Stayability in Simmental cattle as affected by muscularity and body condition score between calvings

The present study aimed to investigate the association between stayability (STAY) traits, muscularity, and body condition score (BCS) in the Italian Simmental dual-purpose cows. Data were collected from 2,656 cows linearly scored in their first lactation from 2002 to 2020 and reared in 324 herds. The binary trait STAY, which is the ability of a cow to stay in the herd, was obtained for each cow-lactation available up to parity 5 (from STAY1-2 to STAY4-5). Analysis of STAY was carried out using logistic regression, considering the fixed effect of energy corrected milk, conception rate, somatic cell score, and muscularity or BCS predicted at different time points. The herd of linear classification and residual error were the random effects. Primiparous cows with a medium BCS and muscularity in early lactation presented a more favorable STAY across life compared to thinner ones (P < 0.05). In fact, cows with an intermediate BCS/muscularity were more likely to stay in the herd after the third lactation (STAY3-4), compared to those presenting a lower BCS/muscularity (P < 0.01). However, cows whose muscularity was high were generally less likely to start the third lactation compared to the others. A potential explanation for this could be the willing to market cows with good conformation for meat purpose. Simmental is in fact a dual-purpose breed known for the good carcass yield and meat quality. This study demonstrates how muscularity and BCS available early in life can be associated with the ability of Simmental cows to stay in the herd.

Automated summary

The present study aimed to investigate the association between stayability traits, muscularity, and body condition score (BCS) in Italian Simmental dual-purpose cows. The results showed that cows with a medium BCS and muscularity in early lactation had a higher likelihood of staying in the herd compared to thinner ones. However, cows with high muscularity were less likely to start the third lactation, indicating a potential preference for market cows with good conformation for meat purpose. This study highlights the importance of muscularity and BCS early in life for the stayability of Simmental cows.