, Gelbvieh, Maine Anjou and Chianina (heaviest). In general, cows sired by breeds of British origin were lighter and shorter than those of continental origin. Differences in weight due to differences in condition seemed to be of small magnitude because adjustment for condition score did not affect rankings of breed groups across ages. Differences among breed-groups for height were consistent with differences for weight. Cows from Chianina sires were taller than HA cows by 14 to 15 cm across ages. In this study, breed of sire effects were significantly different for mature size of their daughters.