Management of age at puberty in beef heifers to optimize efficiency of beef production

Day, M. L.; Nogueira, Guilherme de Paula

doi:10.2527/af.2013-0027

Cited by 71 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Female sexual precocity and reproductive indicator traits have a great impact on the productivity of cow–calf systems. In this regard, Bos taurus indicus cattle are likely to be less sexually precocious than Bos taurus taurus cattle constituting a bottleneck for profitability of zebu beef cattle systems restricting the genetic improvement (Day & Nogueira, ). Heifer pregnancy is an economically relevant trait measured directly on females for improving fertility and sexual precocity, and it has been widely studied both in taurine (Morris et al., ) and indicine cattle (Van Melis, Eler, et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic association between different criteria to define sexual precocious heifers with growth, carcass, reproductive and feed efficiency indicator traits in Nellore cattle using genomic information

Bonamy

Kluska

Peripolli

et al. 2018

J Animal Breeding Genetics

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The aim of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for different precocious calving criteria and their relationship with reproductive, growth, carcass and feed efficiency in Nellore cattle using the single‐step genomic BLUP. The reproductive traits used were probability of precocious calving (PPC) at 24 (PPC24), 26 (PPC26), 28 (PPC28) and 30 (PPC30) months of age, stayability (STAY) and scrotal circumference at 455 days of age (SC455). Growth traits such as weights at 240 (W240) and 455 (W455) days of age and adult weight (AW) were used. Rib eye area (REA), subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT), rump fat thickness (RFT) and residual feed intake (RFI) were included in the analyses. The estimation of genetic parameters was performed using a bi‐trait threshold model including genomic information in a single‐step approach. Heritability for PPC traits was moderate to high (0.29–0.56) with highest estimates for PPC24 (0.56) and PPC26 (0.50). Genetic correlation estimates between PPC and STAY weakened as a function of calving age. Correlation with SC455, growth and carcass traits were low (0.25–0.31; −0.22 to 0.04; −0.09 to 0.18, respectively), the same occurs with RFI (−0.09 to 0.08), this suggests independence between female sexual precocity and feed efficiency traits. The results of this study encourage the use of PPC traits in Nellore cattle because the selection for such trait would not have a negative impact on reproductive, growth, carcass and feed efficiency indicator traits. Stayability for sexual precocious heifers (PPC24 and PPC26) must be redefined to avoid incorrectly phenotype assignment.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic association between different criteria to define sexual precocious heifers with growth, carcass, reproductive and feed efficiency indicator traits in Nellore cattle using genomic information

Bonamy

Kluska

Peripolli

et al. 2018

J Animal Breeding Genetics

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“…In their recent review of the published literature Day and Nogueira (2013) concluded that beef heifers that conceived early during their initial breeding season and calved as 2-year-old females had a greater probability of becoming pregnant as primiparous cows, have greater lifetime production reflected in greater weaning weights, and tended to calve earlier in subsequent years compared with females that conceived later in their first breeding season. Hence, age at which puberty occurs and timing of this event relative to the breeding season will impact the time of conception in the first breeding season, lifetime productivity, and economic efficiency of beef production.…”

Section: Occurrence and Timing Of Puberty In Replacement Heifersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimising reproductive performance of beef cows and replacement heifers

Diskin

Kenny

2014

Animal

103

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A reproductively efficient beef cow herd is fundamental to meeting the protein and specifically, red meat demand of an ever increasing global population. However, attaining a high level of reproductive efficiency is underpinned by producers being cognisant of and achieving many key targets throughout the production cycle and requires significant technical competency. The lifetime productivity of the beef bred female commences from the onset of puberty and will be dictated by subsequent critical events including age at first calving, duration of the postpartum interval for each successive calving, conception and pregnancy rate and ultimately manifested as length of intercalving intervals and number of calves weaned over her lifetime. Puberty in heifers is a consequence of the interactive effects of genetics and both pre-and post-weaning nutrition. Early onset of puberty is essential to achieving the first main reproductive target for beef cow herds; first calving at 2 years of age. In calved heifers and mature cows, the onset of ovarian activity, postpartum is a key event dictating the calving interval. Again, this will be the product mainly of prepartum nutrition, manifested through body condition and the strength of the maternal bond between cow and calf, though there is increasing evidence of a modest genetic influence on this trait. Following the initiation of postpartum ovarian cyclicity, conception and subsequent pregnancy rate is generally a function of bull fertility in natural service herds and heat detection and timing of insemination in herds bred through artificial insemination. Cows and heifers should be maintained on a steady plane of nutrition during the breeding season, but the contribution of significant excesses or deficiencies of nutrients including protein and trace elements is likely to be minor where adequate pasture is available. While, increased efforts are being made internationally to genetically identify and select for more reproductively efficient beef cows, this is a more long-term strategy and will not replace the need for a high level of technical efficiency and management practice at farm level.

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“…In this work adaptation was shown by shortening the nonproductive periods, CI and AFC because this is one of the main factors in increasing herd profitability. Reducing CI and AFC led to decreased production costs as per other authors (Bourdon & Brinks, 1983;Day & Nogueira, 2013). This is due to the increase in the number of SYAs per year that share the production cost of the heifers and dams of the herd.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

A bio-economic model to improve profitability in a large national beef cattle population

López-Paredes

Jiménez-Montero²,

Pérez-Cabal

et al. 2017

Span. j. agric. res.

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A bio-economic model was developed for estimating economic values for use in improving profitability in a large national beef cattle population from birth to slaughter. Results were divided into fattening costs, production costs and income. Economic values were derived for 17 traits for two regions, mature weight (-0.43 € and -0.38 €/+1 kg of live weight), age at first calving (-0.13 € and -0.11 €/+1d), calving interval (-1.06 € and -1.02 €/+1d), age at last calving (0.03 € and 0.03 €/+1d), mortality 0-48 h (-5.86 € and -5.63 €/1% calves per cow and year), pre-weaning mortality (-5.96 € and -5.73 €/+1% calves per cow and year), fattening mortality (-8.23 € and -7.88 €/+1% calves per cow and year), adult mortality (-8.92 € and -7.34 €/+1% adult cows per cow and year), pre-weaning average daily gain (2.56 € and 2.84 €/+10g/d), fattening young animals average daily gain (2.65 € and 3.00 €/+10g/d), culled cow in fattening average daily gain (0.25 € and 0.16 €/+10g/d), culled cow dressing carcass percentage (3.09 € and 2.42 €/+1%), culled cow price (4.59 € and 3.59 €/+0.06 €/kg), carcass conformation score (16.39 € and 15.3 €/+1 SEUROP class), dressing carcass rate of calf (18.22 € and 18.23 €/+1%), carcass growth (9.00 € and 10.09 €/+10g of carcass weight/d) and age at slaughter (0.27 € and 0.44 €/+1d). Two sample herds were used to show the economic impact of calving interval and age at first calving shortening in the profit per slaughtered young animal, which was 178 € and 111 € for Herds A and B, respectively. The economic values of functional traits were reduced and production traits were enhanced when fertility traits were improved. The model could be applied in a Spanish national program.

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Management of age at puberty in beef heifers to optimize efficiency of beef production

Cited by 71 publications

References 32 publications

Genetic association between different criteria to define sexual precocious heifers with growth, carcass, reproductive and feed efficiency indicator traits in Nellore cattle using genomic information

Genetic association between different criteria to define sexual precocious heifers with growth, carcass, reproductive and feed efficiency indicator traits in Nellore cattle using genomic information

Optimising reproductive performance of beef cows and replacement heifers

A bio-economic model to improve profitability in a large national beef cattle population

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