J. Anim. Sci. 2002. 80:3133-3141
© 2002 American Society of Animal Science
Comparisons of Angus-, Braunvieh-, Chianina-, Hereford-, Gelbvieh-, Maine Anjou-, and Red Poll-sired cows for weight, weight adjusted for body condition score, height, and body condition score1
J. A. Arango*,2,
L. V. Cundiff
and
L. D. Van Vleck,
,3
* Department of Animal Science, University of Nebraska, Lincoln 68583-0908; and USDA-ARS, Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center,
and
Clay Center, NE 68933 and
and
Lincoln, NE 68583-0908
3 Correspondence:
A218 Animal Sciences (phone: 402/472-6010; fax: 402/472-6362; E-mail:
lvanvleck{at}unlnotes.unl.edu).
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Abstract
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Data from Angus, Hereford, and topcross cows (n = 641) from 2- to 8-yr-old daughters of seven breeds of sires included in Cycle II of the Germplasm Evaluation Program at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, comprising cow weight (CW, n = 15,698), height (CH, n = 15,676), and condition score (CS, n = 15,667), were used to estimate breed-group differences. Data were recorded in four seasons of each year (1975 to 1982). The mixed model included cow age, season of measurement, and their interactions, year of birth, pregnancy-lactation code (PL), and breed-group as fixed effects for CW and CS. Analyses of weight adjusted for condition score included CS as covariate. The model for CH excluded PL. Random effects were additive genetic and permanent environmental effects. Differences among breed-groups were significant for all traits at different ages and were maintained across ages, with few interchanges in ranking through maturity. Cows were ranked (by breed of sire) in the following order for weight: Red Poll (lightest), Hereford-Angus (reciprocal), Braunvieh, Gelbvieh, Maine Anjou, and Chianina (heaviest). In general, cows sired by breeds of British origin were lighter and shorter than those of continental origin. Differences in weight due to differences in condition seemed to be of small magnitude because making an adjustment for condition score did not affect rankings of breed groups across ages. Differences among breed groups for height were consistent with differences for weight. Cows from Chianina sires were taller than Hereford-Angus cows by 14 to 15 cm across ages. In this study, breed of sire effects were significantly different for the mature size of their daughters.
Key Words: Beef Cattle • Bos taurus • Breeds • Growth • Maturity
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Introduction
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Many diverse breeds with important differences for economic traits are available for use in beef production systems. Crossbreeding offers a tool to create genetic improvement by exploiting heterosis and breed complementarity to match genetic resources with production systems, environmental and managerial conditions, and market requirements. The study of various breeds of sire for topcrosses is intended to determine the potential benefit of using exotic breeds for crossing with indigenous or local breeds (Dickerson, 1993). The Germplasm Evaluation (GPE) Program at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (MARC) was designed to evaluate topcrossing, using breeds of sires differing in genetic potential for diverse economic traits, such as growth and mature size, milk production, lean-to-fat ratio, and carcass characteristics. The objective of this research was to evaluate breed of sire differences for cow weight, weight adjusted for condition score, height, and body condition score of cows in Cycle II of the GPE Program. Weight and height represent mature size, and previous reports from MARC have presented ordinary least squares means and breed differences for Cycle II heifers (Laster et al., 1979) and cows. Pooled results have also been summarized using partial data from the first three cycles of the GPE Program (Cundiff et al., 1986, 1988; Setshwaelo et al., 1990; Jenkins et al., 1991) or from special experiments involving breed groups included in the GPE (Dearborn et al., 1987; Gregory and Maurer, 1991). However, estimates from mixed models that appropriately account for random effects, such as sires for weight, height, and condition score of cows from Cycle II for all ages, have not been reported. A separate report has presented such estimates for breed groups and breed differences for Cycle I cows (Arango et al., 2002b).
