Consequences of prenatal and preweaning growth for feedlot growth, intake and efficiency of Piedmontese- and Wagyu-sired cattle
L. M. Cafe A B C , D. W. Hennessy A B D , H. Hearnshaw A B E , S. G. Morris A F and P. L. Greenwood A C GA Cooperative Research Centre for Beef Genetic Technologies, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.
B New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Agricultural Research and Advisory Station, Grafton, NSW 2460, Australia.
C New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Beef Industry Centre, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.
D Present address: 187 Fitzroy Street, Grafton, NSW 2460, Australia.
E Present address: PO Box 433, Grafton, NSW 2460, Australia.
F New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Wollongbar Agricultural Institute, Wollongbar, NSW 2477, Australia.
G Corresponding author. Email: paul.greenwood@dpi.nsw.gov.au
Animal Production Science 49(6) 461-467 https://doi.org/10.1071/EA08089
Submitted: 7 March 2008 Accepted: 4 August 2008 Published: 13 May 2009
Abstract
Consequences of low (mean 28.0 kg, n = 77) and high (mean 38.4 kg, n = 77) birthweight followed by slow (mean 548 g/day, n = 75) or rapid (mean 859 g/day, n = 79) growth to weaning for feedlot growth, intake and efficiency from 26 to 30 months of age were determined in Wagyu × Hereford (n = 81) and Piedmontese × Hereford (n = 73) cattle. Cattle were selected for study based on birthweight and preweaning growth rate, from multi-modal distributions achieved by imposition of low or high maternal nutrition during pregnancy and lactation, with the objective of achieving as close as possible to a 30% difference in birthweight and a 2-fold difference in preweaning growth rate between progeny groups. High birthweight cattle entered the intake test 57 kg heavier, grew 100 g/day more rapidly, and ate 1.0 kg dry matter /day more than the low birthweight cattle. The high birthweight cattle tended to have a higher feed conversion ratio than low birthweight cattle, but net feed intake did not differ due to birthweight group. Cattle grown rapidly to weaning entered the intake test 29 kg heavier, grew at an equivalent rate, and ate 0.7 kg dry matter/day more than the cattle grown slowly to weaning. No differences in feed conversion ratio or net feed intake were observed between the preweaning groups. When assessed at the same liveweight, differences in dry matter intake and/or feed conversion ratio due to birthweight or preweaning growth were no longer apparent. Interactions between prenatal and preweaning growth, or between sire genotype and early-life growth, were not evident for feedlot growth, intake or efficiency. It is concluded that severely restricted growth during prenatal life or from birth to weaning results in cattle that are smaller and consume less feed at the same age as their well grown counterparts; however, long-term effects of growth during early life on efficiency of utilisation of feed are not evident.
Additional keywords: calf, fetal programming, newborn.
Acknowledgements
The financial and in-kind support of the Cooperative Research Centre for Cattle and Beef Quality, NSW Department of Primary Industries, CSIRO Livestock Industries and the University of New England to enable the conduct of this research is gratefully acknowledged. We also wish to acknowledge the considerable efforts of the following research, veterinary, technical and/or farm staff: Lewis Molloy, Keith Newby, William Lee, Max Johnson, Eric Donoghue and Albert Martin, NSW Department of Primary Industries Agricultural Research and Advisory Station at Grafton; Phil Dawes, Peter Kamphorst, Peter Newman and Ross Dicker, NSW Department of Primary Industries Agricultural Research and Advisory Station at Glen Innes; Stuart McClelland, Joe Brunner, Bill Johns, Steve Sinclair, Reg Woodgate, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Beef Industry Centre, Armidale; Reid Geddes, Matt Wolcott, Jason Siddell and Andrew Slack-Smith, Beef Quality CRC and ‘Tullimba’ feedlot. We are also grateful to James and Lyndon Mulligan of ‘Spelga Piedmontese’, the Australian Wagyu Association, and Peter Lee of ‘Waterview Wagyu’ who generously supplied the semen and the bulls used in this study. All experimental procedures were conducted under the approval of the NSW Department of Primary Industries’ North Coast Animal Care and Ethics Committee (Approval No. G2000/05).
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