Annals of Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW. Animal ...

Annals 

of Warsaw 

University 

of Life 

Sciences 

– SGGW 

Animal Science No 47 

Warsaw 2010 

Contents 

CZUB G., NIŻNIKOWSKI R., MORALES 

VILLAVICENCIO A. Influence of age and 

sex on body conformation of alpacas bred in 

Poland 5 

FISZDON K., GÓRAL K., NAROJEK J. 

Occurrence of behavioural disorders in domestic 

cats 11 

GAJEWSKA J., MICHALCZUK M., ŁUKA- 

SIEWICZ M., WILCZYŃSKA-CZYŻ K., 

NIEMIEC J. Influence of Aminokarnifarm 

preparate on composition of intestinal microflora 

of chicken broilers 25 

GRODZKI H., PRZYSUCHA T., SLÓSARZ 

J. The influence of commercial crossbreeding 

of dairy cows with bulls of French breeds 

(Blonde d’Aquitaine, Charolaise, Limousine) 

on calving course 31 

GRUSZCZYŃSKA J., ŁUKASIEWICZ M. 

Microsatellite polymorphism in the study of 

genetic diversity of an experimental flock of 

Ayam Cemani breed 39 

KALETA T., SZYMAŃSKA A. Confiscation 

of live exotic animals in Poland by custom 

service during 1998–2008 period in accordance 

with EU law and CITES 45 

ŁUKASIEWICZ-ŚMIETAŃSKA D., WIRTH- 

-DZIĘCIOŁOWSKA E., GAJEWSKA M. 

Identification of quantitative trait loci for 

body composition in two growth-differentiated 

mouse lines 57

MORALES VILLAVICENCIO A., NIŻ- 

NIKOWSKI R., PIETRZYKOWSKI P., 

WIERZBICKI M. Fibre characteristics of 

Huacaya alpaca bred at the age of 1 year 

65 

MORALES VILLAVICENCIO A., NIŻNI- 

KOWSKI R., PIETRZYKOWSKI P. Estimated 

share of veil part in Huacaya alpaca 

fleece 71 

NAŁĘCZ-TARWACKA T., STACHELSKI 

P., GRODZKI H., KUCZYŃSKA B. Fat 

fraction components’ content in milk of 

Polish Red cows 79 

NAŁĘCZ-TARWACKA T., PALIŃSKA K., 

GRODZKI H. Multiple pregnancies in cattle 

and the frequency of their occurrence 87 

NAŁĘCZ-TARWACKA T., PALIŃSKA K., 

GRODZKI H. Effect of multiple pregnancies 

on cow milk production and reproduction 

indices 93 

NIŻNIKOWSKI R., OPRZĄDEK A., 

STRZELEC E., POPIELARCZYK D., 

GŁOWACZ K., KUCZYŃSKA B. Effect of 

crossbreeding of Polish Merino ewes with 

rams of German Mutton Merino on growth 

rate and slaughter value of their offspring 

101 


STRZELEC E., POPIELARCZYK D., GŁO- 

WACZ K. Analysis of reproduction performance 

in flocks of Polish Merino sheep bred 

in five companies of the Polish Agricultural 

Property Agency 119 


STRZELEC E., POPIELARCZYK D., 

GŁOWACZ K., KUCZYŃSKA B. Effect of 

sex on slaughter value of lambs of Berrichon 

du Cher bred in Poland 127 

NIŻNIKOWSKI R., OPRZĄDEK A., STRZE- 

LEC E., POPIELARCZYK D., GŁOWACZ K. 

Level of reproduction performance and body 

conformation of Berrichon du Cher sheep 

bred in Poland 135 



WACZ K. Comparison of reproduction level 

and body conformation of Suffolk and Charollais 

sheep bred in Poland 143 



WACZ K., KUCZYŃSKA B. Effect of rams 

of meat sheep breeds used in crossing schemes 

with Polish Merino ewes on slaughter 

value and meat quality of lambs 149 

NIŻNIKOWSKI R., STRZELEC E., GŁO- 

WACZ K., POPIELARCZYK D., KUCZYŃ- 

SKA B. Quality assessment of sheep and goat 

carcasses designed for national market 161 

NIŻNIKOWSKI R., STRZELEC E., POPIE- 

LARCZYK D., GŁOWACZ K., LITYŃSKI 

R., ROZBICKA-WIECZOREK A. Level of 

milk performance of sheep and goat suckled 

by their offspring bred under the conditions 

of alternative production systems 177 

SLÓSARZ J., PRZYSUCHA T., GRODZKI 

H., MAJCHRZAK B. The influence of selected 

factors on Limousine and Charolaise beef 

calves vitality 185 


H. Influence of cow body weight and condition 

score before calving on calving course 

of Charolaise cows 193 


H. The influence of chosen factors on calving 

course in commercial crossing of black and 

white cows with blonde d’aquitaine bulls 

199 

STERNICKI T., GÓRAL K., OLECH W., 

SZWACZKOWSKI T. The level of inbreeding 

in three subspecies of leopard (Panthera 

pardus) 205 

WOJCIECHOWSKA I., JASIŃSKI Z., KU- 

BICA I. The influence of different oxygen 

and nitrogen concentrations on the speed of 

waking up after CO 2 anesthesia and on the 

time of starting egg-laying by the artificially 

inseminated queen bees 213

In 2007 journal Annals of Warsaw Agricultural University – Animal Science (ISSN 0208-5739) 

was changed to name to Annals of Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW Animal Sciences 

(ISSN – 1898-8830) 

SERIES EDITOR 

Tadeusz Kaleta 

WARSAW UNIVERSITY 

OF LIFE SCIENCES PRESS 

e-mail: wydawnictwo@sggw.pl 

EDITORIAL STAFF 

Jadwiga Rydzewska 

Zofia Orłowska 

ISSN 1898-8830 

PRINT: Agencja Reklamowo-Wydawnicza A. Grzegorczyk 

www.grzeg.com.pl

Annals of Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW 

Animal Science No 47, 2010: 5–9 

(Ann. Warsaw Univ. of Life Sci. – SGGW, Anim. Sci. 47, 2010) 

Influence of age and sex on body conformation of alpacas bred 

in Poland 

GRZEGORZ CZUB, ROMAN NIŻNIKOWSKI, 

ANNA MORALES VILLAVICENCIO 

Division of Sheep and Goat Breeding, Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW 

Abstract: Infl uence of age and sex on body conformation 

of alpacas bred in Poland. In present 

work the attempt preliminary characteristic of 

alpaca build from the national farm on basis selected 

zoometrics measurements was undertaken. 

On each of 49 animals the following measurements 

were taken: height, body length, spread and depth 

of chest, chest round, spread and length of head, 

length and round of foreshank. Compound measurements 

were analysed due to the two factors: age 

and sex. The age statistically affected only depth 

of chest. Only the value of foreshank and width 

measurements of the head did not showed dependence 

either on age and sex. 

Key words: alpaca, zoometric measurements, body 

conformation, age, sex. 

INTRODUCTION 

Llamas and alpacas are animals extensively 

used in South America. Except of 

the South American continent they are 

bred all around the world and the main 

product gaining from them is a fiber 

(Morales Villavicencio, Niżniowski, 

2006). Llamas’ and alpacas’ fibre is 

a very valuable material of small-diameter 

fibers and the excellent warm-protecting 

properties (Morales Villavicencio, Radzik- 

-Rant, 2005). 

In Poland the alpacas breeding had started 

in 2004. This exotic animals perfectly 

settled on Polish country side. They have 

exceptionally low environmental requirements 

– they well adjust to different climatical 

zones, they do not require massive, 

expensive farm buildings. Moreover, feeding 

alpacas is also not expensive (Morales 

Villavicencio, Niżnikowski, 2008). 

With regard to the developing population 

of alpacas in Poland the attention 

should be turned to the correct breeding 

work. One element of this activities is 

judging the body build, which could give 

information about adaptive reaction of 

alpacas to the conditions of production 

environment. The results of zoometrical 

measurements are the first in Poland. 