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Materials and Methods
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Purebred Angus and Hereford and F1 cows were produced by mating Angus and Hereford dams with sires of seven breeds. The number of sires and daughters produced by each breed of sire are presented in Table 1
. The GPE Program at MARC was designed to estimate breed-group effects for major economic traits by comparing the progeny of different breeds of sires with Hereford-Angus crosses. Cycle II included progeny from two calving seasons (1973 and 1974). Hereford and Angus cows from Cycle I were bred by AI to Hereford, Angus, Braunvieh (including seven imported from Switzerland and four domestic Braunvieh bulls selected for their "beef type," available from a commercial AI bull stud), Red Poll, Maine Anjou, Gelbvieh, and Chianina bulls. Details of the sampling of sires were presented by Gregory et al. (1978). General management was described in previous reports of this series (Arango et al., 2002a,b). Cows were managed to calve first as 2-yr-olds in the spring (mid-March through April). Details of postweaning management were presented by Laster et al. (1979). Animals were not removed from the experiment due to growth criteria. Cows were removed only for failure to conceive in two consecutive breeding seasons or for serious unsoundnesses. Cows were maintained on an improved pasture of cool- or warm-season grass. During winter months (late November through April), cows were fed supplemental grass hay and alfalfa hay on alternate days (about 11 to 14 kg of hay per head each day). Cows with the same birth year were assigned to the same contemporary group for nearly all measurements.
Yearling heifers were weighed at beginning and end of the mating season, and when palpated for pregnancy. Thereafter, cows were weighed, measured for hip height, and scored for body condition four times each year with one measurement each season: 1) mid-May (spring) at the start of the breeding season; 2) early August (summer) at the end of the breeding season; 3) end of October (fall) at palpation for pregnancy following weaning, and 4) early February (winter), prior to calving. Body condition score was based on a subjective classification scale of nine points, from extremely thin (very emaciated) to extremely fat (very obese). Each record of a cow was assigned to one of four physiological codes composed of a combination of lactation (1 = not lactating, 2 = lactating) and pregnancy (1 = not pregnant, 2 = pregnant) codes. Records of cows from 2 to 8 yr of age (the oldest age allowed for any cow) were included in this study.
Statistical analyses were done using single trait animal models with a derivative-free REML algorithm using the MTDFREML computer programs (Boldman et al., 1995) to estimate variance components. Models included sire breed, dam breed, and their interactions; age and season of measurement, and their interactions; and year of birth and pregnancy-lactation code as fixed effects for cow weight and body condition score. For cow height, pregnancy-lactation code was excluded from that model. Analyses for weight adjusted for condition score included condition score as a covariate. For all traits, separate analyses by age (yr) of cow included age in days within each season of measurement as extra covariates. Random effects were additive genetic and permanent environmental effects of the cow. Details about models and estimation of variance components were presented in an article by Arango et al. (2002a), in which maternal effects were found to be unimportant and thus not considered in models for this report.
Estimates of (co)variances at convergence were used with mixed model equations to obtain solutions for fixed effects and to estimate linear contrasts for breed of sire comparisons, which will be reported here. Three sets of contrasts were tested for each trait and age at measurement (yr): 1) the difference between the average for cows of each breed of sire and the average of Hereford-Angus reciprocal (HA) cows, 2) the difference between Angus and Hereford purebred cows and the average of their reciprocal crosses, and 3) the difference between cows with Angus dams and cows with Hereford dams. Differences among crossbred cows would be expected to be due to differences in additive genetic effects present in the specific two-breed crosses and to any difference due to specific combining ability (e.g., Frahm and Marshall, 1985).
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Results and Discussion
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Cow Weights
Numbers and means by age of cow are shown in Table 2. Cows continued gaining weight until 7 yr of age. The largest yearly gain was from 2 to 3 yr of age and accounted for 37% of the total gain. By 4 yr of age, cows had accumulated most (89%) of their final weight. Unadjusted means for height did not change much across ages, which indicates that height reaches maturity earlier than weight. In fact, cows had attained 96% of their final height as 3 yr-olds. Changes for condition score were minor over ages (0.7 points), which is expected for a trait that reflects fatness and that changes more within ages (due to differences in physiological status) than across ages.
