Growth patterns and reproductive performance of grazing Brahman cows in a tropical environment

Two experiments were conducted in the neotropical savannas of Carimagua, Colombia to test the hypothesis that Brahman females subjected to sustained grazing undernutrition as heifers can attain high reproductive performance as mature cows if allowed to make compensatory gains. In Experiment 1, weane...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Vera, Raúl R., Ramírez, C.A., Velásquez, N.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: 2002
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/42926
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author Vera, Raúl R.
Ramírez, C.A.
Velásquez, N.
author_browse Ramírez, C.A.
Velásquez, N.
Vera, Raúl R.
author_facet Vera, Raúl R.
Ramírez, C.A.
Velásquez, N.
author_sort Vera, Raúl R.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Two experiments were conducted in the neotropical savannas of Carimagua, Colombia to test the hypothesis that Brahman females subjected to sustained grazing undernutrition as heifers can attain high reproductive performance as mature cows if allowed to make compensatory gains. In Experiment 1, weaned heifers were subjected to three rates of weight gain (H, M and L) on a poor quality tropical pasture until reaching mating weight of 270 kg. Each group was then subdivided and grazed on pastures that allowed high (h) or low (l) weights gains. Experiment 2 allowed heifers of the same type to achieve continuous high weight gains and served as a control. Regardless of earlier treatment, all h cows in Experiment 1 achieved mature body size and reproductive performance comparable to those of the well-fed animals of Experiment 2. It is concluded that the potential exists for a wide range of grazing managements of Brahman heifers in the tropics, and it is possible to achieve levels of performance that represent a substantial improvement over current standards at a modest management cost.
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spelling CGSpace429262023-02-15T05:14:46Z Growth patterns and reproductive performance of grazing Brahman cows in a tropical environment Vera, Raúl R. Ramírez, C.A. Velásquez, N. feed crops animal production animal feeding grazing growth heifers reproductive performance producción animal alimentación de los animales pastoreo crecimiento novilla reproductividad Two experiments were conducted in the neotropical savannas of Carimagua, Colombia to test the hypothesis that Brahman females subjected to sustained grazing undernutrition as heifers can attain high reproductive performance as mature cows if allowed to make compensatory gains. In Experiment 1, weaned heifers were subjected to three rates of weight gain (H, M and L) on a poor quality tropical pasture until reaching mating weight of 270 kg. Each group was then subdivided and grazed on pastures that allowed high (h) or low (l) weights gains. Experiment 2 allowed heifers of the same type to achieve continuous high weight gains and served as a control. Regardless of earlier treatment, all h cows in Experiment 1 achieved mature body size and reproductive performance comparable to those of the well-fed animals of Experiment 2. It is concluded that the potential exists for a wide range of grazing managements of Brahman heifers in the tropics, and it is possible to achieve levels of performance that represent a substantial improvement over current standards at a modest management cost. 2002 2014-09-24T07:58:47Z 2014-09-24T07:58:47Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/42926 en Open Access
spellingShingle feed crops
animal production
animal feeding
grazing
growth
heifers
reproductive performance
producción animal
alimentación de los animales
pastoreo
crecimiento
novilla
reproductividad
Vera, Raúl R.
Ramírez, C.A.
Velásquez, N.
Growth patterns and reproductive performance of grazing Brahman cows in a tropical environment
title Growth patterns and reproductive performance of grazing Brahman cows in a tropical environment
title_full Growth patterns and reproductive performance of grazing Brahman cows in a tropical environment
title_fullStr Growth patterns and reproductive performance of grazing Brahman cows in a tropical environment
title_full_unstemmed Growth patterns and reproductive performance of grazing Brahman cows in a tropical environment
title_short Growth patterns and reproductive performance of grazing Brahman cows in a tropical environment
title_sort growth patterns and reproductive performance of grazing brahman cows in a tropical environment
topic feed crops
animal production
animal feeding
grazing
growth
heifers
reproductive performance
producción animal
alimentación de los animales
pastoreo
crecimiento
novilla
reproductividad
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/42926
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