Studying genetic parameters and genetic changes in Santa Ines sheep is important, because it is the commonest breed in Brazil. This study obtained genetic data from 37,735 pedigree records of lambs over 12 years (2003-2014) from 33 flocks in 10 Brazilian States; 11,851 records of performance were available. (Co)variance components, genetic parameters and breeding values estimates were obtained ...

Productivity of 2-yr-old crossbred cows containing various proportions (0, 1/4 or 1/2) of Brahman breeding was evaluated using 203 spring-calving and 171 fall-calving heifers over a 3-yr period. All heifers were mated to Limousin sires. Percentage of cows exposed to breeding that weaned a calf was the only trait for which a significant crossbred cow group x season of calving interaction was fou...

Data on 5,130 unsupplemented Hereford range cattle were used to evaluate genetic and phenotypic parameters of growth to 2 yr of age under extensive range conditions. From those data, records on 769 heifers saved as replacements were used to evaluate the relationship between growth and subsequent productivity expressed as most probable producing ability (MPPA). Variation in weight largely was du...

Preweaning data on 486 Angus, Brahman, and reciprocal cross calves (AB, BA) managed on common bermudagrass or endophyte-infected tall fescue were used to evaluate the interactions of forage type and sex of calf with direct effects, individual heterosis, and maternal effects. Calves were spring-born in 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1991 to five sires of each breed. Male calves were castrated at birth, a...

Simultaneous selection for low birth weight and high yearling weight has been advocated to improve efficiency of beef production. Two sublines of Line 1 Hereford cattle were established by selection either for below-average birth weight and high yearling weight (YB) or for high yearling weight alone (YW). Direct effects on birth weight and yearling weight diverged between sublines with approxim...

eighteen female, neonatal brown swiss calves (39.5±1.2kg) were randomly divided into three treatment groups to investigate the effect of physical processing of diet on weaning age and some blood metabolites. treatments were included: mash starter (m), pelleted starter (p) and heterogen of mixture moisturized, rolled barley and corn. (h). diets were formulated to be isonitrogenous. there were no...

Heterosis, assumed proportional to expected breed heterozygosity, was calculated for 6834 individuals with birth, weaning and yearling weight records from Cycle VII and advanced generations of the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) Germplasm Evaluation (GPE) project. Breeds represented in these data included: Angus, Hereford, Red Angus, Charolais, Gelbvieh, Simmental, Limousin and Compos...

Data from Hereford, 25% Simmental-75% Hereford, 50% Simmental-50% Hereford, and 75% Simmental-25% Hereford dams were used to estimate maternal heterosis and level of agreement with the dominance model. Cows were located at the Northern Agricultural Research Center near Havre, MT and were managed consistent with practices for western range environments. Sample halves of dam breed groups were bre...