Abstract
A previous study from our group evaluating growth in dairy heifers suggests that Puerto Rican Holstein slick-haired heifers (SLICK) could reach maturity earlier and at smaller body size than their wild type-haired (WT) counterparts. Thus, the present study aimed to determine if such differences exist in mature cows by comparing several body dimensions (i.e., body weight, withers height, hip height, thoracic perimeter, barrel, and shoulder to pin bone distance) of 24 SLICK and 54 WT lactating Holstein cows at the Agricultural Experiment Station in Lajas, Puerto Rico. Also, body weight was divided by each dimension to obtain the respective ratios. Data were analyzed by the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS. The SLICK cows presented larger barrels (236.54±2.68 vs. 231.06±2.29 cm; P=0.0363) and body weight / shoulder to pin bone distance (3.51±0.09 vs. 3.32±0.08 kg/cm; P=0.0218) than their WT counterparts. However, the shoulder to pin bone distance was smaller in SLICK than in WT cows (180.07±1.82 vs. 185.20±1.56 cm; P=0.0059). No significant differences between hair coat groups were observed in any other evaluated variable. The SLICK cows had shorter and deeper bodies than WT cows. Future studies should evaluate if such differences could impact their productive efficiencies.
Highlights
Puerto Rico’s dairy industry exclusively uses temperate Bos taurus cattle breeds (Sánchez, 2018), which are highly susceptible to heat stress (Silanikove, 2000)
The current study aimed to determine if such differences in body dimensions exist between mature slick-haired heifers (SLICK) and wild type-haired (WT) Puerto Rican Holstein cows
Body dimensions were compared between 24 SLICK and 54 WT lactating Puerto Rican Holstein cows from the Agricultural Experiment
Summary
Puerto Rico’s dairy industry exclusively uses temperate Bos taurus cattle breeds (Sánchez, 2018), which are highly susceptible to heat stress (Silanikove, 2000). In a recent study from our group (Muñiz-Cruz et al, 2017) we observed differences between the growth trends of SLICK and WT Puerto Rican Holstein heifers from four to 34 months of age, suggesting that the first group reaches maturity earlier and with a smaller body size. This may be an important finding because studies of WT Holstein cattle from Minnesota have associated a smaller body size with superior productive efficiency, relative to similar large sized animals (Mahoney et al, 1986; Yerex et al, 1988; Hansen et al, 1999). The current study aimed to determine if such differences in body dimensions exist between mature SLICK and WT Puerto Rican Holstein cows
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