New registrations in Swedish beef cattle breeding - with focus on temperament and cow weight
In today’s genetic evaluation of Swedish beef cattle, mainly traits that are directly related to productivity are measured. However, other traits, such as temperament and mature cow weight affect the economy of the farmer, as well as the welfare of the animals. This thesis evaluates possible ways of...
| Autor principal: | |
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| Formato: | Second cycle, A2E |
| Lenguaje: | sueco sueco Inglés |
| Publicado: |
2013
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/5938/ |
| _version_ | 1855570928584359936 |
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| author | Broström, Linn |
| author_browse | Broström, Linn |
| author_facet | Broström, Linn |
| author_sort | Broström, Linn |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | In today’s genetic evaluation of Swedish beef cattle, mainly traits that are directly related to productivity are measured. However, other traits, such as temperament and mature cow weight affect the economy of the farmer, as well as the welfare of the animals. This thesis evaluates possible ways of measuring new traits, with focus on temperament and mature weight of suckler cows. The goal is to examine the possible benefits of including these traits in the Swedish breeding scheme. To achieve this, studies of literature, analyses of data and qualitative interviews with farmers have been conducted. Analyses of literature and data showed that recordings of temperament and mature weight can be performed during Swedish conditions. Data of Swedish farms showed that temperament scores were affected by breed, year and season, with the highest number of inferior temperament scores recorded around calving. Mature cow weights for Angus, Simmental and crossbreds were 700 to 820 kg, which is higher than figures stated in international literature. Effects of breed could not be observed for cow weight, which is contrary to findings in literature. To achieve a higher interest for breeding values, it is suggested to include new recordings, such as temperament, longevity and fertility, since it would capture the interests of the farmers and their breeding goals better. By including temperament during handling and aggressive behaviour around calving in the genetic evaluation, the safety for workers, animal welfare, productivity and economics at the Swedish farms could be improved. It is however not recommended to include mature cow weight in the genetic evaluation at present, due to lack of interest and thereof given benefits by inclusion of the trait. Although, the knowledge of the cows’ weights amongst farmers needs to be improved. In the future, this new information could be used to improve the Swedish beef recording scheme for a more efficient production. |
| format | Second cycle, A2E |
| id | RepoSLU5938 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Swedish Swedish Inglés |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publishDateSort | 2013 |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU59382013-11-18T14:12:02Z https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/5938/ New registrations in Swedish beef cattle breeding - with focus on temperament and cow weight Broström, Linn Animal genetics and breeding In today’s genetic evaluation of Swedish beef cattle, mainly traits that are directly related to productivity are measured. However, other traits, such as temperament and mature cow weight affect the economy of the farmer, as well as the welfare of the animals. This thesis evaluates possible ways of measuring new traits, with focus on temperament and mature weight of suckler cows. The goal is to examine the possible benefits of including these traits in the Swedish breeding scheme. To achieve this, studies of literature, analyses of data and qualitative interviews with farmers have been conducted. Analyses of literature and data showed that recordings of temperament and mature weight can be performed during Swedish conditions. Data of Swedish farms showed that temperament scores were affected by breed, year and season, with the highest number of inferior temperament scores recorded around calving. Mature cow weights for Angus, Simmental and crossbreds were 700 to 820 kg, which is higher than figures stated in international literature. Effects of breed could not be observed for cow weight, which is contrary to findings in literature. To achieve a higher interest for breeding values, it is suggested to include new recordings, such as temperament, longevity and fertility, since it would capture the interests of the farmers and their breeding goals better. By including temperament during handling and aggressive behaviour around calving in the genetic evaluation, the safety for workers, animal welfare, productivity and economics at the Swedish farms could be improved. It is however not recommended to include mature cow weight in the genetic evaluation at present, due to lack of interest and thereof given benefits by inclusion of the trait. Although, the knowledge of the cows’ weights amongst farmers needs to be improved. In the future, this new information could be used to improve the Swedish beef recording scheme for a more efficient production. I dagens avelvärdering för de svenska köttraserna är det endast egenskaper direkt relaterade till produktiviteten som registreras. Det finns däremot andra egenskaper, såsom temperament och vuxenvikt, som påverkar ekonomin för lantbrukaren så väl som djurvälfärden. Den här studien utvärderar möjliga tillvägagångsätt för att mäta nya egenskaper, med fokus på temperament och vuxenvikt hos dikor. Målet är att undersöka möjligheterna med att inkludera dessa egenskaper i den svenska avelsvärderingen. För att uppnå detta har litteraturstudier, analyser av data och kvalitativa intervjuer med svenska lantbrukare genomförts. Litteraturstudien och dataanalyserna visade att registreringar av temperament och vuxenvikt är möjliga att genomföra under svenska förhållanden. Data från svenska gårdar visade att temperament påverkas av ras, år och säsong, med den högsta andelen ofördelaktigt temperament registrerat kring kalvningar. Vuxenvikter för Angus, Simmental och korsningar låg mellan 700 och 820 kg, vilket är högre än värden angivna i internationell litteratur. Ingen raseffekt kunde ses för kovikt, vilket motsätter uppgifter givna i litteratur. För att skapa ett större intresse för avelsvärden föreslås att nya registreringar såsom temperament, hållbarhet och fertilitet inkluderas, detta eftersom lantbrukarnas intressen och avelsmål då fångas upp bättre. Genom att ta med hanterbarhet och aggressivitet vid kalvning i avelvärderingen så kan riskerna i arbetet minskas, samt djurvälfärden, produktiviteten och ekonomin på de svenska gårdarna förbättras. Det rekommenderas däremot inte att inkludera vuxenvikt i avelsvärderingen i dagsläget, detta på grund av bristande intresse och därav givna fördelar med att införa egenskapen. Kunskapen om kornas vuxenvikter är dock något som bör förbättras hos lantbrukarna. I framtiden skulle den nya informationen kunna användas för att förbättra avelvärderingen för de svenska köttraserna och därigenom ge en mer effektiv produktion. 2013-08-16 Second cycle, A2E NonPeerReviewed application/pdf sv https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/5938/7/brostrom_l_130819.pdf application/pdf sv https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/5938/17/errata_brostrom_l_131118.pdf Broström, Linn, 2013. New registrations in Swedish beef cattle breeding - with focus on temperament and cow weight. Second cycle, A2E. Uppsala: (VH) > Dept. of Animal Breeding and Genetics (until 231231) <https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/view/divisions/OID-670.html> urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-s-2627 eng |
| spellingShingle | Animal genetics and breeding Broström, Linn New registrations in Swedish beef cattle breeding - with focus on temperament and cow weight |
| title | New registrations in Swedish beef cattle breeding - with focus on temperament and cow weight |
| title_full | New registrations in Swedish beef cattle breeding - with focus on temperament and cow weight |
| title_fullStr | New registrations in Swedish beef cattle breeding - with focus on temperament and cow weight |
| title_full_unstemmed | New registrations in Swedish beef cattle breeding - with focus on temperament and cow weight |
| title_short | New registrations in Swedish beef cattle breeding - with focus on temperament and cow weight |
| title_sort | new registrations in swedish beef cattle breeding - with focus on temperament and cow weight |
| topic | Animal genetics and breeding |
| url | https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/5938/ https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/5938/ |