Click on image to go to Author Website

Thursday 27 March 2014

The Beef Cattle Genetics And Their Rearing

By Linda Cantrell


This practice involves the use of genetic superior breed of cattle to act as parents for the next generations to come. Profitability is the main driving force under beef cattle genetics as the farmers seek to produce better quality cattle to fetch them more money in the market. It determines the farmer ability to reach a certain set production target. Some of the examples include the Angus and Hereford.

The use of genetics to improve production is what has resulted to the existence of the Belgian Blue bull which is full of muscles and excess meat. This bull is said to have 40% additional muscles and they gain weight amazingly fast. It is an advantage to the farmers since they will fetch a lot from the market once the meat is sold.

There is however demerits to this process because it leads to the calves developing very large tongues and this may be detrimental to them. Also, due to their very large size, parturition becomes very painful hence the species have to undergo caesarian section which at time wounds the cow preventing them of bearing more calves.

Another method of improving production is by the use of Artificial Insemination (AI). Frozen semen is what is used in this case. The process involves the insertion of frozen semen into the reproductive tract of a cow. Creation of uniformity is the main advantage of this process as the calves are usually of the same age and their genetic make-up is the same. In the market, the species that possess this trait fetch a higher price.

Hybridization is another form of genetic engineering. This is also referred to as selective breeding. It is done by crossing of two breeds that have different but desirable traits or genes to produce what is known as a hybrid offspring that has both of the traits in it. The result the production of bulls for meat which has high quality beef which is a benefit to farmers.

A group of offspring that are genetically similar can be produced from the cells of a particular organism and this is what is called cloning. This results to their production have desired qualities and this is an overall advantage to the farmers who are in love with rearing of cattle especially this particular species.

Its disadvantages are that the resultant offspring always appear weak, oversize, fall sick frequently and they may end up dead. Due to this factors there are a group of farmers who do not encourage the use of genetic modification to improve production as they see it as tempering with their genes and natural formation.

In summary, economic profit is the main reason behind the use of genetic modification to improve production of this species. The rate of these animals falling sick is also greatly reduced. In the world of today, many people are now able to afford bulls hence the demand is going up. Genetic modification is seen to be the answer to meet these demands. However, processes that have negative consequences to the animals are better avoided.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment