R. Bras. Zootec.13/Nov/2026;55:e20250218.
Influence of maternal nutrition during gestation on feed efficiency, productive performance, and reproductive traits of finishing beef bulls
Édison Furlan
, Guilherme Henrique Gebim Polizel
, Arícia Christofaro Fernandes
, Bárbara Carolina Teixeira Prati
, Gabriela do Vale Pombo
, Paulo Fantinato Neto
, Germán Darío Ramírez-Zamudio
, Miguel Henrique de Almeida Santana
ABSTRACT
This study evaluated the effects of maternal protein-energy supplementation during gestation on performance, reproductive traits, and carcass characteristics of Nellore bulls during the finishing phase. Twenty-eight bulls sired by the same bull and born to nulliparous dams were used. From pregnancy confirmation at 60 d of gestation until calving, dams received either mineral supplementation (non-programmed group, 0.3 g kg−1 body weight day−1) or protein-energy supplementation (fetal programming group, 5.0 g kg−1 body weight day−1). After birth, all calves were raised under similar management throughout the cow-calf, growing, and finishing phases. Body weight, dry matter intake, feed efficiency, and carcass traits were evaluated during a 97-day feedlot period, and reproductive traits (scrotal circumference, sperm motility, vigor, swirling, and defects) were assessed at 16 and 20 months of age. Maternal nutrition had no significant effect on growth performance or carcass characteristics (P≥0.18). However, bulls from the fetal programming group had fewer minor and total sperm defects (P≤0.04) and tended to have lower sperm motility (P = 0.06). Protein-energy supplementation during gestation influences sperm motility and morphological defects, suggesting that fetal programming can modulate specific andrology-related traits, even in the absence of changes in productive performance.