Low Birthweight Beef Bulls Compared with Jersey Bulls Do Not Impact First Lactation and Rebreeding of First-Calving Dairy Heifers—A Case Study in New Zealand

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dc.citation.issue1
dc.citation.volume3
dc.contributor.authorColeman L
dc.contributor.authorMartín N
dc.contributor.authorBack P
dc.contributor.authorBlair H
dc.contributor.authorLópez-Villalobos N
dc.contributor.authorHickson R
dc.contributor.editorBittante G
dc.contributor.editorMantovani R
dc.date.accessioned2024-06-19T00:40:03Z
dc.date.available2024-06-19T00:40:03Z
dc.date.issued2022-03
dc.description.abstractDairy heifers in New Zealand are typically naturally mated by Jersey bulls to produce low-value non-replacement offspring sold for slaughter a few days after birth. Producing a beef-sired calf from a dairy heifer will increase the value of these calves for beef production but may compromise the subsequent career of the animals, in terms of milk production, rebreeding success, health, or survival of the heifer. This study aimed to determine the impact of low birthweight Angus and Hereford bulls versus breed-average Jersey bulls on the reproduction and production traits of first-calving dairy heifers. The experiment included 304 heifer-calf pairs over 2 years. Calves sired by Angus and Hereford bulls were 3.5–4.4 kg and 3.7–6.8 kg heavier than Jersey-sired calves and had a 4.2% and 9.3% incidence of assistance at birth for normally presented calves over the 2 years, respectively. No normally presented Jersey-sired calves were assisted. There was no difference in body condition score, pre-calving live weight, milk production, pregnancy rate, inter-calving interval, re-calving day, and 21-day re-calving rate of heifers mated to the different breeds of bulls. The results indicate that the Angus and Hereford bulls with low birthweight and high direct calving ease estimated breeding values (EBV) can be used to produce calves of greater value than Jersey-sired calves without impacting dairy heifer production. However, a small increase in assistance at calving could be expected.
dc.description.confidentialfalse
dc.edition.editionMarch 2022
dc.format.pagination87-97
dc.identifier.citationColeman L, Martín N, Back P, Blair H, López-Villalobos N, Hickson R. (2022). Low Birthweight Beef Bulls Compared with Jersey Bulls Do Not Impact First Lactation and Rebreeding of First-Calving Dairy Heifers—A Case Study in New Zealand. Dairy. 3. 1. (pp. 87-97).
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/dairy3010007
dc.identifier.eissn2624-862X
dc.identifier.elements-typejournal-article
dc.identifier.urihttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/69902
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherMDPI (Basel, Switzerland)
dc.publisher.urihttps://www.mdpi.com/2624-862X/3/1/7
dc.relation.isPartOfDairy
dc.rights(c) 2022 The Author/s
dc.rightsCC BY 4.0
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectAngus
dc.subjectbirth weight
dc.subjectcalving
dc.subjectdairy-beef
dc.subjectbeef-on-dairy
dc.subjectheifer
dc.subjectHereford
dc.subjectJersey
dc.subjectmilk production
dc.subjectrebreeding
dc.titleLow Birthweight Beef Bulls Compared with Jersey Bulls Do Not Impact First Lactation and Rebreeding of First-Calving Dairy Heifers—A Case Study in New Zealand
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.elements-id459858
pubs.organisational-groupOther
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