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Table 3 Means (SD) for beef × beef (B×B) and beef × dairy (B×D) cow weight, body condition score (BCS), docility score and calving difficulty score, and calf birth weight and calf vigour for the artificially-fed calves collected post-partum in experiment 2

From: Effect of suckler cow breed type and parity on the development of the cow-calf bond post-partum and calf passive immunity

 

Beef × Beef cows

Beef × Dairy cows

Cow weight (kg)

542 (61.1)

547 (90.7)

Cow BCS (0–5)1

2.6 (0.18)

2.6 (0.18)

Cow docility score (1–5)2

1.3 (0.65)

1.1 (0.71)

Calving difficulty score (1–5)3

1.6 (0.93)

2.1 (1.19)

Calf birthweight (kg)

41.9 (6.02)

42.8 (7.21)

Calf vigour (1–5)4

4.2 (1.26)

4.5 (0.84)

  1. 1Cow BCS scale; 0–5 (0 = emaciated and 5 = very fat)
  2. 2Cow docility scale; 1–5; (1 = excellent and 5 = very aggressive)
  3. 3Calving difficulty score scale 1–5; (1 = no assistance; 2 = minor handling (‘checking’); 3 = minor assistance; 4 = mechanical assistance (calving jack) and 5 = caesarean section, the highest score was assigned to deliveries requiring veterinary assistance)
  4. 4Calf vigour scale; (1 = poor, 2 = very lazy, 3 = lazy, 4 = vigorous, and 5 = excellent/very vigorous)
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Irish Veterinary Journal

ISSN: 2046-0481