Maternal nutrition of beef cattle at pasture mediates long-term consequences for offspring primarily through effects on growth early in life

Title
Maternal nutrition of beef cattle at pasture mediates long-term consequences for offspring primarily through effects on growth early in life
Publication Date
2010
Author(s)
Greenwood, Paul
Robinson, Dorothy L
Cafe, Linda
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9110-0119
Email: lcafe@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:lcafe
Type of document
Conference Publication
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Australian Society of Animal Production (ASAP)
Place of publication
Roseworthy, Australia
UNE publication id
une:9345
Abstract
This study tested the hypothesis that there are long-term consequences for offspring due to nutrition of the dam, beyond effects that result from variation in growth early in life (see Greenwood and Cafe 2007). Hereford cows were mated in consecutive years to Piedmontese or Wagyu sires. When confirmed pregnant, cows (n = 513) commenced low or high pasture quality and availability treatments until parturition and/or weaning. At weaning, offspring (n = 240) within steer and heifer cohorts were selected into 4 early-life growth groups (Low-Low, Low-High, High-Low and High-High), resulting in multi-modal distributions based on maternal nutrition and offspring growth to birth and weaning. Subsequent growth, efficiency, carcass and beef quality characteristics were determined (Table 1). Stepwise regression was used to test whether there were effects of the cow's nutrition during pregnancy and lactation, over and above effects due to birth and weaning weight. The model included covariates for birth (B) and weaning (W) weight and age at measurement (A), and fixed effects of nutrition during pregnancy (P) and lactation (L), calf sex (S), year (Y) and sire breed (G). First order interactions between fixed effects, and between covariates and fixed effects were included in the analyses.
Link
Citation
Proceedings of the Australian Society of Animal Production 28th Biennial Conference, v.28, p. 92-92
Start page
92
End page
92

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