GESTATION LENGTH IN THE ASTURIANA DE LOS VALLES BEEF CATTLE BREED AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH BIRTH WEIGHT AND CALVING EASE(DURACIÓN DE LA GESTACIÓN EN LA RAZA BOVINA ASTURIANA DE LOS VALLES Y SU RELACIÓN CON EL PESO AL NACIMIENTO Y DIFICULTAD DE PARTOS)

F. Goyache

Description

Abstract
The significance of major environmental factors affecting Gestation Length (GL) in the Asturiana de los Valles beef cattle breed and the influence of GL on birth weight and calving ease have been analysed. The degree of muscularity of the calf at birth significantly affects GL: culard calves lengthened GL by more than 1 day with regards to normal calves
however, the way in which the degree of muscularity of dams affects GL is not clear
normally muscled dams seem to show a slightly longer GL than that of dams expressing some degree of muscular hypertrophy. Birth weight and calving ease increase 0.180 kg and 0.013 points respectively per day of GL.
Resumen
Se ha analizado la influencia de diferentes efectos ambientales en la duración de la gestación (DG) en la raza bovina Asturiana de los Valles, así como la influencia de la DG sobre la dificultad de parto y el peso al nacimiento. El grado de expresión de la hipertrofia muscular del ternero afecta significativamente a la DG: los terneros culones al nacimiento alargan la DG en más de un día respecto de los terneros normales
sin embargo el grado de expresión de la hipertrofia muscular en la vaca no afecta a la DG de forma tan clara: las reproductoras normales parecen presentar gestaciones ligeramente más largas que las reproductoras que presentan algún grado de hipertrofia muscular. El peso al nacimiento y la dificultad de parto se incrementan en 180 g y 0,013 puntos por día de gestación respectivamente.

Sujets

• Environmental factor
• Muscle hypertrophy
• Hipertrofia muscular

Informations

• Publié par: erevistas
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2002
• Nombre de lectures: 29

