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Preweaning Growth Rate and Weaning Traits of Angus, Zebu and Zebu-Cross Cattle¹

Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, Jeanerette 70544 and US Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Range Research Station, Miles City, MT 59301

Abstract

A 4-yr study was conducted on the preweaning growth rate and weaning traits of 620 calves from: (1) Angus (A), Brahman (B), Brangus (BR) and Africander-Angus (AF) dams sired by A and B bulls; (2) BR dams mated to BR sires and (3) AF dams mated to AF sires. Heifers were placed in the breeding pastures as 2-yr-olds and exposed to bulls for 75 d. Breed groups differed (P<.01) in weaning age (WA), average daily gain to weaning (ADG), 205-d weight (WW), conformation score and condition score. The reciprocal (A X B and B X A) crossbred calves exceeded (P<.01) the straightbred A and B calves by 161 g (25.2%) in ADG, 36.6 kg (23.1%) in WW and 1.3 (16.7%) in condition score, but were not different in WA or conformation score. The WW of the A X B and B X A crossbred calves were similar, 194.6 and 194.2 kg, respectively. Calves sired by A bulls were born earlier (P<.01) in the year and had higher conformation and condition scores than calves sired by B bulls. Calves sired by B bulls from BR and AF dams exceeded (P<.01) the ADG and WW of calves sired by A bulls by 50 g and 15.6 kg, respectively. Calves from A dams were older (P<.01) at weaning and had higher conformation scores but gained less rapidly than calves from B dams. The BR calves exceeded (P<.01) the AF calves in WW by 14.5 kg, and the crossbred calves from BR dams exceeded (P<.01) the crossbred calves from AF dams by 12.3 kg. Mating BR or AF dams to A sires to obtain crossbred calves did not improve calf rate of gain or weaning weight.

¹ Published with the approval of the Director for the Louisiana Agr. Exp. Sta. in cooperation with USDA, ARS-WR and the Southern Regional Beef Cattle Breeding Project S-10.

² Iberia Livestock Exp. Sta., USDA, ARS-WR. Present address: Livestock and Range Research Station, USDA, ARS-WR, Miles City, MT 59301.

³ Iberia Livestock Exp. Sta., Louisiana Agr. Exp. Sta., Jeanerette 70544 (retired).

⁴ Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge 70803.