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Full-Text Articles in Veterinary Medicine
Genetic Parameter Estimates And Breed Effects For Calving Difficulty And Birth Weight In A Multi-Breed Population, Cashley Ahlberg
Genetic Parameter Estimates And Breed Effects For Calving Difficulty And Birth Weight In A Multi-Breed Population, Cashley Ahlberg
Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
There are multiple breeds of beef cattle available to utilize in breeding systems to maximize production and economics. Calving difficulty (dystocia) is a significant cost to beef production and is more prevalent in first-calf heifers. The objectives of this study were to estimate genetic parameters and breed differences for calving difficulty and birth weight as a first step towards the development of across-breed adjustment factors for calving difficulty.
Two models were employed to analyze birth weight (BWT) and calving difficulty (CD) recorded on 4,579 first parity females from the Germplasm Evaluation program at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC). …