The aim of this dissertation lies in analysing the calf growth of a selected herd of meat-type cattle raised in a foothills landscape. The period of investigation lasted 5 years (2002 {--} 2006). The data obtained for the breeds Charolais and the meat-type Siemental cattle are presented in dependence on the breed, convenience of birth, mother´s height in the cross, calving month and the serial number of the birth. The study covers 795 Charolais calves and 450 calves of meat-type Siemental breed. In the time interval mentioned above, the Charolais breed gave 400 bulls and 395 heifers, the corresponding numbers for the meat-type Siemental breed are 226 bulls and 224 heifers. Considered from the viewpoint of breed influence on to the calf rate of growth, the investigation has revealed no statistically significant effect. A statistically significant effect has been revealed only for heifers 120 days old, the live weight of the meat-type Siemental heifers being higher (162,71 kg) than that for the Charolais heifers (158,14 kg). The differences in the live weight amount to 4,47 kg. Statistically, this diference is probably significant, the significance level p = 0,05. Furthermore, the work has studied the effect of calf sex onto the rate of growth in both calf categories mentioned above. The live weight of the meat-type calves show a statistically highly significant difference (p {>} 0,001) for the bulls and heifers at the age of 120, 210 and 365 days. At the age of 120 days, the live weight of bulls is by 14,31 kg higher compared with that of heifers, at the age of 210 days the difference amounts to 25,65 kg and at 365 days 116,29 kg. Similar differences between bulls and heifers are statistically highly significant also for Charolais calves. At the age of 120 days the bulls are heavier than heifers by 18,45 kg, at 210 days by 29,16 kg and at the age of 365 days this difference amounts to 115,59 kg. The study covers also the investigation of the effect of mother´s cross height on to the rate of calf growth. Considered statistically, no such effect has been revealed for calves 120, 210 and 365 days old. The investigation of the effect of the calving month has brought us to a conclusion that the heaviest calves are born in March and April, with the differences in individual months ranging on significance levels p {>} 0,001, p {>} 0,01 and p = 0,05. In both breeds we have also investigated the effect of the serial number of the birth on to the live weight. For the Charolais breed, the highest weight has been found for calves with serial number 3, 4 and 5. For the calves of the meat-type Siemental breed it has been found that the calves born as the second one reach the highest weight at the age of 120, 210 and 365 days,the results obtained being statistically highly significant (p {>} 0,001) and probably significant (p = 0,05).
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:nusl.cz/oai:invenio.nusl.cz:44864 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | ZATLOUKAL, Jan |
| Source Sets | Czech ETDs |
| Language | Czech |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/masterThesis |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
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