Selection of Brahman crossbred-breeding bulls based on phenotypic performance

Upazila Livestock Office, Chirirbandar, Dinajpur, Bangladesh A beef breed development project was carried out in the Department of Livestock Services (DLS) in 2009 in selected areas of Bangladesh. Under this project, semen of Brahman bulls were imported from the USA and used to inseminate indigenous cows to produce graded calves. The present study was undertaken to select graded Brahman bulls of the aforesaid project for breeding purpose. Using the data of Brahman grade-1 population, 4 (four) bulls were selected based on external appearance, phenotypic performance and libido. Records on 233 Brahman grade-1 calves (127 male and 106 female) were analyzed by SAS computer program. Birth weight, yearling weight and average daily gain were estimated by considering sex and area groups. The birth weight was found to be 22.25±5.60 Kg for male and 20.33±3.88 Kg for female calves (average 21.38±4.98 Kg). The yearling weight of male and female calves was found to be 222.07±73.21 and 191.76±69.04 Kg, respectively. Highest yearling weight and average daily gain were found in Charghat (401.11±39.75 kg and 1034.82±107.90 g, respectively) while lowest values were in Thakurgaon area (152.69±52.74 Kg 369.42±141.94 g, respectively). The average daily gain male and female calves were 547.42±193.7 and 470.34±184.52 g, respectively. Area and sex had highly significant (p<0.001) effects on birth weight, yearling weight and average daily gain of calves. The average daily gain of four selected graded Brahman bull calves was 731 g. The estimated selection differential and selection intensity for average daily gain of the four bulls were 183.53 g and 2.263, respectively. The growth performance along with estimated selection intensity and selection differential for average daily gain indicated that these selected graded Brahman breeding bulls may generate a good opportunity to improve indigenous cattle for beef purposes.