MATERIAL AND METHODS 

The live body measurements were taken 

at the alpacas farm located near Ciechanowiec, 

in the village Bujenka distant 

140 kilometers from Warsaw. The measurements 

were collected from the group of 

49 animals – 23 females and 26 males. 

Animals were divided for three age groups 

– one and a half of years, three years and 

at the age more than three years. 

The nine zoometric measurements 

were done on each animal: height, body 

length, spread and depth of chest, chest 

round, spreadand length of head, length

6 G. Czub, R. Niżnikowski, A. Morales Villavicencio 

and round foreshank. Head, foreshank 

and chest round were measured with tape- 

-measure, the other measurements were 

taken with zoometric staff. The locations 

of measurements were shown in Figure 1. 

The statistical calculation have been 

done using the SPSS v12.0 (SPSS 2004) 

as a model: y ijk = μ + a i + b j +e ijk ; where: 

y ijk – investigated traits; μ – mean; a i – 

effect of age of alpacas (i = 1.5 years, 

3 years, > 3 years); b j – effect of sex of 

alpacas (j = females, males); e ijk – error. 

In case of the differences within the 

factor levels, the student test was applied 

(Ruszczyc, 1981). The results were summarized 

in the tables. 

RESULT AND DISCUSSION 

Table 1 presented the effects of age and 

sex on the body measurements in alpacas. 

Only length and round of foreshank as 

well as spread of head were not affected 

by both factors. Moreover the average 

measurements and standard deviation 

for the whole group of judging animals 

were shown in Table 1. 

The effect of age on the studied traits 

was presented in Table 2. It showed that 

the age had an influence for 6 measurements 

from 9 (height in withers, spread 

and depth of chest, body length, head 

length and round of chest). The measurements 

of chest (spread, depth and round) 

turned out expressed higher values in three 

years old animals than in one and a half 

years. The height in wither was statistically 

higher in three years old alpacas. 

It is effect of natural animals growth and 

increasing body dimensions. 

The second factor taken into account 

was sex of alpacas. In Table 3 was shown 

the effect of sex on live body measurements 

in alpacas. The results showed that a sex 

FIGURE 1. Places of the body measurements on alpacas: A – height in withers, B – body length, 

C – depth of chest, D – spread of chest, E – round of chest, F – length of head, G – spread of head, 

H – length of foreshank, I – round of foreshank

Infl uence of age and sex on body conformation... 7 

TABLE 1. Effects of chosen factors on live body measurements in alpacas (n = 49) 

Traits (cm) 

Effect of 

age 

sex 

X 

SE 

Height in withers X NS 81.06 1.38 

Depth of chest XX NS 34.42 0.54 

Spread of chest XX X 23.31 0.72 

Body length XX NS 78.68 1.27 

Spread of head NS NS 10.16 0.26 

Length of head XX NS 27.77 0.44 

Length of foreshank NS NS 18.20 0.39 

Round of foreshank NS NS 11.22 0.30 

Round of chest XX NS 95.67 2.47 

Statistical significance at: X – P ≤ 0.05, XX – P ≤ 0.01, NS – non significant 

TABLE .Effect of ae on the live body measurements in alpacas 

Age (years) 

Traits (cm) 

1.5 3 > 3 

n 

15 31 3 

LSM 76.18 81.38 85.62 

Height in withers 

SE 1.75 1.21 3.64 

* b c a a 

LSM 31.48 35.99 35.80 

Depth of chest 

SE 0.68 0.47 1.41 

* B c a A 

LSM 22.08 25.43 22.43 

Spread of chest 

SE 0.92 0.64 1.90 

* B A 

LSM 74.41 83.42 78.22 

Body length 

SE 1.60 1.11 3.33 

* B A 

Spread of head 

LSM 9.96 10.41 10.12 

SE 0.33 0.23 0.69 

LSM 26.73 28.99 27.59 

Length of head 

SE 0.56 0.39 1.16 

* B A 

Length of foreshank 

LSM 17.95 19.08 17.58 

SE 0.50 0.34 1.03 

Round of foreshank 

LSM 10.64 11.02 12.00 

SE 0.38 0.26 0.78 

LSM 87.12 102.58 97.32 

Round of chest 

SE 3.13 2.17 6.49 

* B A 

* – statistical significance at: a,b,c – P ≤ 0.05; A,B,C – P ≤ 0.01

8 G. Czub, R. Niżnikowski, A. Morales Villavicencio 

TABLE 3. Effect of sex on the live body measurements 

in alpacas 

Sex 

Traits (cm) 

female male 

n 23 26 

Height LSM 79.81 83.32 

in withers SE 1.75 1.53 

Depth LSM 34.85 34.00 

of chest SE 0.68 0.59 

Spread LSM 24.43 x 22.20 


Body length 

LSM 77.92 79.44 

SE 1.60 1.40 

Spread LSM 10.35 9.98 

of head SE 0.33 0.29 

Length LSM 27.99 27.54 

of head SE 0.56 0.49 

Length LSM 17.84 18.57 

of foreshank SE 0.50 0.43 

Round LSM 10.88 11.56 

of foreshank SE 0.38 0.33 

Round LSM 96.35 94.99 


Statistical significance at: X – P ≤ 0.05 

significantly affected only the spread 

of chest. The average spread of chest in 

females was slightly higher than in males. 

The zoometric measurements on live 

animals is the one of many ways of 

monitoring the population. To carry out 

similar measurements in other countries 

and in different environmental conditions 

would be a good scientific perspective 

and obtaining such data would allow 

to characterize the general morphology 

of alpacas. The overall condition of the 

animal and the body conformation show 

individual adaptation to the environment. 

Measurements on live animals kept in 

different climatic zones and comparing 

the values of such measurements could 

help to determine the adaptation level of 

alpacas to different climatic conditions, 

which requires detailed researches in this 

field. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The results allowed to conclude: Based 

on the analysis of measurements were: 

1. Most of the investigated traits were 

affected by the age of animals. Sex 

affected only the spread of chest. 

2. Age and sex of alpacas did not affected 

the length and round of foreshank 

and the spread of the head. 

3. Analogous live body measurements 

would be beneficial to perform on 

other alpacas’ populations kept under 

different geographical areas. Then, 

the comparison of the Polish alpacas 

to the others is planned under future 

experiments. 

REFERENCES 

MORALES VILLAVICENCIO A., RADZIK- 

RANT A., 2005: Characteristics of selected 

parameters of hair from Llamas (Lama glama) 

kept at Warsaw ZOO. Annals of Warsaw Agricultural 

University, Animal Science, 43: 

35–39. 

MORALES VILLAVICENCIO A., NIŻNIKOW- 

SKI R., 2006: Populacja wielbłądowatych południowoamerykańskich 

na świecie. Przegląd 

Hodowlany, 6: 16–19. 


SKI R., 2008: Lamy i alpaki alternatywą w produkcji 

zwierzęcej. Wieś Jutra, 11: 29–31. 

RUSZCZYC Z., 1981. Metodyka doświadczeń 

zootechnicznych. PWRiL, Warszawa. 

SPSS – Statistical Product and Service Solutions: 

Base version 12.0 for Windows, inc. USA, 

2004. 

Streszczenie: Wpływ wieku i płci na budowę 

ciała alpak utrzymywanych w Polsce. Alpaki 

są zwierzętami wszechstronnie użytkowany-

Infl uence of age and sex on body conformation... 9 

mi w krajach Ameryki Południowej. Głównym 

produktem pozyskiwanym od tych zwierząt jest 

jednak włókno, dla którego alpaki utrzymywane 

są na całym świecie. Hodowlę alpak rozpoczęto 

w Polsce w 2004 roku. Alpaki świetnie przystosowały 

się do krajowych warunków klimatycznych. 

