Study of the temperament of bos indicus calves on weaning / Estudo do temperamento de bezerros Bos indicus na desmama

ABSTRACT

Ones of the largest commercial cattle herd in the world, Brazil has its cattle characterized by the use of an extensive system and the predominance of zebu breeds, especially the Nelore and its crosses. In this system the temperament of cattle becomes a problem because of the low human-animal interaction, and bad-tempered animals can cause accidents, increase maintenance costs of facilities and provide poorer quality of the carcass, meat and leather. The aim of this study was to evaluate the temperament of 24 calves Nellore and Guzerath purebreds , with a mean of 235.81 ± 39.95 days of age after submitted into two treatments during the breeding season of the cows. The treatments were T1 - calves submitted to the management of permanent feeding (PF) and T2 - calves submitted to the management of controlled feeding (CF). Ninety days after the beginning of the breeding season, the CF was interrupted and the calves stayed with their mothers until weaning. The temperament of calves was evaluated in the weaning management through the following methods: escape velocity in meters/second (EV), reactivity test in the contention trunk (RT), crush score (CS) and escape distance (ED). The EV was obtained with the use of the equipment "flight speed" placed in the exit of the trunk contention. The animals with higher velocity were considered the worst temperament. The CS, on a scale of 1 to

RESUMO

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