Data from 6,842 lactations of 3,274 Brown Swiss cows, daughters of 71 sires, from 100 herds, calving from 1980 to 1999 were used to evaluate the effects of heterogeneity of variance on genetic evaluation of bulls. The milk and fat yields adjusted for 305 days of lactation and mature equivalent age were used to classify the herds among high and low production level. An animal model used to estimate variance component, included the fixed effect of herds, age-season of calving […]

ABSTRACT – The objectives of this study were to obtain adjustment factors for effects of calf age, dam age and calf Julian birth date on weight gain from birth to weaning (GND) and on visual scores of conformation (C), precocity (P), and muscling (M) and to estimate effects of maternal and individual heterosis on those traits. The analyzed records were from two breeding programs named Natura and Conexão Delta G, totalizing 187,610 purebred and crossbred Nellore x Angus and Nellore […]

The objectives of this work were to evaluate the productive and reproductive efficiencies and also the genetics parameters for traits considered, using data from 1877 crossbreed cows (Holstein x Zebu) from four genetics groups. The cows belonged to three commercial dairy herds monitored from 1989 to 1998 by the Dairy Information System (DAISY). The data were processed using the procedure available in SAS (Statistical Analysis System), while genetic parameters on productive and reproductive traits were estimated by the multiple trait […]

Forty one young bulls of herds selected for 378 day’s weight (W378), born in 1996, were finished on pastures of Panicum Maximum (Jacq.), Panicum Maximum (Jaq) cv. Tanzania 1 and Brachiaria brizantha (Hoschst) Stapf cv. Marandu at the Sertãozinho Experimental Station, São Paulo State, Brazil. The samples, representing the W378 mean for each herd, were composed by 11 Nellore Selection (NeS) and by 10 of each one of the groups Nelore Control (NeC), Guzera Selection (GuS) and Caracu (Ca). The […]

Carcass physical composition and meat qualitative characteristics of cull cows from two breeding systems, straightbreds (Charolais and Nellore) and crossbreds F1 1/2 Charolais-Nellore and 1/2 Nellore-Charolais, were evaluated. The cows were feedlot finished during 80 days and fed with 65% roughage (sorghum silage) and 35% concentrate, in dry matter basis. Charolais cows showed carcass with higher muscle (65.2 vs 58.8%) and bone (15.36 vs 13.7%) percentages, higher muscle (166.5 vs 139.61 kg) and bone (38.84 vs 32.34 kg) production than […]

The experiment evaluated the reproductive performance of primiparous beef heifers at two years old (‘one year system’). These heifers data were collected at Agropecuaria Guatambu, Dom Pedrito, RS, of 395 beef calves from three genetic groups, Hereford (H); 3/4 Hereford -1/4 Nellore (1/4 N); 5/8 Hereford- 3/8 Nellore (3/8 N). The heifers were submitted to three alternatives autumn-winter feeding systems a) continuous grazing on cultivated annual ryegrass (L. multiflorum Lam) (PAST); b) continuous grazing on natural pasture plus energy and […]

Hematocrit is an indirect method used to monitor ascites, which might be used also on body weight and reproductive traits evalution in broiler chickens. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the micro-hematocrit technique on body weight and reproductive traits (fertility, hatchability of fertile eggs and overall hatchability) possibiliting its aplication by poultry genetic breeding programs. Two contrasting groups were established based on phenotypic selection from 630 males and females of 18 genotypes to hematocrit characteristic. This work used […]

To evaluate the effects from two lipid sources (soybean oil and coconut oil) and of four energy levels (3350, 3450, 3550 and 3650 kcal/kg ration) on performance from 60 to 100 kg boars, eighty animals were used. The experimental design of randomized blocks with a factorial arrangement of 2 x 4 (sources x energy levels), with five replications of two animals per box, was used. Experimental diets formulated on the basis of maize, soybean meal and vitaminic and mineral supplement […]

A serie of experiments was carried out with the objective to determine the nutritive value of nine poultry by-product meal and six feather meal for chickens. Four different methodologies were used to determine the values of N corrected apparent (AMEn) and true corrected (TMEn) metabolizable energy, where the traditional method was used with chicks and cocks and the Sibbald method was used with roosters and cecectomized cocks. The estimated AMEn and TMEn values of viscera meal ranged from 3,051 to […]

The aims of this work were to know the best age to feed poultry with sunflower meal (SM), to determine the best percentage of SM to feed animals in different ages and to evaluate economicall viability of SM as a feeding for poultry ration. In this experiment 480 three days old chicks were distributed in a randomized design. The experimental treatments consisted in rations with different percentages of SM (0, 4, 8 and 12%) and birds with different ages (I1= […]