• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.914-921
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• 2021

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare growth performance, carcass traits and meat quality in young bulls, steers and heifers produced by crossing Limousin bulls with Holstein-Friesian cows, fattened semi-intensively and slaughtered at 18 months of age. Methods: Thirty-one young calves were reared in a conventional production system, and were fed milk replacer, hay and concentrate. At 6 months of age, the animals were divided into groups based on gender, and were fed a total mixed ration composed of grass silage, concentrates I and II in a semi-intensive production system. At the end of the fattening period (18 months), the animals were slaughtered, carcass quality was evaluated, and samples of musculus longissimus thoracis were collected to determine the proximate composition and quality of meat. Results: Bulls were characterized by the highest percentage share of the most valuable cuts in the carcass, and three-rib sections from bull carcasses had the highest lean meat content with low intramuscular fat content (0.93%). No significant differences in carcass conformation, dressing percentage or the percentage share of round in the right half-carcass were found between bulls vs. steers and heifers. Heifers and steers had higher carcass fat content than bulls, which had a positive influence on the sensory properties of beef. In comparison with the meat of bulls, the meat of steers and heifers was characterized by more desirable physical properties and sensory attributes (water-holding capacity, shear force, color lightness, aroma, juiciness, tenderness, flavor). Conclusion: Under the semi-intensive production system, heifers and steers had higher carcass fat content than bulls, which had a positive effect on the sensory properties of beef. Bulls are better suited for intensive systems, which contribute to improving the quality of their meat. The results of this study may encourage producers to breed steers and heifers for beef.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.303-308
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• 2013

Subfertility problems are encountered frequently in the cattle and buffalo bulls commercially maintained for semen production in dairy farms and under field conditions for natural insemination. Reports are scarce on the incidence of subfertility in breeding bulls, especially in India. The objective of the present study was to assess the incidence of the male reproductive anomalies leading to disposal of bovine bulls at GADVASU dairy farm, Ludhiana, Punjab (India). Data on frequency of various subfertility and disposal pattern of bulls maintained at the dairy farm, GADVASU, were collected for 12 yrs (1999 to 2010) and compiled from different record registers. Percentage of bulls that produced freezable semen (out of reserved ones) was less in cattle (25.641%) as compared to that of buffalo (30.4%). Various subfertility traits like poor libido and unacceptable seminal profile were found to be the significant reasons (p<0.01) for culling of the breeding bulls. Inadequate sex drive and poor semen quality were the main contributing factors for bull disposal in cattle whereas poor semen freezability was most frequently observed in buffalo bulls. All the male reproductive traits were significantly different (p<0.05) for the periods of birth, except for semen volume, initial motility (IM), age at last semen collection (ALSC) and age at disposal. The ages at first and last semen collection as well as freezing (i.e. AFSC, ALSC and AFSF, ALSF, respectively) and age at disposal (AD) were higher in buffalo. The spermatological parameters and semen production period (SPP) were higher in cattle. The age at first semen donation and breeding period could be reduced by introducing the bulls to training at an early age. The results revealed an increasing trend in individual motility (IM) while semen volume, AFSC, AFSF, AD, FSPP, SPP, ALSC and ALSF showed a decreasing, however, not a definite trend, over the periods. The semen donation traits like, AFSF, of the cattle and buffalo bulls could be predicted from the AFSC, using prediction equation derived in the present study.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 1997

The 37,000 holstein which had been raised in Jeju island were examined for the purpose of brucellosis detection and so on. We investigated the relationship between the farms showing positive outbreak and the number of examination, incubation period, and the outbreak rate of positive cattle. We endeavored to separate germs from brucellosis positive cattles blood and negative bulls semen against brucellosis serum test and concluded as follows. We intend to offer you institutional supplements and preventions of brucellosis for the future. 1. Outbreak of brucellosis could not lead the outbreak rate of positive cattle to decrease through 1-2 examination per year, For the past 4 years, the outbreak rate of brucellosis positive cattle had a tendency to show a gradual decrease through at least 5 examinations per year. 2. As we examined live-in cattle with positive cattle in mass outbreak farms for 9 months, we found out positive cattle every month. In a grazing land, the group of cattle producd enormous positive cattle in 9-12 months. 3. Annual brucellosis positive outbreak rate was 20-25% among live-in cattle with brucellosis positive cattle, but the rate might be 50-100% depending on extent of pollution. 4. 94's brucellosis examination showed that 200 positive cattle of 71,153 cattle and most of them were live-in cattle with confirmed brucellosis positive cattle. 5. 1 head of 200 positive cattle showed positivity against serum of bulls test and the rate of bulls was about 1%. 6. Brucellosis germ was separated from 2 cattle's semen among 52 negative bulls against brucellosis serum test and there was the one brucellosis positive cattle against tube agglutination of semen test, so the positive rate of brucellosis was 5.8%. 7. Brucellosis germ was not separated from 15 brucellosis positive cattle's blood.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.8
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• pp.1211-1218
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• 2019

