Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T15:34:55.616Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The length of gestation period of Ayrshire cows when mated with bulls of other breeds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

R. Laird  and
E. A. Hunter
R. Laird
Affiliation:
The West of Scotland Agricultural College, Auchincruive, Ayr KA6 5HW
E. A. Hunter
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Council Unit of Statistics, Edinburgh University, May field Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ
Get access

Summary

Least squares analyses were undertaken on 1519 gestation lengths of cows mated to Beef Shorthorn, Hereford, Charolais, German Simmental or British Friesian bulls. Gestation length was influenced largely by breed of sireand byindividual sires within breeds. Approximately 100 calvings are required to give a mean value with a standard error of 0·50 day. Heritability of gestation length was estimated to be 0·24±0·05. It is recommended that Artificial Insemination organizations survey and publish the mean gestation lengths of their bulls and that dairy farmers modify, where necessary, pre-partum feeding in the light of this information.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 24 , Issue 1 , February 1977 , pp. 63 - 67
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1977

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

Andersen, H. and Plum, M. 1965. Gestation length and birth weight in cattle and buffaloes: a review. J. Dairy Sci. 48: 1224–1235.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Becker, W. A. 1975. Manual of Quantitative Genetics. 3rd ed. Washington State Univ., Pullman, Washington.Google Scholar
Brakel, W. J., Rife, D. C. and Salisbury, S. M. 1952. Factors associated with the duration of gestation in dairy cattle. J. Dairy Sci. 35: 179–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De fries, J. C, Touchberry, R. W. and Hays, R. L. 1959. Heritability of the length of the gestation period in dairy cattle. J. Dairy Sci. 42: 598–606.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dickinson, A. G. 1961. Modification of gestation length in cattle by the type of environment present at the end of pregnancy. Anim. Prod. 3: 301–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, J. A. 1968. A program to fit constants to multiway tables of quantitative and quantal data. J. Roy. Stat. Soc. Series C 17: 33–41.Google Scholar
Rendel, J. 1959. Factors influencing gestation length in Swedish breeds of cattle. Z. Tierzucht. ZuchtBiol. 73: 117–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rife, D. C, Gerlaugh, P., Kunkle, L., Brandt, G. W. and Snyder, L. H. 1943. Comparative lengths of the gestation periods of Aberdeen-Angus and Hereford cows carrying purebred and crossbred calves. J. Anim. Sci. 2: 50–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Touchberry, R. W. and Bereskin, B. 1966. Crossbreeding dairy cattle. I. Some effects of crossbreeding on the birth weight and gestation period of dairy cattle. J. Dairy Sci. 49: 287–300.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed