Temperament of Young Brahman Cattle Assessed During Backgrounding Persists and is Related to Performance

Abstract

Cattle vary in their ability to cope with stressful events and remain calm. Temperament may affect growth and carcass quality (King et al. 2006), as well as being important for human safety. The objective of this research is to discover biological mechanisms linking temperament with production and meat quality traits. Brahman weaners (n = 165) with 0 or 2 copies of the favourable alleles of two calpain system tenderness gene markers were sourced from central Qld. They were backgrounded at Glen Innes Research Station, N.S.W. and finished on grain at Tullimba feedlot, N.S.W. where feed intake was measured. The herd was composed of similar numbers of heifers and steers, and half received an HGP (revalor-H®) at feedlot entry. Slaughter and carcass data were collected at John Dee Abattoir, Warwick, Qld where sides were hung using the achilles and tenderstretch methods, and muscles collected and aged for 1 and 7 days for meat quality analyses.