Cattle Flashcards
Maternal cattle breed traits
Low birth weight
Easy calving
Fertility
Milk production
Early puberty
Low muscling
Can be British, American, Continental
Dual purpose
HOLSTEIN FRIESIAN
Usually black and white (red variant has more conc milk)
Average female weight: 700-800kg
Average male weight: up to 1200 kg
Milk quality: low fat (3.7%) /protein (3.2%)
Annual yield: 8000-12 000 kg important!!!
What hormones can be used to induce ovulation and what can be used to induce estrus in the female?
Ovulation: hCg or GnRH Cycle: progesterone, PGIFa2, PRID (device)
Give four important genetic diseases of Holstein
DUMPS Hemophilia B Hypertrichosis Oligodontia (lack of teeth)
How long is the lactation period of the cow and is a dry period needed between lactations?
About 300 days, a dry period of 2 months is needed for mammary regeneration
Dual purpose
Norwegian Red cattle
about 40% naturally polled
Popular to cross with Holstein (in USA)
An open, synthetic breed
Breeding goal: health, fertility
Give 7 paternal beef cattle breeds
Charolais
Limousin
Maine-Anjou
Blonde D’Aquitaine
Belgian blue
Chianina
Piedmontese
Give the twinning rate and the rate of females becoming freemartins when twinning with a male
Twinning: 1-4% Freemartin rate: +90%
Give an important genetic disease of Simmental
Platelet bleeding disorder
What is important to look at in the chemical composition of the milk?
Fat/Protein ratio Lactose content Color, odor, taste pH, density, conduction Vitamins, ketone bodies, urea, fatty acid composition SCC = somatic cell count (leukocyte content)
When is a heifer ready to have a calf?
At 2 or 3 years, depending on breed
How long does it take for the average cow to be milked?
3-5 mins
Give three genetic skeletal diseases in cattle
Chondrodysplasia Dwarfism (STH receptor mutation) Syndactylia (fused digits)
Name some inter species hybrids and the aim of creating them
Cattalo Yakalo Beefalo Aim: to produce high protein low fat beef
What is a stag?
A male castrated after maturity. It will act like an uncastrated male
How long is the female in heat?
24-48 hrs
What is a freemartin?
A female calf from a twin pregnancy where the testosterone from the male twin has caused changes to the female’s reprod system during early gestation, making it sterile
Give 10 maternal beef cattle breeds
Angus
Hereford
Shorthorn
Hungarian gray
Galloway
Highland cattle
Devon
Lincoln red
Dexter
Chillingham
Is twinning desired or not? What is the heritability?
Beef cattle yes Dairy cattle no Heritability (h^2) 0.01-0.09 (low)
Give some general reprod traits of the dam
Uniparous Low reprod potential Late breeding Long gestation Continuously polyestrus (anestrus pathologically)
What is an ox
A castrated male kept for draft or riding purposes
What is a steer/bullock?
A male castrated before maturity
What is the Latin name for today’s domesticated cattle?
Ruminantia Bovidae Bovinae Bos taurus
Give three genetic metabolic diseases in cattle
Gangliosidosis Citrullinaemia DUMPS (uridine monophosphate synthase deficiency)
What types of milking parlours exist?
Rotary Herringbone Parallel
What is a dam
Mother of an offspring
Dairy cattle
Jersey cow
Small breed, brown, cute
High butterfat (6%) and protein (4%)
Average female weight: 350-540 kg
Average male weight: 540-820 kg
Annual yield: 5400 kg
Dairy cattle
Guernsey
Brown with white spots
Average female weight: 450-550kg
Average male weight: 700-800kg
Milk quality: rich flavour, golden colour (carotene) concentrated
Annual yield: 5800-6000kg
Where does the fertilization happen and at what day does the implantation into the uterine wall happen?
Fertilization happens in the Fallopian tubes, implantation happens on the 21-22 day (early)
Terminal/paternal beef cattle breed traits
Muscling
Fast growth
Give four genetic blood/circulation diseases in cattle
Hyperbilirubinaemia Protoporhyria (congential, AR) Platelet bleeding disorder Hemophilia B (factor IX)
What are some related species to the domesticated European cattle?
