REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMAN SIMENTAL COWS UNDER TROPICAL ENVIRONMENT
Jaswandi(a), M.Mundana(a), T Afriani(a), Ediset(b) and H Suhada(c)
(a) Biotechnology Laboratory of Animal Husbandry Faculty of Andalas University
(b) Departemen Social Economy and Farm Extention of Animal Husbandry Faculty of Andalas University
(c) Animal Breeding Center
Abstract
Simmental cattle are superior cows from subtropics imported to Indonesia to improve genetic quality. The purpose of this study was to determine the performance of Simmental cows in tropical environments, especially Indonesia. This study used 35 Simmental cattle which had complete recording and were maintained at Animal Breeding Research Center in Padang Mengatas. Selected Simmental cows were 4-6 years old and have normal reproduction. The data observed included the age of first mating, the length of first pregnancy, the age of first calving, the service period and calving interval. Data are presented descriptively and expressed in term of mean and standard deviation. The results showed that the age of first mating, the length of first pregnancy, the age of first calving, the service period and calving interval were 526.8 ± 99.84, 280.68 ± 8.18, 825.48 ± 99.64, 182.82 ± 84.29, 279.88 ± 13.40 and 462.71 ± 97.69, respectively. The average birth weight of a calf is 31.39 ± 4.9 with the male and female ratio are 48.57: 51.42. It is concluded that the performance of Simmental cow is not optimal which can be seen from a length of calving interval
Keywords: reproductive, simmental cow, tropical environment
Topic: General animal production and husbandries (ruminants and non-ruminants)