Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Georg August University, Albrecht Thaer Weg 3, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.
J Anim Sci. 2010 Jun;88(6):1982-9. doi: 10.2527/jas.2008-1557. Epub 2010 Feb 12.
A total of 3,050 German Angus (Aberdeen Angus x German dual-purpose breeds), Charolais, Hereford, Limousin, and German Simmental calves were used to examine temperament traits of beef cattle using 2 different test procedures. The chute test and the flight-speed test have been validated in terms of routine on-farm applicability. Behavior tests were performed in 2006 and 2007 on 24 commercial beef cattle farms located in the northern and eastern part of Germany. A single, trained observer assigned subjective scores to characterize the behavior of each animal during restraint in the head gate (calm, restless shifting, squirming, vigorous movement, violent struggling) and when leaving the chute (walk, trot, run, jumping out of the chute). Breed was a significant source of variation in chute scores and flight-speed scores (P < 0.001). Charolais and Limousin cattle had the greatest scores in both traits, whereas Herefords had the least (P < 0.001) chute scores. German Angus and Hereford calves had the least (P < 0.001) flight-speeds, indicating that these breeds have a more favorable temperament. Temperament scores differed significantly between male and female calves (P < 0.01), with females scoring better for both traits. Average daily BW gains of the calves were significantly influenced by effects of breed (P < 0.001) and sex (P < 0.001) of the calves. Heritabilities were estimated for chute- and flight-speed scores of beef cattle. They were least for chute score and flight-speed score of Limousin cattle with values of 0.11. In contrast, greatest heritabilities were 0.33 for chute score and 0.36 for flight-speed score of Hereford cattle. Genetic correlations were estimated among both temperament traits, with values between 0.57 and 0.98. Chute scores and visual flight-speed scores were negatively correlated with daily BW gain of the calves in most breeds. The results presented in this paper indicate that on-farm evaluation of beef cattle temperament is possible, either using the chute test or the flight-speed test. Genetic selection seems to be promising to improve temperament traits of beef cattle without decreasing production traits like ADG of the calves.
共有 3050 头德系安格斯牛（阿伯丁安格斯牛与德系肉乳兼用牛杂交后代）、夏洛莱牛、海福特牛、利木赞牛和德系西门塔尔牛犊牛用于通过 2 种不同的测试程序来检验肉牛的气质特征。 chute test（ chute 测试）和 flight-speed test（飞行速度测试）已在常规农场适用性方面得到验证。2006 年和 2007 年，在德国北部和东部的 24 个商业肉牛养殖场进行了行为测试。一名经过训练的单一观察员对每只动物在头部闸门约束时的行为（冷静、不安的移动、蠕动、剧烈运动、剧烈挣扎）和离开 chute（步行、小跑、奔跑、跳出 chute）时进行主观评分，以表征其行为。品种是 chute 评分和飞行速度评分的重要变异来源（P < 0.001）。夏洛莱牛和利木赞牛在这两个性状上的评分最高，而海福特牛的评分最低（P < 0.001）。德系安格斯和海福特牛犊的飞行速度最低（P < 0.001），表明这些品种的气质更有利。雄性和雌性犊牛的气质评分差异显著（P < 0.01），雌性在这两个性状上的评分都更好。犊牛的平均日增重受到品种（P < 0.001）和性别（P < 0.001）的影响。 chute 和飞行速度的遗传力估计值最低为利木赞牛的 chute 评分和飞行速度评分，为 0.11。相比之下，海福特牛的 chute 评分和飞行速度评分的遗传力最高，分别为 0.33 和 0.36。两种气质性状之间的遗传相关性估计值在 0.57 到 0.98 之间。在大多数品种中，chute 评分和视觉飞行速度评分与犊牛的日增重呈负相关。本文介绍的结果表明，无论是使用 chute 测试还是飞行速度测试，都可以在农场对肉牛的气质进行评估。遗传选择似乎有望改善肉牛的气质特征，而不会降低犊牛的生产特征，如日增重。