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Table 2. Numbers of cows (N), observations (n), and unadjusted means ( ± SD) for weight (kg), hip height (cm), and body condition score (points) by age of cows
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Estimates of breed means for weight by age in years are presented in Table 3. In general, cows of all breed groups showed similar growth patterns, and continued gaining weight to 7 yr of age, but at decreasing rates at later ages. The fraction of total weight (at 8 yr of age) gained during the 7 yr period ranged from 28 to 32%, the same range as found in Cycle I cows to 7 yr of age (Arango et al., 2002b). Rankings of F1 cows were consistent across ages (except that F1 cows with Maine Anjou sires were heavier than F1 cows with Chianina sires after 5 yr of age) in the following order by breed of sire: Red Poll (lightest), Hereford-Angus (reciprocal), Braunvieh, Gelbvieh, Chianina, and Maine Anjou. Cows tended to cluster into three groups by weight with Chianina- and Maine Anjou-sired cows being heavier than the other breed groups. Cows with Gelbvieh and Braunvieh sires (continental breeds with greater milk production) had intermediate weights, while cows with sire breeds of British origin and their crosses were lighter than crosses with sires with continental European origin. Estimates of breed-group contrasts are presented in Table 4. The first set of contrasts represents deviations of each sire-breed group from the average solution for HA reciprocal cross-cows. All F1 cows of other breeds were heavier than the HA crosses, except for F1 cows with Red Poll sires, which were lighter by differences that ranged from 12 to 21 kg, and which were significant at 2 (P < 0.01), 3, and 7 (P < 0.05) yr of age. Cows with sires of other breeds outweighed HA cows by differences that varied with breed and age of cow. Chianina and Maine Anjou F1 cows were heavier (P < 0.01) than HA cows at every age. Those differences (34 to 66 kg) were twice or more as large as the difference by which the next heaviest (Gelbvieh-sired) cows exceeded HA after 3 yr of age. Gelbvieh cross cows were heavier (22 to 25 kg, P < 0.05) than HA at each age, and at 2 yr of age the superiority was highly significant. Cows with Braunvieh sires were about 5 kg heavier than HA at all ages, but the differences were never significant. Purebred Hereford and Angus cows were lighter (12 to 25 kg) than the average of reciprocal HA crosses by differences that were greater at early ages (2 and 3 yr, P < 0.01), than at intermediate (4 and 5 yr, P < 0.05) and later ages (>5 yr, not significant). That pattern disagreed with Cycle I, in which the superiority of the reciprocal crosses was highly significant at all ages and increased with age (Arango et al., 2002b). Consequently, estimates of heterosis were less in Cycle II (2.3 to 5.9%) than in Cycle I (4.2 to 5.7%). Cows with Hereford dams were heavier than cows with Angus dams (except at 2 yr of age, P > 0.05), by differences that varied across ages (3 to 14 kg) and were significant at 3, 5 (P < 0.01), and 4 (P < 0.05) yr of age.
Cundiff et al. (1986) reported estimates of 2R/
g, where R is the range of difference among sire breed means and g is the additive genetic standard deviation within breeds, to assess genetic variation among breeds relative to that within breeds. The R is doubled in the ratio because differences among means from topcross progeny estimate half of the breed difference. When 2R/g = 6, the range between breeds is expected to equal the range in breeding value for individuals within breeds with the assumption that a range of ± 3g represents the practical range in breeding values within breed. Table 4 shows that estimates of this ratio range from 3.61 for Chianina vs Red Poll cow weights at 4 yr of age, to 4.90 for Maine Anjou vs Red Poll cow weights at 7 yr of age. Thus, considerable variation is found both among and within breeds for cow weight.
Laster et al. (1979) reported weights of heifers (550 d) from Cycle II. Their ranking of breed groups was the same, but the magnitudes of the differences were less than in the recent study, which is expected with weights at an earlier age. On average, in that study, heifers with Red Poll sires were 10 kg lighter than HA, whereas heifers with Braunvieh, Gelbvieh, Chianina, and Maine Anjou sires outweighed HA females by 15, 23, 28, and 30 kg, respectively. Those differences were similar to those in the present study for 2-yr-old cows.
