Impacts of temperament on Nellore cattle: physiological responses, feedlot performance, and carcass characteristics1

Abstract

Forty-four feedlot-finished Nellore cattle were used to evaluate the impacts of temperament on performance, meat and carcass traits, and serum concentrations of hormones, proteins, enzymes, and immunoglobulins. Individual temperament was assessed at feedlot entry (d 0), 67 d, and 109 d, utilizing chute score (CS; 5-point scale) and exit velocity (EV). Temperament scores were calculated averaging CS and EV scores, and cattle were subsequently classified according to their temperament (an average of ≤3 = adequate temperament [ADQ], or an average of >3 = excitable temperament [EXC]). At the end of the experiment (d 109), all 44 animals were slaughtered, and 16 were randomly selected for final empty body weight (EBW) estimation. Blood samples were collected at 0, 67, and 109 d and analyzed for serum variables (cortisol, insulin, haptoglobin, total protein, lactate, creatinine kinase [CK], lactate dehydrogenase [LDH], and IgA). The incidence of carcass bruises was verified immediately after the hide was removed. Carcass pH was obtained at 0 and 24 h postmortem. Samples of the LM were collected for meat quality analyses. Cattle classified as ADQ had greater final BW ( = 0.03), final EBW ( = 0.02), metabolic weight ( = 0.03), ADG ( = 0.02), feed efficiency ( = 0.03), HCW ( = 0.02), cold carcass weight ( = 0.02), and LM area ( < 0.01) compared to that of the EXC cohorts. Cattle classified as ADQ tended to have a lower percentage of cooler shrink ( = 0.06) compared to that of EXC cattle. No temperament effects were detected for initial BW ( = 0.70), DMI ( = 0.14), cold dressing percentage ( = 0.98), or backfat thickness ( = 0.29). Cattle classified as ADQ had greater marbling ( = 0.02) and meat fat content ( = 0.05) compared with that of EXC cattle. No temperament effects (> 0.05) were detected for unsaturated fatty acid (UFA), SFA, MUFA, PUFA, and n-6:n-3 ratio. For blood parameters, EXC cattle had greater values of cortisol ( = 0.04) and haptoglobin ( = 0.05) and tended ( = 0.06) to have reduced serum insulin concentration compared with ADQ cattle. Both temperament groups had similar serum concentrations of IgA ( = 0.25) and total protein ( = 0.84). Cattle classified as EXC presented greater amounts ( = 0.05) of carcass bruises. In conclusion, an EXC temperament impaired feedlot performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality traits in finishing Nellore cattle.

Review: Individual variability in feeding behaviour of domesticated ruminants

“…high cortisol response when in the chute; Llonch et al, 2016). However, other studies have not found a relationship between reactivity and feed intake (Petherick et al, 2002;Francisco et al, 2015) or feeding time (Nkrumah et al, 2007). These inconsistent results may be related to how personality measures were analysed (e.g.…”

Pre-slaughter cattle welfare indicators for use in commercial abattoirs with voluntary monitoring systems: A systematic review

“…Cortisol, despite its variability and short half-life, is still one of the most used indicators, followed by packed-cell-volume (Jarvis et al, 1996;Tadich et al, 2005;Pighin et al, 2013), glucose (Van de Water et al, 2003;Averós et al, 2008;Bourguet et al, 2010;Alende et al, 2014), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), insulin, free fatty acids (Jarvis et al, 1996), plasma activity of creatine kinase (CK), B-hydroxybutyrate (Broom, 2003;Tadich et al, 2005). More recently, haptoglobin and pigmap, a major acute phase proteins, have also been used as an indicator of poor welfare (Piñeiro et al, 2007;Averós et al, 2008;Giannetto et al, 2011;Werner et al, 2013;Francisco et al, 2015). It is a basic tenet of science (often overlooked) that measures should be adequately validated before use.…”

“…María et al (2003) mention that no single factor is responsible for meat discoloration, which is probably due to a combination of factors associated with post-mortem changes. Other factors that have been related to an increase in both the color and the water holding capacity of the meat are the position of the animal inside the livestock vehicle (front vs back) (Van de Water et al, 2003), lairage time (Gallo et al, 2001;del Campo et al, 2010;Teke et al, 2014), stunning method (Onenc & Kaya, 2004;Kim et al, 2013), temperament of the animals (Voisinet, Grandin, O'Connor, Tatum, & Deesing, 1997;Lensink et al, 2000;Lensink et al, 2001;King et al, 2006;del Campo et al, 2010;Ribeiro et al, 2012;Miranda-de la Lama et al, 2013;Pighin et al, 2013;Mpakama et al, 2014;Peña et al, 2014;Francisco et al, 2015), and the carcass suspension method (Kamatara et al, 2014;Hou et al, 2014). Measurement of water holding capacity in abattoirs is limited; however, meat color could be evaluated using a color standards.…”

Estratégias de imputação de genótipos de marcadores SNP para estudos de associação genômica em animais da raça Nelore

“…O temperamento de um animal pode variar de dócil a agressivo, sendo que animais dóceis são preferíveis para confinamentos em que o manejo se torna mais frequente (HOPE et al, 2010). Vários estudos têm relatado a importância do temperamento em bovinos, e seu impacto em características produtivas e econômicas (PHOCAS et al, 2006;PIMENTA et al, 2009;CAFE et al, 2011;FRANCISCO et al, 2012).…”

“…O temperamento de um animal pode variar de dócil a agressivo, sendo que animais dóceis são preferíveis para confinamentos em que o manejo se torna mais frequente (HOPE et al, 2010). Vários estudos têm relatado a importância do temperamento em bovinos, e seu impacto em características produtivas e econômicas (PHOCAS et al, 2006; PIMENTA et al, 2009;CAFE et al, 2011;FRANCISCO et al, 2012).Metodologias para avaliar o temperamento em bovinos estão bem descritas e consolidadas na literatura, porém são difíceis de serem mensuradas nos animais. Velocidade de saída (VS) é uma característica objetiva que avalia o tempo que o animal leva para percorrer uma distância fixa, desde a abertura da porta da balança (BURROW; SEIFERT; CORBET, 1988).…”