Reproductive performance of Kedah-Kelantan crossbred cattle

J. A. Johari, M. O. Ariff and S. Adnan

Abstract

Data from a beef cattle crossbreeding project conducted at MARDI Livestock Research Centre, Kluang, Johor, from 1986 to 1990, were used in an analysis for age at first calving, calving interval and calving rate of Kedah-Kelantan (KK) and KK crossbred cows. The ages at first calving were 37.4 ± 1.04, 33.7 ± 1.70, 32.2 ± 1.09 and 37.5 ± 0.85 months for KK, Hereford-KK (HK), Friesian-KK (FK) and Brahman-KK (BK) heifers respectively. Age at first calving was younger (p <0.01) in the HK and FK than KK and BK heifers. The mean calving intervals of KK, HK, FK and BK cows were 12.6 ± 0.10, 11.9 ± 0.11, 12.2 ± 0.14 and 12.4 ± 0.14 months respectively. The calving rates of KK and KK crossbred cows ranged from 92.4% to 97.2%. The KK crossbred cows had higher (p <0.05) calving rate than the straightbred KK cows. Studies on the postpartum reproductive performance in 80 KK and crossbred cows showed that the mean intervals from calving to first breeding were 73.9 ± 6.06, 51.3 ± 7.61, 48.1 ± 5.98 and 54.4 ± 8.30 days, and from calving to conception were 83.4 ± 6.49, 59.7 ± 8.41, 61.3 ± 5.99 and 61.3 ± 8.4 days for KK, HK, FK and BK cows respectively. KK cows had a longer (p <0.05) calving to conception interval compared with crossbred cows. This study shows that the KK crossbreds are suitable breedtypes for commercial beef production in Malaysia.

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