Factors Affecting Weight and Score of Crossbred-Type Calves

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Abstract
Records of 1847 Brahman-Angus and Africander-Angus crossbred-type calves raised during the period 1932-1957 at the Iberia Livestock Experiment Station, Jeanerette, La., were studied. Brahman-Angus bulls averaged 43 lb heavier than heifers at 180 days. Differences were greater in years with above average weights. Multiplicative factors appear to be satisfactory in adjusting for sex effects. Calves born early in the calving season weighed more at 180 days and scored higher at weaning. Age of dam effects differed markedly in two production level groups formed by arbitrarily dividing years into high and low groups based on calf weights. The direction of the differences strongly suggest that a regression type of adjustment should be made for age-of-dam effects. For example, in this herd the best method of adjusting the weight of a calf from a 3-year-old dam to a 5-year-old dam basis was to take 35% of the weight and add 257 lb. Calves produced by mating F1 cows to Angus sires weighed more (398 lb) at 180 days than did calves of any of the other crossbred groups in the Brahman-Angus. Calves resulting from inter se matings of groups with 25%, 37.5% and 50% Brahman ancestry generally weighed less at 180 days than did calves from Angus x F1, backcross x back-cross or F1 x F1 matings. Differences in weaning scores closely paralleled 180-day weights. Brahman-Angus crossbred-type calves averaged 31 lb heavier at 180 days and approximately l/6th of a grade higher in beef conformation score at weaning than the Africander-Angus.

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