The effect of season of birth on the morphometrics of newborn Belgian Blue calves.

Mieke Van Eetvelde,Habib Syaiful Arif Tuska,Osvaldo Bogado Pascottini,Maya Meesters,Geert Opsomer,Ann Van Soom,Budiono Budiono,Karel Verdru,Gretania Residiwati

doi:10.1007/s11250-022-03090-1

Mieke Van Eetvelde, Habib Syaiful Arif Tuska + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-022-03090-1

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Abstract

Breed type and environmental factors such as breeding season may have a significant impact on neonatal morphometrics. We followed a total of 236 elective cesarean sections in Belgian Blue (BB) cows, from which neonatal calves were morphometrically assessed (in cm) within the first 72 h of delivery using a strictly standardized protocol. The effect of the season of birth on each calf measurement was analyzed using mixed linear regression models, including the farm of origin as a random effect. Calves born in spring had a longer diagonal length (69.7 ± 1.24; P = 0.05) than those born in autumn (66.9 ± 1.16). The tibial length of calves born in spring (35.8 ± 0.48) was longer (P < 0.02) than of those born in autumn (33.1 ± 0.57) or summer (34.1 ± 0.49). Calves born in autumn have a shorter head diameter (12.9 ± 0.23; P < 0.02) than those born in summer (12.6 ± 0.29) or winter (13.5 ± 0.22). For all other parameters, no differences were found (P > 0.08). Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that the birth season influences the morphometrics of neonatal BB calves, with a tendency for spring to be associated with the largest body size. The latter is important to avoid dystocia when BB cattle are crossed with other breeds.

Highlights

Dystocia is a well-known problem since it increases the incidence of neonatal calf death (Bleul, 2011; Barrier et al 2013) and hereby compromises the income of the farmer (Hohnholz et al 2019)
We investigated the impact of calving seasons on body measurements of neonatal Belgian Blue (BB) calves
Calves that were born in spring had a longer (P = 0.05) diagonal length (69.7 ± 1.24 cm) than those delivered in fall (66.9 ± 1.16 cm)

Summary

Introduction

Dystocia is a well-known problem since it increases the incidence of neonatal calf death (Bleul, 2011; Barrier et al 2013) and hereby compromises the income of the farmer (Hohnholz et al 2019). Multiple factors such as breed, genetic potential of bulls and dams, sex of the calf, the degree of inbreeding and/or genetic disorder, are all known to be associated with the weight and size of a newborn calf, while some authors highlighted the effect of environmental factors likethe effect of season to be associated with neonatal calves morphometrics (Koçak et al 2007).

Results

Conclusion