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of age and gender (bull vs steer) on feeding behavior parameters in young beef cattle fed grass silage. Methods: The study was conducted on 180 young beef cattle at 7 to 18 mo of age. The experimental materials comprised 90 bulls produced by commercial crossing of Polish Holstein-Friesian cows with Charolais, Limousin and Hereford bulls (30 animals of each breed) and 90 steers of the same genotypes. The animals had ad libitum access to grass silage; the concentrate was fed separately, in feed stations. They received 28 g dry matter of concentrate per kg of metabolic body weight per day. Bunk visit data and silage intake for all experimental animals were recorded individually using the Roughage Intake Control system (5 feed bunks per 15 animals). Results: Age and gender (bull vs steer) exerted significant effects on the feeding behavior of young beef cattle. The frequency of bunk visits and meal frequency decreased, whereas the feeding rate of silage, and the average duration and size of a single meal increased with age (p<0.01). Bunk attendance and meal frequency were higher (p<0.01) in steers than in bulls (49.1 vs 37.4 visits/d, and 8.63 vs 7.99 meals/d, respectively). Daily feeding time was longer in steers than in bulls (102.3 vs 100.3 min/d, respectively), but the feeding rate of silage was lower in steers, and their meals were smaller in size and shorter in duration (p<0.01). Daily silage dry matter intake was higher (p<0.01) in bulls than in steers (4.62 vs 4.47 kg/d, respectively). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that age and gender (bull vs steer) exerted significant effects on the feeding behavior of young beef cattle.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.450-455
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• 2010

The study had two objectives, namely, to estimate the andrological disorders leading to disposal of Karan Fries (KF), Sahiwal cattle and Murrah buffalo bulls and to study the effect of various factors (species/breeds, season of birth and period of birth) on male reproductive parameters. Records on occurrence of subfertility problems and disposal pattern of bulls maintained at the National Dairy Research Institute herd were collected for 15 years (1991 to 2005). Percentage of bulls producing freezable semen was less in the crossbred cattle (58.46%) as compared to Sahiwal (81.69%) and Murrah bulls (81.05%). Various subfertility traits like poor libido and unacceptable seminal profile were found to be the significant reasons (p<0.01) for culling of the breeding bulls. Inadequate sex drive was the main contributing factor for bull disposal in Sahiwal (22.55%) and Murrah bulls (15.12%) whereas poor semen quality and freezability were most frequently observed in KF bulls (24.29 and 7.29 percent, respectively). Least squares analyses of different male reproductive parameters showed that species/breeds had significant effect (p<0.05) on all traits except for frozen semen production periods (FSPP). Periods of birth were significantly different (p<0.05) for all traits except for semen volume. Age at first semen collection (AFSC), age at first semen freezing (AFSF) and age at disposal (AD) were highest in Murrah, while frozen semen production period (FSPP) and semen production period (SPP) were highest in KF and lowest in Sahiwal. The age at first semen donation and breeding period could be reduced by introducing the bulls to training at an early age. These results revealed a declining trend in AFSC, AFSF, FSPP, SPP and AD, thereby indicating an improvement in reproductive performance over the years. The age at first semen donation in bovines can be reduced by introducing the young male calves to training at an early age, which could increase the dosage of semen obtained from each male.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.1241-1245
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• 2004

Two separate trials were conducted to determine effects of dietary level of whole flaxseed (WFS; 0, 10 and 15%) on feed intake, weight gain, and carcass yield and quality of Korean Hanwoo cattle. The daily gains of bulls (Trial 1) were not different among treatment groups, but those of cows (Trial 2) fed WFS 15% were higher (p<0.01) than others. Feed intake of both bulls and cows tended to decrease as dietary level of WFS increased. However, feed conversion ratio (feed/gain) of bulls tended to be improved by dietary inclusion of WFS and was significantly improved (p<0.01) in cows by increasing level of WFS. Neither carcass weight nor dressing percentage were affected by WFS level. Back fat thickness of bulls was decreased (p<0.01) by dietary inclusion of WFS and the same trend was observed in cows without statistical significance. Loin-eye area of bulls was not different among treatment groups but was significantly higher (p<0.01) in cows fed WFS. Carcass yield and quality were not improved by WFS addition. The results indicate that WFS is an acceptable fat source in diets of finishing beef cattle to increase energy density without any adverse effects.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.1334-1337
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• 2004

The present study was conducted to detect polymorphism at growth hormone gene in Karan Fries bulls. A 428 bp fragment of growth hormone gene spanning over $4^{th}$exon, $4^{th}$intron and $5^{th}$ exon was amplified and digested with AluI restriction enzyme to identify polymorphism at this locus. Karan Fries bulls were found to be polymorphic at this locus. Two genotypes LL and LV were identified in Karan Fries with higher allelic frequency for L allele. In Karan Fries males, the average birth weight, 3 months body weight and daily body weight gains of LL homozygotes were significantly higher than that of LV heterozygotes. Genetic distances of KF bulls with respect to genotype along with 3 months body weight and average daily body weight gain forms a single cluster of bulls with LL genotype, while individuals with LV genotype forms three distinct clusters indicating more influence of L allele on growth traits.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.422-427
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• 1998