Pogłowie tych zwierząt nie jest obecnie duże (ok. 

500–600 szt.), ale ich liczba stale się powiększa. 

Mając na uwadze ten fakt należy zwiększać wysiłki 

związane z prowadzeniem pracy hodowlanej. 

Jednym z jej elementów jest kontrolowanie 

rozwoju zwierząt i ocena budowy ciała. W związku 

z brakiem podobnych badań w naszym kraju, 

podjęto próbę wstępnej charakterystyki budowy 

alpaki z hodowli krajowej na podstawie wybranych 

pomiarów zoometrycznych. 

Na każdym z 49 zwierząt wykonano następujące 

pomiary: wysokość w kłębie, skośna długość 

tułowia, szerokość i głębokość klatki piersiowej, 

obwód klatki piersiowej, szerokość i długość głowy, 

długość i obwód nadpęcia. Badano związek wartości 

pomiarów z 2 czynnikami: płcią i wiekiem. 

Stwierdzono zależność wymiarów ciała alpaki od 

wieku zwierzęcia. Czynnik płci wpłynął jedynie na 

szerokość klatki piersiowej. Jedynie wartości pomiarów 

nadpęcia i szerokości głowy nie wykazały 

zależności zarówno od wieku jak i płci. 

MS. received July 2010 

Authors’ address: 

Katedra Szczegółowej Hodowli Zwierząt SGGW 

Zakład Hodowli Owiec i Kóz 

ul. Ciszewskiego 8, 02-786 Warsaw 

Poland




Occurrence of behavioural disorders in domestic cats 

KATARZYNA FISZDON, KATARZYNA GÓRAL, JUSTYNA NAROJEK 

Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding, Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW 

Abstract: Occurrence of behavioural disorders 

in domestic cats. 269 cat owners was aimed at 

collecting information on abnormal/undesired 

behaviours of their pets. Based on this information, 

influence of sex, breed, age, origin, age at 

purchase/adoption and living conditions (number 

of cats, presence of other animals and/or children) 

on respective behaviours was studied. Results were 

analyzed with Chi 2 test and V-Kramer coefficient 

was calculated to establish level of correlations 

between different features. Abnormal/undesirable 

behaviours were reported in 73% of cats. 50% of 

them would scratch walls and furniture, and this 

behaviour was influenced by age at purchase/adoption, 

absence of other animals, and age of children 

in the family. 28.6% of cats showed urination/defecation 

in random places and this was influenced 

by age (more common in older animals), reproductive 

status (more frequent in neutered animals, 

irrespective of their sex) and presence of other 

animals. Aggression towards other cats occurred in 

20% of animals, most of them over 8 years of age 

and it was also far more common in cats allowed 

to spent at least some time outdoor. Aggression 

towards animals of other species was found in 10% 

of cats, significantly more often in females and 

cats of both sexes roaming free. Other abnormal/ 

/undesirable behaviours were: destruction (8%), 

aggression towards people (significantly more 

frequent in households with children), excessive 

grooming (2.6%) and autoaggression (1.9%). 

Key words: behavior, cat, disorders. 

INTRODUCTION 

Several behavioural abnormalities in 

domestic animals may lead to dangerous, 

or at least unpleasant consequences, both 

to animals involved and to people. They 

are also frequent reason for parting with 

the animal in question. According to 

the US studies Lofflin (2009) animals 

presenting behavioural abnormalities are 

often abandoned by their owners or end 

up in shelters and ponds, where 4 million 

cats and 2 million dogs are euthanized 

every year. There are many factors, contributing 

to behavioural abnormalities. 

As shown in the American survey on 

domestic dogs, origin and breeding, age 

at purchase/adoption time, and diseases 

during kittenhood all contribute to future 

aggression, fear and susceptibility to 

stress. 

Cats are one of the most popular 

domestic animals, both in Europe and in 

the USA. Contrary to dogs, their behaviour 

has not changed much in result of 

domestication. Domestic cats often breed 

with the feral ones, and some progeny of 

feral cats find its way into households. In 

result, some genes, determining afiliative 

behaviours and influencing socialization, 

may be lost in domestic population. In 

Poland, random bred and feral cats outnumber 

dramatically those of controlled 

breeding; moreover, the vast majority 

grow with minimal, if any contact with 

humans, and without any socialization. 

In this study frequency of abnormal 

behaviours in random population of

12 K. Fiszdon, K. Góral, J. Narojek 

domestic cats, and contributing factors 

was analyzed. 


Questionnaires were collected from the 

random group of owners of 269 cats. 

They were to answer several questions 

concerning age, origin and breed of 

animal in question, its maintenance conditions, 

as well as presence of abnormal 

behaviors. Those included defecation/ 

urination in places other than provided 

for these purposes, aggression towards 

other cats, other animals and humans, 

excessive self-grooming, autoaggressive 

and destructive behaviors. 

Group consisted of 135 toms, 91 of 

them castrated, and 134 queens, 78 of 

them spayed. They were attributed to 

three age groups: up to 2 years (57 cats), 

from 2 to 8 years (124) and over 8 years 

of age (81). In seven cases owners were 

unable to specify the age. 

The majority of cats, i.e. 209, were 

random bred, 43 pure bred (as numbers in 

any of the breeds were low, they were all 

classified in one group), 17 had one pure 

bred parent, and they were classified as 

Mix. 

143 cats were of completely unknown 

background and collected from streets, 

farms etc. (2 of them were actually 

adopted from animal shelters), 28 came 

from breeders, 15 were born and reared 

in owners homes, and 83 were born in 

homes and placed with other families. 

The influence of age at purchase/ 

/adoption time (in one case it could not 

be determined), presence of other animals 

in the household, and number of family 

members were determine. Data were 

analyzed with Chi 2 test and level of correlations 

between specific features presented 

as V-Kramer coefficient. 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

Abnormal behaviours were presented by 

197 individuals i.e. 73% of the population. 

This percentage is higher than reported 

either in Germany by Heidenberger (1997) 

(54.7%) or by Voith in USA (1981) (47%). 

The most common behaviour reported 

was scratching furniture and walls 

(Figure 1). This behaviour, although highly 

undesirable for owners, is, however, utterly 

natural, and can be easily prevented by 

providing special devices. The next most 

frequent ones were uncontrolled urina- 

Scratching of furniture and 

walls 

Urination/defecation in places 

other than provided 

Aggression towards other cats 

Aggression towards other 

animals 

Destructive behaviours 

Aggression towards humans 

Excessive self-grooming. 

Autoaggres sion 

FIGURE 1. Percentage of 

behavioural disorders

Occurrence of behavioural disorders in domestic cats 13 

tion/defecation and aggression toward 

other cats, respectively. 

Scratching of furniture and walls 

As stated earlier, scratching furniture and 

walls was reported as the most frequent 

behaviour reported – it was presented by 

140 specimens, i.e. 52%. This result is 

distinctly and significantly higher than 

reported by Heidenberger (1997) in 15.2% 

of all cats she included in her study. Such 

striking difference is difficult to explain. 

However, such factors as country (Germany) 

and time (13 years ago) should be 

probably taken into consideration. 

This behaviour was not influenced 

either by sex or by age, and in each sex 

and age group was reported in appr. 50% 

of animals. 

