ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to evaluate how male age, semen extender, cooling (equilibration) time and freezing method influence the quality of Brahman bulls’ sperm after cryopreservation, as measured by Computer-Assisted Sperm Analysis (CASA) parameters. Six Brahman bulls, with an average age of 48.6±11.5 months, were used. Two ejaculates were collected for each animal on different days, with an interval of approximately one week between collections. Semen was diluted with three extenders: Andromed®, BioXcell®, and OptiXcell®. The samples […]

ABSTRACT The objective of this work is to estimate genetic parameters and breeding values to improve embryo and oocyte production, using repeatability and random regression models (RRM) for Gir dairy cattle. We used 11,398 records of ovum pick-up from 1,747 dairy Gir donors and evaluated sixteen different models: the traditional repeatability model and fifteen RRM, each of which considered a different combination of Legendre polynomial regressors to describe the additive genetic and permanent environment effects. The 4G1P model (four regressors […]

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for body weight of beef cattle in performance tests. Different random regression models with quadratic B-splines and heterogeneous residual variance were fitted to estimate covariance functions for body weights of Nellore and crossbred Charolais × Nellore bulls. The criteria −2 residual log-likelihood (−2RLL), Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), and consistent AIC (CAIC) were used to choose the most appropriate model. For Nellore bulls, residual variance was modeled with six classes […]

ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate associations among final weight (FW), average daily gain (ADG), scrotal circumference (SC), and visual score (VS) of beef cattle in performance tests on pasture or in feedlots. Genetic parameters for FW, ADG, SC, and VS of young Nellore bulls performance-tested on pasture or in feedlots were evaluated by mixed model. The performance test and final age were considered as fixed effects and additive genetic and residual effects were considered as random effects. Additive genetic […]

Empty body and carcass chemical composition were determined in 67 Nellore bulls from Selection Nellore (NeS) and Control Nellore (NeC) herds of an animal breeding program for growth, slaughtered at 570 days of average age, after 100 days of feedlot. Selection Nellore animals had, respectively, 360 and 430 kg of initial and slaughter body weight, and NeC animals had 318 and 373 kg for the same traits. Animals were slaughtered and empty body composition was determined by chemical analysis of […]

The objective was to evaluate protein turnover, nitrogen balance, feed energy partitioning, behavior patterns and plasma cortisol in Nellore (B. indicus) cattle with high and low residual feed intake (RFI = actual minus expected dry matter intake). Seventy-two Nellore steers (16 to 21 months-old, 334±19 kg initial body weight) were fed a feedlot diet for 70 days ad libitum. Daily dry matter intake (DMI) and average daily gain (ADG) were recorded individually and RFI was calculated. The 12 steers of […]

The objective of this study was to develop equations to predict retail product and fat trim (weights and percentages) for Nellore (Bos indicus) cattle. Live ultrasound measurements of the longissimus muscle area, backfat thickness at the 12th rib and rump fat depth and shrunk body weight were obtained from 218 Nellore steers to predict weights and percentages of carcass retail product, pistola retail product and fat trimmings. After slaughter, carcasses were deboned and weighed and percentages of retail cuts were […]

O objetivo neste estudo foi avaliar diferentes osmolaridades e tempos de incubação durante o teste hiposmótico e suas correlações com a congelabilidade do sêmen de touros zebuínos. Foram utilizados 30 ejaculados de seis touros adultos da raça Nelore. No sêmen in natura foi feita avaliação física e morfológica, classificação quanto à coloração supravital e o teste hiposmótico. No teste hiposmótico foram utilizadas soluções com osmolaridades de 60, 100, 150 mOsm/kg e água destililada (19 mOsm/kg) om 15, 30 e 60 […]

Os objetivos neste trabalho foram avaliar as características de qualidade da carne, a composição centesimal e os componentes lipídicos (colesterol e ácidos graxos) do músculo longissimus thoracis de bovinos Angus (n=30) e Nelore (n=30) aos 36 meses de idade e com peso médio de carcaça de 250 kg terminados em pastagem. Os resultados de pH, luminosidade, teor de vermelho e perda de peso na cocção foram similares entre grupos genéticos. Entretanto, a carne dos animais Angus apresentou maior teor de […]

Foram avaliadas as carcaças de 800 novilhos oriundos do cruzamento rotativo entre as raças Charolesa e Nelore abatidos aos 2 anos de idade. As características avaliadas foram: conformação, espessura de coxão, perímetro de braço, área de olho-de-lombo e área de olho-de-lombo dividida por 100 kg de peso da carcaça fria (AOL100). Na análise dos dados, consideraram-se dois modelos: o Modelo 1 incluiu os efeitos genéticos de sistema de acasalamento e grupo genético do novilho aninhado em sistema de acasalamento e […]