Effects of breed, sex, parity, birth year and birth season on body weight traits for five local cattle breeds and crossbreds in arid region of Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract Text: The objectives of the present study were to study the effects of breed, sex, parity, year of birth and season of birth on birth weight, weaning weight and yearling weight recorded on 796 calves born between 1996 and 2008. This included offspring from five local cattle breeds (Dhanni, Lohani, Dajal, Red Sindhi, Cholistani) and crossbreds (Holstein or Jersey crosses) maintained at Barani Livestock Production Research Institute (BLPRI, Attock, Punjab, Pakistan). The data were analyzed using a mixed linear model with PROC MIXED (SAS). Overall means ± SD (obtained using PROC MEANS) of birth, weaning and yearling weights were 18.59±2.54 kg, 73.85±19.04 kg and 113.65±30.33 kg, respectively. All three growth traits varied with breed, sex, parity of dam and season of birth and year of birth. However, the birth weight did not vary among seasons (P=0.16) and weaning weight did not vary between dam parity (P=0.29).  The calves of Lohani cattle (a short stature breed) had the lightest birth weights (16.6 kg) as compared to other breeds and crossbreds (> 18 kg). The heaviest weaning weights (93.0 kg) were found in calves from the Dajal breed, followed by weaning weights for Dhanni (79.9 kg), Cholistani (74.0 kg), Red Sindhi (71.9 kg) and Lohani (66.1 kg). The heaviest yearling weights were found in Dajal calves (147.4 kg) while the lowest yearling weights were found in Lohani calves (98.0 kg). Yearling weights for all other breeds ranged from 111 to 118 kg. Overall, birth, weaning and yearling weights were greater in male vs. female calves.  The calves born to first parity cows had lighter birth and yearling weights, and similar weaning weights as compared to calves from later parity cows. Spring born calves had heavier weaning weights (79.2 kg) than summer born calves (71.7 kg).  Summer born calves had lighter yearling weight (109.3 kg) than calves born in other seasons (118-120 kg). Additionally, when data were analyzed using a model considering all factors as random, breed explained the most variation for all 3 body weight traits. The observed between breed variation for growth indicates an untapped potential for beef production. Moreover, results from the present study have useful implications for breed improvement and management decisions for cattle breeds being raised under arid conditions.

Keywords: body weights, cattle breeds, arid region