Mashood, Qasim
- Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
Crossbreeding dairy cows with Angus beef sires can enhance the performance andcarcass quality of bulls in dairy-based beef production. This study evaluated 72 intactbulls (36 dairy-sired [D], 36 Angus-sired [C]) raised in either a high-intensity (H; 64%concentrate, slaughtered at 15 months) or low-intensity (L; 44% concentrate,slaughtered at 18 months) system. Across systems, C bulls outperformed D bulls inaverage daily gain (1.48 vs. 1.33 kg), carcass weight (389 vs. 343 kg), dressingpercentage, conformation, fatness, and marbling scores (all P < 0.01). The H systemimproved daily gain and feed conversion but resulted in lower carcass weight andmarbling than the L system. Notably, L bulls had superior carcass weight (387 vs.346 kg) and marbling (2.1 vs. 1.7) (P < 0.01). These results indicate that Anguscrossbreeding improves growth and meat quality traits in intact bulls, regardless ofproduction intensity.
Keywords
Crossbreeding; dairy × beef; intact bulls; forage; feedconversion; carcass traits
Published in
Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A - Animal Science
2025
SLU Authors
Nadeau, Elisabet
- Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Hessle, Anna
- Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
UKÄ Subject classification
Animal and Dairy Science
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09064702.2025.2576872
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/144409