Calving distributions of individual bulls in multiple-sire pastures

Abstract

The objective of this project was to quantify patterns in the calving rate of sires in multiple-sire pastures over seven years at a large-scale cow-calf operation. Data consisted of reproductive and genomic records from multiple-sire breeding pastures (n = 33) at the United States Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) from 2007 to 2013. Calving intervals were analyzed in 21-day periods. A ranking system for each bull was developed based on the calving rate per pasture over the breeding season, with Rank 1 = the bull with greatest calving rate, Rank 3 = the bull with the least calving rate, and Rank 2 = all other bulls. A total of 179 bulls and 3703 calves were successfully genotyped over seven years. A uniform distribution described the expected percentage of calves sired per rank within pasture. Rank 1 bulls sired 113% greater calves than the expected pasture-average, Rank 2 bulls sired 6% less than expected, and Rank 3 bulls sired 81% less than expected. A rank by calving interval interaction effect was identified (P < 0.05). A Rank 1 bull in calving interval 1 produced a greater average percent of the total calf crop over the entire season, compared to a Rank 2 and Rank 3 bull. The calving rate for individual sires is not homogeneous and there is a large difference between bulls siring the greatest and least number of calves. More research is needed to determine how rank changes over multiple breeding years and its association with dominance, libido, and fertility.