Reports from the literature for weights of Angus and Hereford cows up to 7 yr of age, which were discussed in a previous report (Arango et al., 2002b), compared well with the weights of Cycle II cows. Montaño-Bermudez (1987) studied HA (low milking) and Red Poll-Angus (medium milking) cows to compare crosses with different potentials for milk production. As in the present study, cows with Red Poll sires were lighter than HA cows at each age, by differences of 32, 42, and 48 kg at 2, 3, and 4 yr of age, respectively. These differences are greater than the differences in the present study. Morrison et al. (1989) reported weights of cows with Chianina (377 kg) and Maine Anjou (369 kg) sires and Angus and Hereford cows at 3 yr of age in Louisiana, in a study that also included crosses with Brahman and Simmental sires. The lower weights in their study compared with the weights reported in the present study may be due to environmental and managerial differences between Louisiana and Nebraska. The cows with Chianina sires were 8 kg heavier than those with Maine Anjou sires, which was similar to the difference of 12 kg in the present study at 3 yr of age.
Table 5 presents estimates of breed group contrasts for weight adjusted for condition score. Rankings of crossbred cows were the same as for actual weight. However, breed differences were not of the same magnitude and contrasts and significance levels were somewhat different for cow weight adjusted for condition score compared with actual weight. Cows with Red Poll sires were the only group lighter (3 to 10 kg) than HA, but the differences were not significant, and were much smaller than for actual weight (Table 4) at each age as expected because Red Poll is the breed with lowest lean to fat ratio among Cycle II breeds. Cows with sires of other breeds outweighed HA cows by differences that varied with breed and age of cow, and which were greater than for actual weight. Gelbvieh-, Chianina-, and Maine Anjou-sired cows were heavier (P < 0.01) than HA crosses at every age. Differences from HA for Chianina (47 to 76 kg) and Maine Anjou (47 to 75 kg) were similar, and were about twice as great as the difference for the next heaviest cross (Gelbvieh, 28 to 38 kg) after 3 yr of age. The cows with Braunvieh sires were heavier than HA at every age by differences (13 to 28 kg) that were highly significant when exceeding 20 kg, at 2, 3, and 7 yr of age, and significant at 4, 5, and 8 yr of age. These differences for Braunvieh-sired cows were at least twice as large as corresponding differences for actual weight, which were not significant at any age. Purebred (Hereford, Angus) cows were lighter (10 to 18 kg) than the average of the reciprocal HA crosses by differences that were highly significant when greater than 14 kg at 2 and 3, and significant at 5 and 8 yr of age. In Cycle I, the superiority of the reciprocal crosses was always highly significant and increased with age (Arango et al., 2002b). Consequently, estimates of heterosis were less in Cycle II (2.0 to 4.3%) than in Cycle I (3.7 to 5.1%) for weight adjusted for condition score. The cows with Hereford dams were always heavier than cows with Angus dams after 2 yr of age by differences that ranged from 3 to 10 kg, which were significant at 3, 7 (P < 0.05), and 5 (P < 0.01) yr of age.
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Table 5. Contrasts between breed-groups (± standard errors) and variance component estimates (VCE) for weight of cows adjusted for condition score (kg)
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Table 4. Contrasts between breed groups (± standard errors) and variance component estimates (VCE) for weight (kg) of cows
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The range for differences among breeds relative to the genetic standard deviation within breeds (2R/g) was slightly greater for weight adjusted for condition score than for actual weight at all ages (Table 5
vs Table 4).
Dearborn et al. (1987) reported cow weights adjusted for condition score at 2, 3, 5, and 7 yr of age from the diallel experiment within Cycle II. On average, adjustment for condition score decreased the magnitude of direct heterosis similar to results from this study. The HA cows were always heavier than the purebreds. The differences were less than for actual weight at each age and were somewhat less than the differences in the present study. In their study, rankings of cows with Red Poll sires and HA dams changed with adjustment for condition score. The Red Poll sired cows were lighter than HA cows only at 2 and 7 yr. Cows with Braunvieh sires were heavier than HA cows by 31, 37, 32, and 29 kg at 2, 3, 5, and 7 yr of age (Dearborn et al., 1987). Those differences followed the same pattern, but were slightly greater than the differences in the present study.
Cow Height
Estimates of breed means for height by age (yr) are presented in Table 6. Cows from all breed groups gained about 1 cm in height per year from 2 to 6 yr of age, when they reached a plateau. The increase in height from 2 to 8 yr accounted for only 3.1 to 4.9% of the total height at 8 yr of age in the various breed groups, indicating that height reaches maturity earlier in life than weight for these breed groups. Breed groups tended to cluster in three groups for height. British breeds (Hereford, Angus) and crosses (HA reciprocal crosses and Red Poll crosses) tended to have similar heights, which were less than the corresponding heights for crosses with continental breeds. The highest height in the British cluster (Red Poll at 8 yr of age) was equal to the lowest height for continental crosses (Braunvieh sired cows at 2 yr of age). A second cluster was formed by F1 cows with Braunvieh, Gelbvieh (with similar heights at each age) and Maine Anjou sires. A third cluster was formed by cows with Chianina sires, which were tallest and, on average, had heights (132 to 138 cm) that exceeded the second tallest group (F1 Maine Anjou, 131 cm at 8 yr). Rankings of breed groups for height were consistent across ages, for all breed groups.
Estimates of breed group contrasts are presented in Table 7. The F1 cows of all breeds were taller than HA cross cows by differences that were highly significant except for cows with Red Poll sires, which were significant from 2 to 6 yr of age. The cows with Chianina sires were taller than HA cross cows by a difference (14 to 15 cm) that was about twice as great as the difference by which the second tallest cross (F1 Maine Anjou, 7 to 8 cm) surpassed HA cows at every age. Cows with Braunvieh and Gelbvieh sires exceeded HA cross cows by about 6 cm at each age. The cows with Red Poll sires were less than 2 cm taller than HA cross cows. The reciprocal HA crosses were about 1 cm taller than the average of the purebred Hereford and Angus at each age, but that superiority was significant only at 2 yr of age. Therefore, heterosis was only from 0.5 to 1.1% across ages, similar to the 0.1 to 1.1% found for Cycle I (Arango et al., 2002b). Cows with Hereford dams were taller (P < 0.01) at all ages than cows with Angus dams by differences (1.1 to 2.0 cm) that increased with age. The ratio of 2R/g was greatest for Chianina vs HA at all ages, ranging from 8.60 at 5 yr of age to 10.23 at 8 yr of age. The ratios of 2R/g for cow heights were approximately twice as large as corresponding estimates for actual weight or weight adjusted for condition score (see Tables 4, 5, and 7). When both between- and within-breed genetic variations are considered, the range in breeding values from the smallest HA to the largest Chianina was 14.6 (i.e., 6 + 8.60 where the 6 represents a range of ± 3 genetic standard deviations within breed) at 5 yr of age and 16.23 at 8 yr of age. More than half of the total range in breeding value was found between the means for breeds sampled in this experiment for this highly heritable trait.
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Table 7. Contrasts between breed-groups (± standard errors) and variance component estimates (VCE) for hip height (cm) of cows
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Laster et al. (1979) reported heights of heifers (550 d) from the Cycle II. The ranking of breed groups was the same, but the heights were less than in this study, as expected from measures at an earlier age. On average, HA heifers (117 cm) were smallest, exceeded by heifers with Red Poll (1 cm), Braunvieh, Gelbvieh and Maine Anjou (6 cm), and Chianina (12 cm) sires. Heifers with Hereford dams were 1 cm taller than heifers with Angus dams, similar to results found in this study. Dearborn et al. (1987) reported cow heights at 2, 3, 5 and 7 yr of age from the diallel experiment within Cycle II with breed means and contrasts similar to those in the present study.
Body Condition Score
Unadjusted breed means for body condition score by age (yr) are presented in Table 8. Condition scores increased to 4 yr of age, then generally, but with many exceptions, fluctuated slightly up and down at every other age up to 8 yr of age. All of the changes in means, however, were within a range of 5.8 to 7.4 points for all breed groups. Hereford, Angus, and their reciprocal (HA) crosses interchanged rankings across ages, but always had greater condition scores than the other F1 crosses. Table 9 shows estimates of breed group contrasts. The HA reciprocal cross cows exceeded the other F1 crosses by differences (0.27 to 0.86 points) that were highly significant at all ages, except at 8 yr of age for crosses with Chianina sires (P < 0.05) and crosses with Gelbvieh and Maine Anjou sires (not significant). Differences from crosses with Braunvieh sires (0.56 to 0.86 points) were great at all ages. The same pattern occurred for crosses with Jersey sires in Cycle I (Arango et al., 2002b), as expected for crosses with sires of dairy breeds. Reciprocal HA cows had, on average, slightly greater condition scores (0.01 to 0.25 points) than the average of the purebred Hereford and Angus cows. That difference, in general, decreased with age, and was significant only up to 4 yr of age. Cows with Hereford dams had slightly greater condition scores (0.02 to 0.24) than cows with Angus dams. Those differences were highly significant up to 5 yr of age.
