Genetic changes in beef cow traits following selection for calving ease

Genetic parameters for growth, reproductive performance, calving ease and suckling performance in beef cattle heifers

There is considerable concern about the consequences on fitness-related traits of using narrow breeding objectives for production traits. The aim of this study was to assess the potential consequences of selection for growth in French beef cattle breeds by estimating genetic correlations between growth, reproduction, calving and suckling traits of Charolais, Limousin and Blonde d’Aquitaine heif...

COW/CALF MANAGEMENT Minimizing Calving Difficulty in Beef Cattle

Calving difficulty (dystocia) contributes heavily to losses in production in beef cow/calf herds. The obvious losses are due to calves or cows that die at or soon after calving. Less noticeable losses are due to delayed rebreeding, more open females, an extended calving season and increased labor costs. While occasional dystocia is almost unavoidable, through proper management, cattlemen can mi...

Genetic selection for temperament traits in dairy and beef cattle

Animal temperament can be defined as a response to environmental or social stimuli. There are a number of temperament traits in cattle that contribute to their welfare, including their response to handling or milking, response to challenge such as human approach or intervention at calving, and response to conspecifics. In a number of these areas, the genetic basis of the trait has been studied....

Genetic Evaluation of Calving Ease for Walloon Holstein Dairy Cattle

Calving complications have an incidence on the economic profitability of dairy herds. In the Walloon Region of Belgium, calving ease data recording is being done on voluntary basis since 2000. This allows now the implementation of a genetic evaluation of Holstein dairy cattle addressing the need of dairy breeders to select bulls in order to reduce frequency of calving problems. Calving ease sco...

Genetic Aspects of Calving, Growth, and Carcass Traits in Beef Cattle