Contrary, age at purchase/adoption and 

presence of other animals in the household 

had significant influence upon this 

behaviour (Tab. 1). Specifically, the 

younger was the animal at that time, the 

more frequent was the presence of behavior, 

and V-Kramer coefficient was cal- 

TABLE 1. Influence of studied factors on scratching of furniture and walls 

Age at time of purchase/adoption* 

Scratching of furniture and walls 

yes % no % 

Total 

Kitten up to 2 months 85 61.2 54 38.8 139 

From 2 months up to 2 years 50 45.9 59 54.1 109 

Over 2 years 5 25.0 15 75.0 20 

Total 140 52.2 246 47.8 268 

Presence of other animals* 

Yes 73 45.6 87 54.4 160 

No 67 61.5 42 38.5 109 

Total 140 52.0 129 48.0 269 

Age of children (years)* 

0–4 4 28.6 10 71.4 14 

5–10 7 63.6 4 36.4 11 

11–13 6 37.5 10 62.5 16 

14–18 21 75.0 7 25.0 28 

Total 38 55.0 31 45.0 69 

Origin of cat 

Cattery 15 53.6 13 46.4 28 

Born and reared in current home 5 33.3 10 66.7 15 

Born in other household 50 69.2 33 39.8 83 

Adopted as strays or of unknown origin 70 48.9 73 51.1 143 

Total 140 52.0 129 48.0 269 

Number of persons in household 

Single person 15 68.2 7 31.8 22 

Couple 36 43.9 46 56.1 82 

Couple with child 25 51.0 24 49.0 49 

Couple with children 19 65.5 10 34.5 29 

Several adults 44 51.2 42 48.8 86 

Total 139 51.9 129 48.1 268 

* – P ≤ 0.05


culated at 0.213. However, current age 

does not influence the behavior. 

Scratching of walls and furniture was 

more frequent when the cat was the only 

animal in the household (Tab. 1) and 

respective V-Kramer coefficient was 

0.156. Other animals were usually cats 

(73 cases) and dogs (23 cases). It can be 

presumed that multi-animal households 

are better designed to presence of animals, 

e.g. there are more devices to satisfy 

their natural needs and instincts. 

Another factor, influencing the behavior, 

was age of children in the household 

(V = 0.395) (Tab. 1). Scratching was significantly 

more frequent in households 

with children aged 14–18 years and 5–10 

years. It was found this phenomenon difficult 

to explain. Fewest cases of scratching 

– 33.3% were reported in cats 

born, reared and kept in one home. 

Over twice as many cases were reported 

in cats born in homes and purchased/ 

/adopted by new families (69.2%), 

whereas it appeared in appr. 50% of cats 

adopted from strays. These differences 

are, however, not statistically significant, 

due to distinctly different numbers of 

cats in respective groups. 

Distinct differences in frequency of 

scratching behavior, depending on family 

size. It was highest in case of single persons, 

lowest in case of childless couples 

(Tab. 1), yet these may have been merely 

incidental. 

Other factors were not found to influence 

this behavior. 

Urination/defecation in places other 

than provided 

The second most frequent troublesome 

behaviour was urination/defecation in 

inappropriate places. Although this behaviour 

cannot be considered abnormal 

(the question remains whether it is natural 

in feline ethogram, it is nevertheless 

extremely bothersome for owners. It was 

reported in 64 cats, i.e. 23.8% of survey 

population, and also in 32.5% of all cats, 

showing any behavioural problems (Fig. 

1). Similar results were presented by 

Blackshaw (2003), who claims it counts 

1/3 of all behavioural problems in cats. 

These percentages are distinctly higher 

than reported by Voith (1981) in his 

survey on 376 of problematic cats, who 

found it in 24% of all cases. It has to be 

admitted that Beaver (2003) reports this 

problem in as many as 64.2% of 179 cats; 

owners regard urination/defecation in 

random places as major problem. 

As shown in Table 2, age was an important 

factor, influencing the behavior. It was 

most frequent in cats over 8 years of age 

(38.1%), while it was twice less frequent 

in young and middle-aged specimens. 

V-Kramer coefficient was calculated at 

0.179. Horzinek (2004) and Kudła (2006) 

suggest that cats over 8 years of age develop 

specific changes in their brains, similar 

to those found in Alzheimer patients. 

This disease, together with many others, 

often occurring in elderly animals, may 

be a reason for defecation/urination in 

places other than provided. 

Presence of other animals in households 

was found to influence this behaviour 

(V = 0.159). Table 2 shows that it was 

almost two times more frequent in homes, 

where other animal(s) were kept. Considering 

places and objects, marked with 

urine and/or faeces, it can be assumed 

that this behaviour was related to territory 

marking Bergman et al. (2002), suggest 

that when more than one cat is present 

in the household, frequency of marking


TABLE 2. Influence of studied factors on urination/defecation in places other than provided 

Age of cat* 

Urination/defecation in places other than provided 

yes % no % 

Total 

0–2 11 19.2 46 80.8 57 

3–8 29 20.4 113 79.6 142 

> 8 24 38.1 39 61.9 63 

Total 64 24.4 198 75.6 262 


Yes 47 29.4 113 70.6 160 

No 17 15.6 92 84.4 109 

Total 64 23.8 205 76.2 269 

Sex* 

Male 6 13.6 38 86.4 44 

Female 9 16.0 47 84.0 56 

Castrated male 26 28.6 65 71.4 91 

Spayed female 23 29.5 55 70.5 78 

Total 64 23.8 205 76.2 269 

Breed 

European 52 24.9 157 75.1 209 

Mix 6 35.3 11 64.7 17 

Purebred 6 14.0 37 86.0 43 

Total 64 23.8 205 76.2 269 


Cattery 5 17.8 23 82.2 28 



Adopted as strays or of unknown 37 25.9 106 74.1 143 

origin 

Total 64 23.8 205 76.2 269 

Number of persons in household 

Single person 5 22.7 17 77.3 22 

Couple 14 17.1 68 82.9 82 

Couple with child 17 34.7 32 65.3 49 

Couple with children 8 27.6 21 72.4 29 

Several adults 20 23.3 66 76.7 86 

Total 64 23.9 204 76.1 268 

Age of children (years) 

0–4 6 42.9 8 57.1 14 

5–10 2 18.2 9 81.8 11 

11–13 3 18.8 13 81.2 16 

14–18 12 42.9 16 57.1 28 

Total 23 33.3 46 66.7 69 

* – P ≤ 0.05


increases. According to Horwitz (1997), 

among 100 cats that presented this kind 

of problems, 65% were kept in multianimal 

household, 50 of them (77%) 

lived with another cat, and 23% with 

more animals. Also Seksel (2000) claims 

that marking increases proportionally to 

number of cats that live in one place. 

As far as sex is concerned, it is worthy 

to note that frequency of marking increases 

twice in neutered animals, both males 

and females (Tab. 2). The difference 

between neutered and intact animals was 

statistically significant. Nevertheless, 

Marder (1991) and Patronek et al. (1996) 

concluded opposite – marking was more 

frequent in intact animals. Seksel (2000) 

claims that this behaviour appear mainly 

in males, and castration does not have 

any influence on it. In our survey marking 

was not separated as such from urination/defecation. 

These behaviours were the least frequent 

in purebred cats and the most frequent 

in mix bred ones, i.e. those having 

one purebred parent, yet differences were 

not statistically significant. They were 

also relatively rare in cats that were born 

and reared in their permanent homes, 

whereas they were often reported with 

adopted cats (Tab. 2). Again, these differences 

were not statistically significant, 

most probably due to obviously different 

numbers of animals in each group. 

Additionally, age of children seems to 

influence the behaviour – it occurs with 

higher frequency in homes with children 

of 0–4 and 14–18 years of age. Even though 

differences were seemingly obvious, they 

could not be statistically confirmed. 


Among all abnormal or unacceptable behaviours 

the next common one is aggression 

towards other cats. It was reported in 

53 specimens, i.e. almost 20% of all cats 

included in the survey. Studies in Animal 

Behaviour Clinic, Cornell University, 

show that in 13.5% of homes with more 

than one cat cases of aggression were 

observed. Studies on aggression caused 

by introduction of another cat into household 

(Levine et al., 2005) showed that its 

cases appeared in almost 50% of such 

households. Borchelt and Voith (1996) 

report cat fights with frequency at least 

once a month in 44% of homes. 

In the study was found that age of 

cats and level of aggression were correlated 

(V = 0.242). Aggression was most 

common among old cats (over 8 years) 

and more than twice less common in 

younger ones (Tab. 3). Beaver (2003) 

claims that elderly cats are more likely to 

show aggressions towards kitten, while 

Levine et al. (2005) did not find any relation 

between age of cats and aggression. 

