Hair length of Nelore, Holstein and Brown Swiss cows in three seasons

Authors

  • Cecília José Veríssimo Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento do Estado de São Paulo, Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios, Instituto de Zootecnia, Centro de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento em Zootecnia Diversificada, Nova Odessa, SP
  • Ivani Pozar Otsuk Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento do Estado de São Paulo, Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios, Instituto de Zootecnia, Centro de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento em Genética e Reprodução Animal, Nova Odessa, SP
  • Juliana R. P. Arcaro Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento do Estado de São Paulo, Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios, Instituto de Zootecnia, Centro Avançado de Pesquisa Tecnológica do Agronegócio de Bovinos de Leite, Nova Odessa, SP
  • Evaldo Antonio Lencioni Titto Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos, Departamento de Zootecnia, Laboratório de Biometeorologia e Etologia, Pirassununga, SP

Keywords:

hair length, seasons, european cattle, zebu cattle

Abstract

Nelore, Holstein and Brown Swiss cows were evaluated in relation to their hair length in three seasons of the year 2000: summer, winter and spring, with the objective to verify if Nelore cows has longer hairs in the winter like the European cows. Two hair samples were taken from scapular region in each season with pliers, specially adapted for this purpose. Afterwards, the 20 longest hair were measured and the mean analysed. The analysis was a complete randomized design in a factorial model (3 breeds and 3 seasons). The hair length means of Nelore, Holstein and Brown Swiss cows were, respectively, in summer: 4.48mm, 9.47mm and 10.14mm; in winter: 7.68mm, 14.43mm and 13.20mm; and in spring: 7.69mm, 8.83mm and 10.48mm. The hair length of Nelore cows was shorter (P<0.05) in all seasons, but it did not differ from that the Holsteins in spring. All the cows had longer hairs in winter (P<0.05). In this season, the Holsteins’ hairs were the longest. The hair of the Brown Swiss cows was the longest (P<0.05) in summer and spring; nevertheless it was always similar to the Holsteins’ hair. In spring (November 20th), the Nelore cows did not make the summer shedding yet, on contrary of the Holstein and Brown-Swiss cows (sampled in December 04th).

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Published

2013-11-25

Issue

Section

ETOLOGY AND AMBIENCE

How to Cite

Hair length of Nelore, Holstein and Brown Swiss cows in three seasons. (2013). Bulletin of Animal Husbandry, 63(4), 193-198. http://bia.iz.sp.gov.br/index.php/bia/article/view/1256

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 3 4 5 6 > >>