Yak (Mongolia, China) Zebu with hump (muscular hyper trophy) SE Asia Bali cattle (small) Goyal cattle (sacrificial animals) Bison (American/European) Asian water buffalo African buffalo
Dual purpose
Brown Swiss
From Braunvieh, grey coloured (?)
Average female weight: 700 kg
Average male weight: up to 1135 kg
Milk quality: 4.5% fat, 3.6% protein, great for cheese production!
Annual yield: 9000 kg
What is injected into the cow to increase lactation in USA?
recombinant bovine growth hormone rBGH
Name some feral cattle breeds
Chillingham cattle Aleutian wild cattle Enderby island cattle Ushuaia Cattle
Give an important genetic disease of Limousine
Protoporphyria
What parameters are used to measure milk performance
Average milk yield Max daily milk yield FCM = fat corrected milk yield Fat yield Protein yield
What species can you mate to get the infertile male Dzo and fertile female Dzomo?
Yak and domestic cattle Heterosis
What is a cow?
A female cow with at least one offspring
What is a sire?
The father of an offspring, used in dairy breeding
When is the heifer sexually mature (but not ready to have a calf just yet)
When she is 15 months or about ¾ of her full grown body weight
Give three intersex diseases in cattle
XY females Testicular/ovarian/Uterine dysplasia (abnormal development) or hypoplasia (under-development) TFS - testicular feminization syndrome (ø adrenergic receptors)
When was cattle domesticated?
About 10,000 years ago (8000 B.C.)
What factors of milk should you consider when wanting to produce cheese?
Lipid droplet size (small is good –> jersey too big)
Kappa casein content (solidification of cheese)
Lipase content (?)
Give three genetic muscular diseases of cattle
Spinal muscle atrophy (SMA) Hypertrophy (double muscling) Weaver syndrome
What is a calf
A young male of female cattle before one year old
Give some important parameters on udder evaluation
Udder depth Udder attatchment Teat placement Teat size Udder cleft
What is the heck cattle
A reconstruction of the now extinct Auroch, made by German zoologists to have in zoos.
Ancestor of modern domesticated cattle?
Auroch Went extinct in the 17th century
What are some symptoms that the female is in heat?
Mucus discharge Mounting other females Hyperaemic external genitalia
When does a cattle reach puberty?
At 12-16 months
When does ovulation happen?
12-14 hrs after heat
Give an important genetic disease of Shorthorn
Parakeratosis
How long is the gestation period
Approx 280 days
Give an important genetic disease of Dexter
Dwarfism
Dairy cattle
Ayrshire
Red and white, good conformation (esp udder)
Average female weight: 500-600kg
Average male weight: 750-850kg
Milk quality: 4% butterfat and protein
Annual yield: 6400 kg
How many chromosomes do domesticated cattle and water buffalo have?
Cattle: 2n = 60 Water buffalo: 2n = 48
What is a heifer?
Young female before she has had a calf
What can cause cycle disorders in the cattle?
CLP (Corpus lutea persistens) ovulation induced with PGIF2a Cystic ovaries
What is a yearling
A calf between one and two years old
Give two important genetic diseases of Brown Swiss
Weaver syndrome Albinism
How long is the estrus cycle?
21 days (biphasic: follicular and luteal phase)
How can you diagnose the pregnancy?
Ultrasound Rectal examination Hormone testing Progesterone in blood plasma Fetal proteins Estrone sulfate in milk
What are 9 parameters used to evaluate the reproduction performance
Age at first calving: approx 2 years Insemination index (whatever that is): ideally less than 1,5 Non-return rate: less than 60% Calving interval: 360-380 days but can be over 40p First fertile heat after calving: 35-40 days Service period: less than 60 days Pregnancy rate: above 95% Sterility: under 10% Embryonic mortality: under 5%
What cattle breeds are important in the cheese production?
Montbéliarde
Shorthorn (English cheddar)
Brown swiss
Normande (camembert)
Guernsey
Ayrshire
Holstein
Give two genetic immunodeficiency diseases in cattle
BLAD (bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency) Chediak-Higashi
Name two bovine species that cannot mate?
Asian water buffalo and domestic cattle Likely because of different chromosome number