Extrait

GESTATION LENGTH IN THE ASTURIANA DE LOS VALLES BEEF
CATTLE BREED AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH BIRTH WEIGHT
AND CALVING EASE*
DURACIÓN DE LA GESTACIÓN EN LA RAZA BOVINA ASTURIANA DE LOS VALLES Y SU
RELACIÓN CON EL PESO AL NACIMIENTO Y DIFICULTAD DE PARTOS*
1 1 1 1 2Goyache, F.**, I. Fernández , I. Álvarez , L.J. Royo and J.P. Gutiérrez
1SERIDA CENSYRA Somió. C/ Camino de los Claveles 604. E 33208 Gijón. Asturias. España.
2Departamento de Producción Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria. E 28040 Madrid. España.
**Corresponding author. E mail: [e-mail]
ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS PALABRAS CLAVE ADICIONALES
Environmental factors. Muscular hypertrophy. Factores ambientales. Hipertrofia muscular. Ta
Calf size. Cow size. maño del ternero. Tamaño de la vaca.
SUMMARY
The significance of major environmental efectos ambientales en la duración de la gesta
ción (DG) en la raza bovina Asturiana de losfactors affecting Gestation Length (GL) in the
Asturiana de los Valles beef cattle breed and the Valles, así como la influencia de la DG sobre la
dificultad de parto y el peso al nacimiento. Elinfluence of GL on birth weight and calving ease
have been analysed. The degree of muscularity grado de expresión de la hipertrofia muscular del
ternero afecta significativamente a la DG: losof the calf at birth significantly affects GL: culard
calves lengthened GL by more than 1 day with terneros culones al nacimiento alargan la DG en
más de un día respecto de los terneros normales;regards to normal calves; however, the way in
which the degree of muscularity of dams affects sin embargo el grado de expresión de la hipertro
fia muscular en la vaca no afecta a la DG de formaGL is not clear; normally muscled dams seem to
show a slightly longer GL than that of dams tan clara: las reproductoras normales parecen
presentar gestaciones ligeramente más largasexpressing some degree of muscular hypertro
phy. Birth weight and calving ease increase 0.180 que las reproductoras que presentan algún gra
do de hipertrofia muscular. El peso al nacimientokg and 0.013 points respectively per day of GL.
y la dificultad de parto se incrementan en 180 g
y 0,013 puntos por día de gestación respectiva
RESUMEN mente.
Se ha analizado la influencia de diferentes
INTRODUCTION
*This paper was partially funded by a grant from
CICYT FEDER, nº 1FD97 1633, and the Prin
Breeders pay little attention tocipado de Asturias Regional Government through
the Consejería de Medio Rural y Pesca . gestation length (GL) as a cattle trait.
Arch. Zootec. 51: 431 439. 2002.GOYACHE, FERNÁNDEZ, ÁLVAREZ, ROYO AND GUTIÉRREZ
Since the classic review from Andersen environmental factors influencing GL
and Plum (1965), not many papers in the Asturiana de los Valles cattle,
have been devoted to this trait. focusing on the expression of muscular
However, GL has recently been hypertrophy in dams. Additionally, the
included in some sire selection indices influence of GL on birth weight and
(Amer et al., 1998) in beef cattle. calving ease will also be analysed.
Most papers report that GL shows
from moderate to high heritability
MATERIAL AND METHODS(Andersen and Plum, 1965; Goyache
and Gutiérrez, 2001), and high genetic
The Principado de Asturias Re correlations with birth weight (Bourdon
gional Government, through the Astu and Brinks, 1982) and dystocia
riana de los Valles Breeders Associa (Nadarajah and Burnside, 1989). In
tion (ASEAVA), has implemented per this sense, GL has been proposed as a
formance recording (the CORECAbreeding goal to reduce birth weight
database) based on nuclei, groupingwithout affecting pre weaning growth
farms according to their proximity andtraits (Bourdon and Brinks, 1982;
their production system arising fromBrinks et al., 1991).
small farm size. Most dams and siresDam age and calf sex are conside
included in the CORECA database arered as major factors affecting GL
registered in the Asturiana de los Va (Andersen and Plum, 1965). Some other
lles Herdbook. The CORECA databasefactors like breed (Liboriussen, 1977),
is lent to ASEAVA to estimatedam and calf size (Nadarajah et al.,
breeding values of their sires.1989) and calving season (Brakel et
A representative sample of theal., 1957) seem to have a significant
CORECA database was analysed.effect on GL. In beef cattle, muscular
Available data has been described inhypertrophy is expected to affect GL
Goyache et al. (2000). Performancebut its effect has not been well
recording includes mating date, calvingdetermined and available papers on
date, birth weight of calf and calvingthe subject are contradictory (Meni
ease. Calving ease was recorded usingssier, 1982a).
BIF Guidelines with the followingRecently, we analysed the environ
scores: 1 (no assistance), 2 (minormental factors affecting birth weight
assistance), 3 (hard assistance), 4and calving ease in Asturiana de los
(caesarean section) and 5 (abnormalValles cattle (Goyache et al., 2000).
presentation). Score 5 was notOur results suggested that GL might
considered for current analysis.be a factor affecting the observed
Degree of muscularity is phenotypicallybehaviour of phenotypically culard and
classified as culard, normal andnormal dams for calving ease.
intermediate and recorded on calf atPhenotypically double muscled dams
birth and on dam at the beginning of thecalved more easily than phenotypycally
normal dams when muscularity of calf reproductive age. Animals classified
was considered. The aim of this paper as normal are expected to be genoty
is to determine the importance of certainpically normal animals and hetero
Archivos de zootecnia vol. 51, núm. 196, p. 432.GESTATION LENGTH IN BEEF CATTLE
zygous animals with a poorer expression calving, third calving, fourth calving,
of culard characteristics. Animals from five to nine calvings, and more
than nine calvings); S the effect of sexclassified as culard are expected to be
l
of calf (male and female); T : effect ofall the phenotypically culard animals.
m
degree of muscularity of calf (culard,GL was calculated from the last
normal or intermediate); TDnatural service or artificial insemination
n
degree of muscularity of dam (culard,recorded. Because of the non experi
normal or intermediate); and emental origin of data, observations
ijklmno
the error associated to the observationoutside the range of ±3 standard
considered as a random variable.deviations were deleted following
Additionally, the full model fitted toAzzam and Nielsen (1987) and
analyse GL in Asturiana de los VallesNadarajah et al. (1989). Thus, analysed
breed included the double interactionobservations ranged between 271 and
between calving number and sex of304 days. Only single calving records
calf, muscularity of dam and muscu including calf sex, calving number, class
larity of calf; between sex of calf andof muscularity of calf, class of
muscularity of calf and muscularity ofmuscularity of dam, birth weight and
dam; and, finally, between muscularitycalving ease score were considered.
of dam and muscularity of calf.Consequently, only 4,143 records from
Piedrafita et al. (2000), to estimate2,253 different dams were analysed.
variation in GL as breeding season
advances in Bruna del Pirineus beefSTATISTICAL ANALYSIS
cattle breed, include in the model theyStatistical analysis was carried out
fitted the effect of the cow as randomusing SAS® Version 8.2 (SAS, 1999).
effect besides the error. Our data were
Duncan's multiple range test was
analysed before to estimate the
performed on all main effect means
heritability of GL as dam trait (Goyache
affecting CI. Sum of squares were
and Gutiérrez, 2001). In this analysis
estimated using Type III test of GLM
we found that permanent environmental
Procedure of SAS following the
effect (equivalent to include the effect
methodology described in Goyache et
of the dam as random effect was low
al. (2000) to analyse birth weight and 2and non significant (c = 0.01; s.e.=
calving ease. The principal effects
0.02). Thus, the effect of the cow was
included in the fitted model were
not included in the model fitted for the
present analysis.
(1) GL = NY + M + P + S + T + TD + eijklmno i j k l m n ijklmno Birth weight was subsequently
included as a linear covariate in the
where GL is the observation model in order to ascertain the influenceijklmno
of the dependent variable gestation of birth weight of calf on GL.
length; NY the effect of management Birth weight and calving ease,i
group according to year of calving; M considered as a continuous normal va j
the effect of month of calving; P the riable, were later analysed using thek
effect of number of calving of the cow model described above with the addition
in six levels (first calving, second of GL as a linear covariate.
Archivos de zootecnia vol. 51, núm. 196, p. 433.GOYACHE, FERNÁNDEZ, ÁLVAREZ, ROYO AND GUTIÉRREZ
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION sex, and sex and muscularity of calf
affect GL significantly. The influence
Mean squares, f values and signifi of muscularity of dam was very close
cance of different sources of variation to significance (p= 0.0513). No
included in the mo