Abstract

AULAR, Ana K  and  MARTINEZ, Gonzalo E. Cattle Mortality from Birth to Twelve Months of Age in Two Dual Purpose Herds of Trujillo State. Rev. Fac. Cienc. Vet. [online]. 2015, vol.56, n.1, pp.017-026. ISSN 0258-6576.

The effect of non-genetic factors and breed group on mortality between 0 and 12 months of age was evaluated in dual purpose cattle. A total of 18755 calving, from two farms in the State of Trujillo, Venezuela, were studied. Data were analyzed by a generalized nonlinear model using the GENMOD (SAS) procedure that included: Farm (F: 1, 2), year of birth (Yb: 1997, ..., 2010), month of birth (Mb: January, ...,December), sex (Sx: male, female), calving number of the cow (Cn: 1,...,9 or more), breed group of the calf (Bg: 50EU50CB, 50HO50CB, 50PS50CB, >CEBUE, >EIND, ML), and birth weight in kg (Bw: ≤ 26,4; 26,5 to 33,4; ≥33,5 kg). Mortality was 8.93%. The F was the only factor that did not affect mortality (P> 0.13). The greatest difference between Yb was 318.27% more deaths in 2006 than in 1998. The absolute difference in mortality between the best month (March) and the worst month (October) was 48.96%. Female died less than male, with a difference of 14.13%. Mortality in first calving cows was 10.05%, which decreased for 2 to 5 calving cows (7.91% on average) with an increased mortality of 6 to 9 or more calving cows (8.89%). Calves with Bw ≤26.4 kg had a higher mortality than those with Bw between 26.5 and 33.4 kg and those who had >33.5 kg Bw, with 10.58, 8.89, and 6.61%, respectively. However, the Bw behavior may vary depending on the Yb, due to the presence of the YB*Bw interaction. The Bg with lower mortality were 50HO50CB and 50PS50CB, with 8.31 and 7.69%, respectively. It is concluded that non-environmental factors and Bg had a significant impact on mortality of calves between birth and 12 months old.

Keywords : Mortality; farms; Survival; calves; multipurpose breeds; parturition; Non-genetic factors.

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