Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T19:49:01.418Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The growth of Ayrshire cattle: an analysis of linear body measurements

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

W. S. Russell
W. S. Russell
Affiliation:
ARC Animal Breeding Research Organisation, Edinburgh EH9 3JQ
Get access

Summary

The growth of 12 linear body measurements in Ayrshire cattle was analysed by least-squares methods. Measurements were taken at 3-monthly intervals up to 48 mo of age. Adjustments were made for month and year of birth and for type of birth (twin-born animals comprised 40% of the data). The state of pregnancy or lactation in heifers was also taken in account. Growth curves were fitted to the mean values at the 16 ages and were found to give a close fit. Residual deviations, though small, did show a systematic pattern. The estimated degree of maturity at birth ranged from about 25% for measures of width to 50% for measures of height, body length being intermediate at 40%.

To a large extent the different body measurements maintained a uniform pattern of maturing and their ranking for earliness of maturity tended to remain constant throughout the growth period. The application of allometry to the measurements is examined and the error introduced by extrapolating an allometric relationship between characters of different maturing rates is illustrated.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 21 , Issue 3 , December 1975 , pp. 217 - 226
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1975

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Barton, A. D. and Laird, Anna Kane. 1969. Analysis of allometric and non-allometric differential growth. Growth 33: 1–16.Google ScholarPubMed
Brody, S. 1945. (Reprinted 1964). Bioenergetics and Growth, Chap. 16 and 17. Hafner Publishing Company, Inc. New York.Google Scholar
Donald, H. P. 1953. A study of variation in twin cattle. I. General description. J. Dairy Res. 20: 355–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kidwell, J. F., Gregory, P. W. and Guilbert, H. R. 1952. A genetic investigation of allometric growth in Hereford cattle. Genetics, Princeton 37: 158–174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
King, J. W. B. and Donald, H. P. 1955. A study of variation in twin cattle. III. Growth. J. Dairy Res. 22: 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reeve, E. C. R. and Huxley, J. S. 1945. Some problems in the study of relative growth. In Essays on Growth and Form (ed. Clark, W. E. Le Gros and Medawar, P. B.), pp. 121–156. The Clarendon Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Richards, O. W. and Kavanagh, A. J. 1945. The analysis of growing form. In Essays on Growth and Form (ed. Clark, W. E. Le Gros and Medawar, P. B.), pp. 188–230. The Clarendon Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Russell, W. S. 1973. Compreg User's Guide, IU/RC Report No. 5, Program Library Unit, University of Edinburgh.Google Scholar
Taylor, St. C. S. 1963. Accuracy in measuring cattle with special reference to identical twins. Anim. Prod. 5: 105–115.Google Scholar
Taylor, St. C. S. and Craig, Jean. 1965. Genetic correlation during growth of twin cattle. Anim. Prod. 7: 83–102.Google Scholar
Taylor, St. C. S. and Craig, Jean. 1967. Variation during growth of twin cattle. Anim. Prod. 9: 35–60.Google Scholar
Usanis, R. A. 1972. NLIN—Non-Linear Least-squares estimation of parameters. Library services series document no. LSR-089–1. Triangle University Computation Center, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.Google Scholar