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Table 9. Contrasts between breed-groups (± standard errors) and variance component estimates (VCE) for body condition score (points) of cows
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Dearborn et al. (1987) reported condition scores at 2, 3, 5, and 7 yr of age from the diallel experiment implemented at the same time as Cycle II. Breed means were similar to those reported in the present study. On average, HA cows had the greatest condition score (6.8, 7.1, 7.1, and 7.4 points) at each age, which exceeded cows with Braunvieh sires by 0.8 to 1.0 points, and cows with Red Poll sires by 0.8 to 1.3 points. In general, those differences were slightly greater than those reported here. Kropp et al. (1973), Holloway et al. (1975), and Wyatt et al. (1977) reported on an experiment with Hereford, Holstein, and Hereford-Holstein cows under range and drylot conditions. On average, in that experiment (two measurements during fall and one in spring, on range conditions and moderate level of supplementation), Hereford cows had the greatest condition scores of 5.4, 5.4, and 6.0 points (1 to 9 scale) at 2, 3, and 4 to 5 yr of age. Cows with Holstein sires had scores of 4.4, 3.8, and 4.8 points at the same ages, which agrees with the low condition scores of the cows with Braunvieh sires in this study and with Jersey sires in Cycle I (Arango et al., 2002b). In Australia, Morgan (1986) reported that 2- to 7-yr-old Herefords had the greatest condition scores of 2.6 (0 to 5 scale), whereas HA cows (2.4 points) had greater scores than Holstein-Hereford cows (1.4 points). Bowden (1980) evaluated condition by weight to height ratio and by ultrasound measurement of backfat thickness in F1 cows with Angus dams (values from normal diets are reported here) at 2 yr of age. The HA cows had the greatest fat thickness (7.2), whereas crosses from breeds of sire with greater milk potential had the lowest values (i.e., Simmental-Angus [5.9] and Jersey-Angus [5.6]). Those results agree with the present results for Cycle II where HA cows had condition scores of 6.6 points and cows with Braunvieh sires had smallest condition scores (5.9 points).
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Implications
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Large and significant differences were found among Angus, Hereford, their reciprocal crosses, and crosses with Red Poll, Braunvieh, Gelbvieh, Maine Anjou, and Chianina sires for cow weight, height, and condition score at different ages. These traits are related to efficiency of beef production. Such differences can be exploited to match breeding systems with specific production systems and market requirements to optimize beef production. Such decisions can be made with more confidence because 1) breed of sire differences generally were maintained across postyearling ages through maturity, 2) differences in weight due to differences in condition (fatness and, indirectly, milk production) were of small magnitude, 3) ranking of breed groups was generally the same for actual weight and for weight adjusted for condition score, 4) differences among breed groups for height closely followed differences for weight, and 5) differences for condition score were small across ages and breed groups.
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Footnotes
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1 Published as paper no. 13636, Journal Ser., Nebraska Agric. Res. Div., Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln 68583-0908. 
2 Current address: Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Apartado 4563, Maracay 2101, Aragua, Venezuela.
Received for publication February 19, 2002.
Accepted for publication July 25, 2002.
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J. A. Arango, L. V. Cundiff, and L. D. Van Vleck
Comparisons of Angus, Charolais, Galloway, Hereford, Longhorn, Nellore, Piedmontese, Salers, and Shorthorn breeds for weight, weight adjusted for condition score, height, and condition score of cows
J Anim Sci,
January 1, 2004;
82(1):
74 - 84.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
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J. A. Arango, L. V. Cundiff, and L. D. Van Vleck
Breed comparisons of Angus, Brahman, Hereford, Pinzgauer, Sahiwal, and Tarentaise for weight, weight adjusted for condition score, height, and body condition score
J Anim Sci,
December 1, 2002;
80(12):
3142 - 3149.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
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Abstract
Introduction