Another important factor were living 

conditions (V = 0.153) (Tab. 3). Aggression 

was most frequent among cats that 

were allowed out, whereas it was least 

frequent among those kept permanently 

inside. Similar result was reported by 

Levine et al. (2005) – in his study aggression 

cases were 3–4 times more common 

in the first group. 

Aggression towards other cats was 

also most common in spayed females 

(30%) and lest common in intact males 

(only 11.4%) (Tab. 3). This difference 

was, however, statistically insignificant. 

Other studies report different results. 

Landsberg et al. (2003) claims that highest 

level of aggression can be observed 

among males. Lindell et al. (1997) report 

that males tend to be most aggressive, and 

their aggression is directed both to other 

males as well as to females. According to


TABLE 3. Influence of studied factors on aggression towards other cats 

Age* 


yes % no % 

Total 

0–2 8 14.0 49 86.0 57 

3–8 20 14.1 122 85.9 142 

> 8 23 36.5 40 63.5 63 

Total 51 19.5 211 80.5 262 

Living conditions* 

Exclusively indoor 20 14.3 120 85.7 140 

Limited access outdoor 24 27.9 62 72.1 86 

Unlimited 9 20.9 34 79.1 43 

Total 53 19.7 216 80.3 269 

Sex 

Male 5 11.4 39 88.6 44 

Female 9 16.1 47 83.9 56 


Spayed female 23 29.5 55 70.5 78 

Total 53 19.7 216 80.3 269 


Cattery 7 25.0 21 75.0 28 

Born and reared in current home 0 0.0 15 100 15 



Total 53 19.7 216 80.3 269 

Age of children 

0–4 4 28.6 10 71.4 14 

5–10 2 18.2 9 81.8 11 

11–13 2 12.5 14 87.5 16 

14–18 8 28.6 20 71.4 28 

Total 16 23.2 53 76.8 69 

* – P ≤ 0.05 

Hart and Cooper (1984), males are more 

frequently aggressive towards females 

than other males. 

As show in Table 3, aggression was not 

reported among cats born, reared and kept 

in one household – it may be presumed 

that they form family relations within the 

group. Cats born in catteries were generally 

most aggressive. These differences 

weren’t statistically significant. 

Same as with urination/defecation, 

aggression was more common when children 

of 0–4 years and 14–18 years were 

present; again these differences were not 

statistically significant. 

Aggression towards other animals 

This type of aggression was reported in 

25 individuals, i.e. less than 10%. 

Although the number of reported cases 

was low, it was nevertheless possible to 

establish relation between sex and living 

conditions (Tab. 4) and aggression towards 

other animals. It was most frequent in


TABLE 4. Influence of studied factors on aggression towards other animals 

Sex* 


yes % no % 

Total 

Male 2 4.5 42 95.5 44 

Female 9 16.1 47 83.9 56 


Spayed female 12 15.4 66 84.6 78 

Total 25 9.3 244 90.7 269 

Living conditions* 



Unlimited 8 18.6 35 81.4 43 

Total 25 9.3 244 90.7 269 

Age of cat 

0–2 2 3.5 55 96.5 57 

3–8 14 9.8 128 90.2 142 

> 8 9 14.3 54 85.7 63 

Total 25 9.5 237 90.5 262 

Breed 

European 21 10.0 188 90.0 209 

Mix 1 5.9 16 94.1 17 

Pure bred 3 7.0 40 93.0 43 

Total 25 9.3 244 90.7 269 


Cattery 3 10.7 25 89.3 28 




Total 25 9.3 244 90.7 269 

Age at time of purchase/adoption 



Over 2 years 1 5.0 19 95.0 20 

Total 25 9.3 243 90.7 268 

Number of children 

0 16 8.4 174 91.6 190 

1 4 8.2 45 91.8 49 

2 2 10.0 18 90.0 20 

3 1 25.0 3 75.0 4 

Total 23 8.7 240 91.3 263 

Age of children 

0–4 1 7.1 13 92.9 14 

5–10 0 0.0 11 100 11 

11–13 0 0.0 16 100 16 

14–18 5 17.8 23 82.2 28 

Total 6 8.7 63 91.3 69


females, either intact or spayed, than 

in males (V = 0.221). Also living conditions 

were of distinct influence (V = 

= 0.191). Cats kept permanently indoor 

were less likely to attack other animals, 

yet the more they were allowed out, the 

more common were aggression cases. It 

can be assumed that cats roaming at large 

often gain bad experiences in contacts 

with other animals, mostly dogs, and in 

result aggression towards them develops. 

Statistical analysis did not confirm relation 

between age and aggression towards 

other animals. Nevertheless, as shown in 

Table 4, aggression was less common in 

young cats – only 2 cases in cats under 

2 years of age, and more common in cats 

over 8 years. No influence of origin was 

confirmed statistically, yet aggression 

towards other animals was two times 

more common in cats born, reared and 

living in one, permanent home (20%), 

than in other cats. 

This aggression was dramatically common 

in cats, purchased/adopted before 

they were 2 months old, whereas it was 

twice less common in those purchased/ 

/adopted in older age. This difference, 

albeit striking, could not be statistically 

confirmed. 

Other factors, including presence of 

other animals in households, did not significantly 

influence aggression towards 

other pets. 

Destructive behaviors 

Destructive behaviours were reported 

in 22 cats, i.e. 8% of total population 

studied. No particular influence could be 

statistically confirmed. However, some 

differences were found both in frequency 

of the behaviours and their percentage in 

different groups (Tab. 5). 

Destructive behaviours were least 

frequent in intact males (Tab. 5). Also 

castrated males were less destructive than 

TABLE 5. Influence of studied factors on destructive behaviors 

Sex* 

Destructive behavior 

yes % no % 

Total 

Male 2 4.5 42 95.5 44 

Female 5 8.9 51 91.1 56 


Spayed female 8 10.3 70 89.7 78 

Total 22 8.2 247 91.8 269 

Age of cat 

0–2 7 12.3 50 87.7 57 

3–8 11 7.7 131 92.3 142 

> 8 4 6.3 59 93.7 63 

Total 22 8.4 240 91.6 262 


Cattery 2 7.1 26 92.9 28 




Total 22 8.2 247 91.8 269


females, both intact and spayed. Older 

cats over 8 years of age displayed such 

behaviours twice less often than young 

cats under 2 years of age. It is most probably 

related to generally higher activity 

level, eagerness to play and explore. In 

result incidental damage to objects and 

furniture can occur during play. Additionally, 

we found destructive behaviours to 

appear two times more frequently in cats 

born and reared in their current home 

than in those purchased from breeders 

or adopted and of unknown background. 

This result is both interesting and difficult 

to explain. 


Aggression towards humans was reported 

in 18 surveyed cats, i.e. in only 6.7%. 

Results obtained in other studies vary 

TABLE 6. Influence of studied factors on aggression towards humans 

Number of children* 


yes % no % 

Total 

0 13 6.8 177 93.2 190 

1 1 2.0 48 98.0 49 

2 1 5.0 19 95.0 20 

3 2 5.0 2 50.0 4 

Total 17 6.5 246 93.5 263 

Sex 

Male 1 2.3 43 97.7 44 

Female 5 8.9 51 91.1 56 


Spayed female 6 7.7 72 92.3 78 

Total 18 6.7 251 93.3 269 

Living conditions 



Unlimited 2 4.6 41 95.4 43 

Total 18 6.7 251 93.3 269 


Cattery 0 0.0 28 100 28 




Total 18 6.7 251 93.3 269 

Age at time of purchase/adoption* 



Over 2 years 0 0.0 20 100 20 

Total 18 6.7 250 93.3 268 


Yes 7 4.4 153 95.6 160 

No 11 10.1 98 89.9 109 

Total 18 6.7 251 93.3 269


from 23 to 39% total aggression cases, at 

least half of them can be considered aggression 

towards people (Kudła, 2008). 

