A proposed new frame score system for Nellore cattle

Abstract

A new frame score system was developed for Nellore cattle, based upon ideal slaughter weights to achieve desired degrees of carcass fat cover. Data consisting of 688 complete records including sex, age, weight, hip height, and subcutaneous fat on growing Nellore cattle (190 males and 498 females) were obtained from the National Association of Breeders and Researchers (ANCP), Ribeirão Preto – SP, Brazil. Weight data were regressed on sex, age, hip height, and fat cover as covariates. Age was then fixed at 550 days and fat cover was set to 6 mm, and new equations for frame scores (1 to 11) in Nellore cattle were developed: FrameNellore (males) = -42.43 + 0.04919 × Age + 0.3368 × Height – 0.0003369 × Age × Height and FrameNellore (females) = -41.76 + 0.04919 × Age + 0.3368 × Height – 0.0003369 × Age × Height (Age and Height in days and cm, respectively). The Nellore equations resulted in average frame of 5.3, ranging from 2.3 to 7.7. Values were similar for males (5.4) and females (5.3). By contrast, previous equations gave higher values, that were very different between males and females. The new Nellore frame scores appear reasonable, particularly regarding body composition.