Growth performance and carcass characteristics of Nelore Angus and Nelore Angus Guzera crossbreed cows fed with supplemented pasture during the yearling and feedlot stages

Abstract

<p>The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth performance of two crossbreed genetic groups, ½ Nelore ½ Angus and ¼ Nelore ¼ Angus ½ Guzera, which originate from the rotational crosses of Nellore cows with Angus bulls and ½ Nellore ½ Angus cows with Guzera bulls, respectively. The growth performance was evaluated at the end of the yearling and feedlot stages, and carcass characteristics were evaluated after the slaughter. A completely randomized trial design was used, with 12 cows in each group. The yearling stage lasted 270 days, and the cattle were fed with pasture of <em>Brachiaria brizantha </em>‘Marandu’ with 2.0 UA ha-1 and a forage allowance of 2.5 kg of dry matter (DM) per 100 kg of live weight (LW), during this stage the animals, with an average age of 365 ± 10 days, received protein and energy supplementation <em>ad libitum</em>. After the yearling stage, the cows were confined until they reached the age of 22–24 months and received 6.0 kg DM of sugar cane + urea and 4.0 kg DM of concentrate, with 150 g kg-1 of crude protein (CP), daily during 90 days. The daily average weight gain (DAWG) during the yearling stage was higher for the ½ Nelore ½ Angus group. The ¼ Nelore ¼ Angus ½ Guzera group reached higher slaughter weight because they had higher DAWG during the feedlot stage (1.022 vs. 728 g dia-1). No significant difference (P > 0.05) was found between the groups when the hot carcass weights were compared. The ½ Nelore ½ Angus group reached a higher carcass weight percentage (53 vs. 50 %) and subcutaneous fat thickness (4.3 vs. 4.0 mm).</p>