Although our results were numerically 

low, it was possible to determine relation 

between this type of aggression and 

number of children in households (Tab. 6). 

Appr. 50% of cats living in households 

with three children displayed aggression 

towards humans, and this result was statistically 

significant (V = 0.233). However, 

the group was too small to draw more 

general conclusions. Remaining cases 

were reported both in homes with no 

children (13 cases – 6.8%) and occasionally 

in homes with one or two children 

(single cases). 

Analysis did not confirm relation 

between sex and aggression towards 

people, but it worthy to note that only one 

case was reported in intact males. Aggression 

was more frequent in females, both 

intact and spayed (Tab. 6). 

Aggression towards people was generally 

reported with cats that were permanently 

kept indoor. It was far less 

common in cats allowed out on regular 

basis. Although this difference was 

noticeable, it was not statistically significant. 

It can be presumed that such cats 

are given enough time to spend most of 

their energy on playing, chasing etc. and 

therefore are much calmer when come 

back. Additionally, some owners tend 

to mistake rough plays for aggression 

– when cats spend at least some time 

outdoor, both remain unnoticed. 

Interestingly, this type of aggression 

was most frequently reported with cats 

purchased/adopted from other homes, but 

not a single case was reported with those 

purchased from breeders. Once more, 

statistical analysis did not confirm significant 

relation between aggression and 

origin of cats, possibly due to marked differences 

in numbers in specified groups. 

More aggression cases were found in 

cats purchased/adopted before they were 

two months of age. This can be attributed 

to inadequate or improper socialization 

– people often ignore rough behaviour 

at plays and do not teach kittens how to 

control and inhibit aggressive behaviors. 

As shown in Table 6, aggression was displayed 

more often by cats in households 

with no other cats and pets, possibly for 

same reasons. 

Excessive self-grooming 

Excessive grooming behaviours were 

observed only in 7 cats and this number is 

insufficient for drawing any conclusions. 

Out of those, most cases were reported 

with neutered males and fewest – with 

females (Tab. 7). It occurred in 2 cats under 

TABLE 7. Influence of sex, age and breed on 

excessive self-grooming 

Sex 

Excessive self-grooming 

yes % no % 

Total 

Male 1 2.3 43 97.7 44 

Female 1 1.8 55 98.2 56 

Castrated 

male 3 3.3 88 96.7 91 

Spayed 

female 2 2.6 76 97.4 78 

Total 7 2.6 262 97.4 269 

Age 

0–2 2 3.5 55 96.5 57 

2–8 1 0.7 141 99.3 142 

> 8 3 4.8 60 95.2 63 

Total 6 2.3 256 97.7 262 

Breed 

European 6 2.9 203 97.1 209 

Mix 0 0.0 17 100 17 

Pure bred 1 2.3 42 97.7 43 

Total 7 2.6 262 97.4 269


TABLE 8. Influence of living conditions on excessive self-grooming 

Living condition 

Excessive grooming 

yes % no % 

Total 



Unlimited 0 0.0 43 100 43 

Total 7 2.6 262 97.4 269 


Cattery 0 0.0 28 100 28 

Born and reared in current home 0 0.0 15 100 15 



Total 7 2.6 262 97.4 269 

Age at time of purchase/adoption 



Over 2 years 2 10.0 18 90.0 20 

Total 7 2.6 261 97.4 268 

2 years of age, in 1 between 2 and 8 years, 

and in 3 over 8 years. One case related to 

a cat whose age was not determined. Only 

one of those cats was pure-bred, whereas 

all others were of random breeding. 

When analyzing possible relations 

between excessive grooming and living 

conditions, it is worth noticing that no 

case occurred in cats, having unlimited 

access to outside world, and also in cats 

born in their current homes or purchased 

from breeders (Tab. 8). Far more cases 

were reported with cats purchased/ 

/adopted after they had finished 2 years of 

age. Confining cats in limited space and 

change of environment may both lead to 

stress and it manifests itself by excessive 

grooming behaviors. It can be also 

presumed that selective breeding aims 

at producing individuals better suited to 

living as family pets. 

Autoaggression 

Only few cases were reported, therefore 

it was not possible to study any influence 

on them. Survey revealed 5 cases 

(1.9%), all of them in neutered individuals 

of European breed, adopted and of 

unknown origin. 4 cases were attributed 

to cats kept permanently indoor and in 

one case a cat was occasionally allowed 

out. This clearly indicates that restricted 

living conditions negatively influence 

animal well-being, especially in case of 

individuals used to live semi-wild for at 

least part of their lives. 

CONCLUSIONS 

Undesirable behaviours were observed in 

73% of all animals surveyed. This result 

is distinctly higher than any previous 

ones, reported by different authors.


The most common behaviour was 

scratching furniture and walls, found in 

52% of cats. It was significantly more 

common in case of animals adopted before 

they were 2 months old, in households 

with no other animals present, but with 

children aged 5–10 and 14–18 years. 

The second most frequent behaviour 

was urinating/defecating in places other 

than provided for these purposes, 

observed in 23.8% of animals. It occurred 

two times more often in cats over 8 years 

of age than in younger ones. Contrary to 

results reported earlier, it was also twice 

more common in neutered cats, irrespective 

of their sex. 

Aggression towards other cats was 

reported in almost 20% of cats and was 

significantly influenced by age – most 

cases were observed among specimens 

over 8 years of age – as well as by living 

conditions (aggression was far less 

common among cats, kept permanently 

indoor). 


occurred in 10% of cats and it was more 

frequent in females, both intact and 

spayed, than in males. It was also significantly 

more common among cats, having 

unlimited access outdoor. 

Destructive behaviours were reported 

in 10% of all cats and no influence of factors 

taken into consideration was found. 

Aggression towards people was rare 

– only 6.7% cases. Despite such low 

numbers, we found correlations between 

this type of aggression and number of 

children present in household – the more 

children, the higher likelihood of aggression. 

Excessive grooming behaviours were 

found in 7 cats (2.6%) and autoaggression 

– in 5 cats (1.9%). 

REFERENCES 

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Health Sciences, 335. 

BERGMAN L., HART B.L., BAIN M., CLIFF K., 

2002: Evaluation of urine marking by cats as 

a model for understanding veterinary diagnostic 

and treatment approaches and client attitudes. 

J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 221(9): 1282–1286. 

BLACKSHAW J.K., ALLAN D.J., McGREEVY 

P., 2003: Notes on some topics in applied animal 

behavior. School of Veterinary Science, 

University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, 

Australia. 

BORCHELT P.L., VOITH V.L., 1996: Common 

Behaviour Problems and their Management: 

Feline and Canine. In: VOITH V.L., BOR- 

CHELT P.L., [eds] Readings in Companion 

Animal Behavior. Trenton, Veterinary Learning 

Systems, 208–216. 

HART B.L., COOPER L.C., 1984: Factors relating 

to urine – spraying and fighting in pre-pubertally 

gonadectomized cats. J. Am. Vet. Med. 

Assoc. 203: 254–258. 

HEIDENBERGER E., 1997: Housing conditions 

and behavioural problems of indoor cats as assessed 

by their owners. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 

52: 345–364. 

HORWITZ D., 1997: Behavioural and environmental 

factors associated with elimination behaviour 

problems in cats: A retrospective study. 

Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 52(1–2): 129–137. 

HORZINEK M.C., SCHMIDT V., LUTZ H., 

2004: Praktyka kliniczna: Koty. Wyd. Galaktyka, 

Bratislava 2004; rozdz. 1. 

KUDŁA J., 2006: Zaburzenia behawioralne u psów 

i kotów w podeszłym wieku. Magazyn Weterynaryjny, 


KUDŁA J., 2008: Przyczyny agresji u kotów. 

