Reproductive Characteristics of the Brahman and Brahman Based Bull

GENERAL REPRODUCTIVE TRAITS The Brahman is a Bos indicus breed which was developed in the Gulf Coast states of the United States (Phillips, 1963; Yturria, 1973). The adaptive traits which specifically suit the Brahman and Brahman based breeds for production in temperate, subtropical or tropical areas include: tolerance of internal and external parasites; tolerance of high solar energy, ambient temperature and humidity; and the ability to utilize high fiber forages (Koger, 1963). Crosses between the Brahman and European breeds exhibit more heterosis than crosses among the European breeds and therefore have increased fertility (Kincaid, 1962; Cartwright et al., 1964; Koger et al., 1973; Peacock et al., 1977). Brahman and Brahman based bulls have shown preferential breeding patterns by preferring to breed Brahman or Brahman based females over European females (Reynolds, 1967). Brahman and Brahman based bulls have been reported to have lower calving rates compared with European bulls (Reynolds, 1960; Koger et al., 1962; Chapman and England, 1965; Reynolds et al., 1965; Reynolds, 1967). Data reported in these studies have been compiled to create the calving percentages by breeds presented in table 1. Brahman and Brahman based bulls sired lower percentages of calves within each breed of cow compared with European bulls.