Effects of a growth implant and age of dam on growth and fertility in heifer calves

Abstract

A field trial was conducted to determine the effects of a growth implant on growth, pregnancy rate, calving difficulty and calf weaning weight in replacement beef heifers. Heifers were assigned equally to either a control (n = 43; no implant), Ralgro (n = 43) or Synovex-C (n = 42) treatment group based on age of dam and age and weight at the start of the trial (implantation at 45–90 d of age). Neither Ralgro nor Synovex-C enhanced heifer weight or average daily gain (ADG) from the start of the trial to weaning (approximately 7 mo of age), breeding, or pregnancy determination. At breeding, Synovex-C implanted heifers had greater pelvic area than controls while Ralgro implanted heifers were intermediate (control = 149.7, Ralgro = 154.7 and Synovex-C = 157.4 pooled SE of 2.2 cm2; P = 0.05). Pelvic dimensions were similar among treatments at pregnancy determination and there were no treatment effects on calving difficulty. Age of dam affected heifer weight (P = 0.0005) and ADG (P = 0.001) to weaning, with heifers from mature cows weighing more at weaning and having a higher ADG from the start of the study to weaning than heifers from either first- or second-calf cows. Post-weaning performance of heifers from first-calf cows was similar to heifers from mature cows while heifers from second-calf cows were lighter at breeding (P = 0.04) and had a lower ADG from weaning to breeding (P = 0.04). Age of dam did not influence pregnancy rate (P = 0.10), but more heifers from second-calf cows calved late in the calving season (≥ 64 d) compared with heifers from either first-calf or mature cows (P = 0.04). It appears from this field trial that use of a growth implant between 45 and 90 d of age neither enhanced growth nor impaired fertility in beef heifers bred as yearlings. It also appears that second-calf 3-yr-olds may need to be managed separately from the mature cow herd in order to optimize replacement heifer development. Key words: Bovine, replacement heifers, growth implant, age of dam, weight, pregnancy rate