Magazyn Weterynaryjny, 134: 506–508. 

LANDSBERG G., HUNTHAUSEN W., ACKER- 

MAN L., 2003: Handbook of Behaviour Problems 

of the Dog and Cat. Butterworth-Heinemann, 

Oxford, England, 365–384. 

LEVINE E., PERRY P., SCERLETT J., HOUPT 

K.A., 2005: Intercat aggression in households 

following the introduction of a new cat. Appl. 

Anim. Behav. Sci. 90: 325–336. 

LINDELL E.M., ERB H.N., HOUPT K.A., 1997: 

Intercat aggression: a retrospective study examining 

types of aggression, sexes of fighting pairs,


and effectiveness of treatment. Appl. Anim. 

Behav. Sci. 55, 153–162. 

LOFFLIN J., 2009: Problem eutanazji. Jak mogą 

pomóc lekarze weterynarii. Weterynaria po 

Dyplomie vol 10(1): 6. 

MARDER A.R., 1991: Psychotropic drugs and 

behavioural therapy. In: MARDER A.R., 

VOIHT V.L., [eds] Advances in Companion 

Animal Behavior. Vet Clin North Am; 21(2): 


PATRONEK G.J., GLICKMAN L.T., BECK 

A.M., 1996; Risk factors for relinquishment of 

cats to an animal shelter. Journal of the American 

Veterinary Medical Association, 209: 


SEKSEL K., 2000: Feline Urine Spraying. In: 

HOUPT K.A., [eds] Recent Advances in Companion 

Animal Behaviour Problems, International 

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feline urinary behaviour problems. Modern 

Veterinary Practice, 62: 951. 

Streszczenie: Występowanie zaburzeń zachowania 

u kotów domowych. Przeprowadzono badania 

ankietowe wśród właścicieli 269 kotów. Analizowano 

wpływ takich czynników, jak płeć, wiek, 

rasa, pochodzenie, wiek, w którym kot przybył do 

domu, swoboda wychodzenia z domu, obecność 

innych zwierząt, liczba domowników na występowanie 

nieprawidłowych zachowań. Wyniki analizowano 

testem Chi 2 , a do określenia siły związku 

między cechami wykorzystano współczynnik 

V-Kramera. Nieprawidłowe zachowania odnotowano 

u 73% badanych kotów. Ponad 50% kotów 

drapało ściany i meble. Na zachowanie to miał 

wpływ wiek, w którym koty przybyły do domu, 

brak w domu innych zwierząt i wiek mieszkających 

w nim dzieci. 23,8% kotów wydalało w nieodpowiednich 

miejscach. Na zachowanie to istotny 

wpływ miał wiek kotów (najczęściej zwierzęta 

starsze), status reprodukcyjny – częściej u kotów 

sterylizowanych bez względu na płeć i obecność 

w domu innych zwierząt. Agresja w stosunku do 

innych kotów wystąpiła u 20% badanych zwierząt. 

Najczęściej pojawiała się u kotów powyżej 

8. roku życia, była przy tym znacznie częstsza 

u kotów wychodzących z domu. 

Agresja w stosunku do zwierząt innych gatunków 

wystąpiła u 10% kotów. Problem ten zdarzał 

się istotnie częściej u samic niż samców i u kotów 

wychodzących z domu bez ograniczeń. 

Pozostałe nieprawidłowe zachowania odnotowane 

w badaniach to niszczenie przedmiotów 

(8%), agresja w stosunku do ludzi (6,7%) – istotnie 

częstsza w domach, w których było więcej 

dzieci, nadmierna pielęgnacja (2,6%) i autoagresja 

(1,9%). 

MS. received September 1, 2010 


Katedra Genetyki i Ogólnej Hodowli Zwierząt 

SGGW 

ul. Ciszewskiego 8, 02-786 Warszawa 

Poland 

e-mail: katarzyna_fiszdon@sggw.pl




Influence of Aminokarnifarm preparate on composition 

of intestinal microflora of chicken broilers 

JULITTA GAJEWSKA 1 , MONIKA MICHALCZUK 2 , 

MONIKA ŁUKASIEWICZ 2 , KINGA WILCZYŃSKA-CZYŻ 1 , JAN NIEMIEC 2 

1 

Faculty of Agriculture and Biology Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW 

2 

Faculty of Animal Science, Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW 

Abstract: Influence of Aminokarnifarm preparate 

on composition of intestinal microflora of chicken 

broilers. The experiment was carried out on 640 

broiler chickens of Cobb 500, which were at random 

allocated to two nutritional groups; broilers 

from experimental group obtained with water Aminokarnifarm 

preparate, according to producent’s 

directions. After end of rearing, a quantitative and 

qualitative determinations of intestinal microflora 

in small intestine content at chicken broilers were 

done. The received results showed on the increase 

of a total number of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in 

a content of small intestinal tract in experimental 

group, in comparison with control group. The total 

number of the heterotrophic intestinal bacteria 

didn’t distinguish significantly from control and 

experimental group. In tested probes of intestinal 

contents of broilers Salmonella sp. Shigella sp., 

beta haemolytic Escherichia coli and reducing sulphates 

Clostridium perfringens pathogenic bacteria 

were no isolated. Addition of Aminocarnifarm 

preparate showed lack of influence on decrease of 

coli/lacto index in small intestine of chicken broilers. 

The values of coli/lacto index were low 

(under 1), what indicated on a proper composition 

of the intestinal microflora. 

Key words: chicken broilers, Aminocarnifarm 

preparate, microflora of small intestine content. 

INTRODUCTION 

Health and production efficiency of 

broiler chickens is influenced by the composition 

of bacterial microflora content of 

the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, preparates 

that do not interfere with the state 

called homeostasis normal microflora, 

present in the form of indigenous intestinal 

colonizers should be used. The action 

of such preparations should be beneficial 

and increase the number of fermentation 

of probiotic bacteria, which reside in the 

gastrointestinal ecosystem (Gajewska 

et al., 2000, 2003, 2009; Pietras, 2001; 

Józefiak et al., 2002; Seskeviciene, 2005; 

Oviedo-Rondon et al., 2006). For many 

years in the nutrition of poultry additives 

are commonly used, where the action is 

focused on the development of friendly 

gut microflora, improve the quality of 

carcasses, meat and technological value 

of its suitability for processing (Michalczuk 

et al., 2003; Pietrzak et al., 2005). 

Polish consumer is very demanding and 

looking for a product with low fat and 

high meat quality (visual and sensory 

characteristics of carcass) (Gornowicz, 

2008) at the moment. However manufacturers 

are trying to reduce the cost of the 

product, which often does not allow to 

use in the diet expensive additives which 

are effective and have additive a wide

26 J. Gajewska et al. 

effect, e.g. L-carnitine used most often 

in flocks of breeding poultry, improving 

sperm concentration, hatchability and 

affecting production results (Zhai, 2008; 

Keralapurath et al., 2010; Shafey et al., 

2010). Application of 20 to 100 mg per 

kg feed, L-carnitine in the nutrition of 

poultry for slaughter allows for a reduction 

of fat content in carcass (Rabie et al., 

1997a, b; Arslan et al., 2004). There are 

however, no reports on the effects of L- 

-carnitine on the composition of intestinal 

microflora of broiler chickens therefore 

Aminokarnifarm was used to because 

(43.68% of L-carnitine) to determine 

the composition of the microflora in the 

small intestine of chickens. 

MATERIALS AND METHODS 

The experiment was conducted in poultry 

farm of Experimental Station (RZD) 

Wilanów-Obory on 640 broiler chickens 

of COBB 500. One-day chicks were at 

random allocated to 2 groups: control 

and experimental (Aminokarnifarm), each 

of them in four repetitions. The birds 

were kept on the litter, according to the 

standards for management of broilers, as 

recommended by Cobb company. The 

differentiating factor was the administration 

of the group Aminokarnifarm 

to water for the experimental group of 

chickens. 