The gene and genotypic frequencies of ${\kappa}$-casein (${\kappa}$-CN), ${\beta}$-lactoglobulin (${\beta}$-LG), growth hormone (bGH) and prolactin (bPRL) loci in Korean cattle were investigated using PCR-RFLP analyses. Genomic DNA samples were obtained from 290 cows and 30 AI bulls. In both cows and bulls, the most predominant genotypes of ${\kappa}$-CN, ${\beta}$-LG, bGH and bPRL loci were AB, BB, AA and AA, respecitively. The frequencies of A and B alleles for ${\kappa}$-CN locus were .612 and .388 for cows and .567 and .433 for bulls. The respective frequencies of A and B alleles for ${\beta}$-LG locus were .153 and .847 in cows and .217 and .783 in bulls. The frequencies of A and B alleles for bGH locus were .769 and .231 in cows and .784 and .216 in bulls, respectively. The frequencies of A and B alleles for bPRL locus were .678 and .322 for cows and .767 and .233 for bulls. Differences in frequencies of these alleles were not significant between cows and bulls at all loci examined. If the DNA polymorphisms of these candidate genes are associated with economically important traits, they could serve as genetic markers for genetic improvement in future marker-assisted selection programs in Korean cattle.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.12-18
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• 2007

The objective of the study was to compare ranking of Sahiwal bulls selected on the basis of highest lactation milk yield of their dams with their estimated breeding values (EBVs) using an animal model. Data on 23,761 lactation milk yield records of 5,936 cows from five main Livestock Experiment Stations in Punjab province of Pakistan (1964-2004) were used for the study. At present the young A.I bulls are required to be from A-category bull-dams. Dams were categorized as A, B, C and D if they had highest lactation milk yield of ${\geq}$2,700, 2,250-2,699, 1,800-2,249 and <1,800 litres, respectively. The EBVs for lactation milk yield were estimated for all the animals using an individual animal model having fixed effect of herd-year and season of calving and random effect of animal. Fixed effect of parity and random effect of permanent environment were incorporated when multiple lactation were used. There were 396 young bulls used for semen collection and A.I during 1973-2004. However, progeny with lactation yields recorded, were available only for 91 bulls and dams could be traced for only 63 bulls. Overall lactation milk yield averaged 1,440.8 kg. Milk yield was 10% heritable with repeatability of 39%. Ranking bulls on highest lactation milk yield of their dams, the in-vogue criteria of selecting bulls, had a rank correlation of 0.167 (p<0.190) with ranking based on EBVs from animal model analysis. Bulls' EBVs for all lactations had rank correlation of 0.716 (p<0.001) with EBVs based on first lactation milk yield and 0.766 (p<0.001) with average EBVs of dam and sire (pedigree index). Ranking of bulls on highest lactation yield of their dams has no association with their ranking based on animal model evaluation. Young Sahiwal bulls should be selected on the basis of pedigree index instead of highest lactation yield of dams. This can help improve the genetic potential of the breed accruing to conservation and development efforts.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.337-342
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• 1995

Two feeding trials were conducted to determine the effect of molasses feeding on the growth performances of bulls. In the first experiment, the straw of a control diet of straw and urea was replaced by molasses of 150 g ($M_{150}$) or $300g{\cdot}kg^{-1}$ ($M_{300}$). The three diets were fed ad libitum to three groups of bulls having five in each and the dietary responses were statistically analyzed in a simple design. The bulls were given fishmeal ($30g{\cdot}hd^{-1}{\cdot}d^{-1}$), wheat bran (0.5% of Liveweight, LW) and allowed grazing for $5hrs{\cdot}d^{-1}$. Molasses supplementation significantly (p < 0.001) increased the dry matter intake (DMI) of the bulls of $M_{150}$ (35.8g) and of $M_{300}$ (42.9g) than the control ($30.4g{\cdot}kg^{-0.75}$). The daily LW gain of the bulls of the $M_{150}$ (982g) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the bulls of the control or of the $M_{300}$ diet. In the second experiment, a control group of four bulls was fed a straw diet. Treatment two groups, having four bulls in each, were fed a mixed diet of Leucaena leucocephala and Setaria splendida(1:1, DM basis) with (LSM) and without (LS) molasses at $100g{\cdot}kg^{-1}$. The dietary responses were statistically analyzed in a simple design. The bulls of the LSM diet had significantly (p < 0.05) higher DMI, DM digestibility and LW gain ($128g{\cdot}kg^{-0.75}$, $663g{\cdot}kg^{-1}$ and $419g{\cdot}d^{-1}$, respectively) than the bulls of the LS diet ($98.3g{\cdot}kg^{-0.75}$, $583g{\cdot}kg^{-1}$ and $292g{\cdot}d^{-1}$, respectively). But the differences between the LSM and the control were nonsignificant. It may be concluded that molasses may be utilized as supplement to straw at $150g{\cdot}kg^{-1}$ or forages at $100g{\cdot}kg^{-1}$ diet for the profitable beef production from young growing bulls.