Aminokarnifarm is a preparation 

amino acid vitamin, which a combination 

of vitamins and amino acids with taurine 

(13.33%) and L-carnitine (43.68%) has 

a very strong anabolic effects, improving 

production results. The preparation 

ensures the proper metabolism of fatty 

acids and amino acids, sufficient production 

of energy from ketones, regulation 

of concentration of ammonia in the 

blood, stimulation the immune system, 

the process of respiration and active 

transport of ATP at the cellular level. 

Composition of the preparation has a significant 

impact on the proper functioning 

of all systems in the body, in particular 

neurohormonal system, digestive, circulatory 

and reproductive. The presence of 

L-carnitine determines the capacity of 

the body, muscle strength, cardiac activity, 

in combination with the metabolism 

of amino acids enhances the whole body 

and neutralizes the negative effects of 

various types of stress factors (Biofaktor 

– producer information). 

Aminokarnifarm was added in drinking 

water in quantities of 100 g of the 

preparation of 160 liters of water, rearing 

on the following dates: 1–7 days, 21–28 

days, 35–42 days. During the rearing 

of chickens from the control group and 

experimental (Aminokarnifarm) were fed 

compound having the following nutritional 

value: Starter from 1 to 14 day 

(22.1% crude protein and 13.7 MJ of 

EM). Grower from 15 to 35 day (20.4% 

crude protein and 14.1 MJ of EM). 

Finisher from 36 to 42 day (19.1% 

crude protein and 14.3 MJ EM, without 

coccidiostatic). On 42 day, from 9 males 

and 9 females, parts of intestinal were taken 

after slaughter. The aim was to determinations 

quantitative and qualitative factors 

of intestinal microflora in small intestine 

content of chicken broilers. 

Quantitative determination of small 

intestine content, received from two 

feeding groups, were done by standat 

Koch’s plate method, with surface sowing 

(Salyers, Whitt, 2003). 

The following microbiological rates 

were determined:

Infl uence of Aminokarnifarm preparate... 27 

1) the total number of the heterotrophic 

mesophilic bacteria growed on nutrient 

agar medium and nutrient agar 

medium with 5% of defibrinated sheep 

blood addition; 

2) the total number of bacteria from Enterobacteriaceae 

family, growed on 

McConkey’s medium; 

3) the total number of lactic acid fermentation 

bacteria (LAB) from Lactobacillaceae 

family, growed on APT 

medium; 

4) the total number of the microscopic 

fungi, growed on Sabouraud’s medium; 

5) the Most Probable Number (MPN) of 

sulphate reducing Clostridium perfringens 

bacteria, growed on Wilson- 

-Blair’s medium; 

6) determination coli/lacto index, as a rate 

of a total number of bacteria from 

Enterobactericeae family to Lactobacillaceae 

family. 

In next investigations, the macroscopic 

tests of the grown colonies were 

done. Microscopic tests, on the ground of 

observation of living fungi and bacteria or 

stained bacteria by Gram method; using 

Nikon E600 microscope with camera 

were performed. On the ground of morphological 

and physiological properties, 

the species of the isolated strains were 

determined according to Bergey’s Maual 

of Systematic Bacteriology (2000). 

The obtained results were evaluated 

with a variance analysis, calculated with 

the least square method in a statistical 

software SPSS 14.0 PL for Windows. 


Results of microbiological determination 

connected with state estimation of small 

intestine microflora of chicken broilers, 

received with water Aminocarnifarm 

preparate, were presented on Figure 1. 

There was explicit number of lactic 

acid bacteria in small intestine in the 

experimental group of broilers in com- 

7 

6 

log jtk g –1 bw 

5 

4 

3 

2 

1 

0 

I II III IV 

Control 

Aminokarnifarm 

FIGURE 1. The total number of bacteria and microscopic fungi in small intestine content of chicken 

broilers: I – the total number of bacteria; II – Lactobacillaceae; III – Enterobacteriaceae; IV – yeasts 

and hyphal fungi


parison to the controlled group. The 

number of beneficial microorganisms 

which protect against pathogens has 

increased. The effect of this probiotic 

bacteria in lactic fermentation can lead 

to the improvement of general condition 

and health of broiler chickens. 

There were no significant differences 

in the number of heterotrophic intestine 

bacteria between the experimental and 

controlled group. This can be caused by 

the higher number of lactic acid bacteria, 

not the pathogens. No pathogenic 

bacteria such as: Samonella sp., Shigella 

sp., E. coli beta haemolytic and Clostridium 

perfringens reducing sulphate were 

observed (in both examined cut of the 

digestive contents of the small intestine). 

There was an insignificant number 

of microscopic fungi (yeast and hyphal 

fungi) at the low level (below10 2 ⋅jtk⋅g –1 ) 

(in the digestive contents of the small 

intestine from the experimental group). 

This can be a result of high number of 

such bacteria as Lactobacillus sp. in this 

group. This bacteria acidifies its environment 

by producing lactic acid, and 

the low reaction (pH) is responsible for 

the fungi increase. Furthermore, that 

the antagonistic lactic bacterial strain in 

comparison to fungi seemed to be inefficient 

for lactic bacteria fermentation 

and (LAB) the general condition and 

health condition of broiler chicken can 

be improved. L-carnitine has detoxifying 

features due to the chelates ability. However, 

the chelations ability is common 

almost in every organic acid, nevertheless 

only few kinds of such substances 

can be considered as an exemplary. The 

exemplary chelates substances with the 

optimum biding ability are as follows: 

ascorbic acid and L-carnitine. L-carnitine 

facilitates the absorption and transport 

of bioelements and keep them in the 

body store, returning them to metabolism 

when needed, removes potentially 

destructive surplus of bioelements and 

eliminate toxic elements (Ambroziak, 

2000). 

The Figure 2 shows the results of 

coli/lacto calculated on the basis of the 

proportion of the Enterobacteriaceace to 

Lactobacillaceae number. Aminikarnifarm 

did not have a significant effect 

on lowing coli/lacto coefficient in the 

small intestine. However, above mentioned, 

coli/lacto was low (below 1) in 

the experimental and controlled group, 

which shows proper and positive composition 

of intestine micro flora. In the 

Gajewska’s research (2009) a positive 

effect of plant preparations on the intestine 

micro flora of broiler chicken can be 

seen. When used with the Digestarom 

preparation coli/lacto was 0.14. Some 

authors claimed that the results where 

poultry farmers use herb preparations, 

are comparable to antibiotic growth 

stimulators used in the past such as: avilamycine 

(Jamroz, Kamel, 2004; Lee at 

al., 2004). 

log jtk g –1 bw 

0,9 

0,7 

0,5 

0,3 

0,1 

Control 

Aminokarnifarm 

FIGURE 2. Coefficient coli/lacto in the small intestine 

microflora basing on the Aminokarnifarm 

experiment

Infl uence of Aminokarnifarm preparate... 29 

CONCLUSION 

The results of quantitative and qualitative 

composition of the intestinal contents 

of broiler chickens fed with feed 

preparation Aminokarnifarm indicate its 

beneficial effects. 

Effect amino acid-vitamin preparation 

with carnitine resulted in a significant 

increase in the number of so-called. 

Beneficial lactic acid bacteria (LAB 

– Lactic Acid Bacteria), lactic acid 

rods of the genus Lactobacillus, which 

belong to the family Lactobacillaceae 

are excellent producers lantabiotics, prevent 

from intestinal pathogens, known 

for their probiotic features. It seems 

that the preparation used can be a very 

good complement of nutrients, providing 

better conditions for the multiplication 

of heterotrophic bacterial colonization 

of the gut and their metabolism. It was 

also observed a positive relationship of 

the ratio of (the number of) bacteria of 

the family Enterobacteriaceae to Lactobacillacae 

after applying this medicine. 

Coefficient coli/lacto below 1 indicates 

the correct status of intestinal microflora 

in broiler chickens. Application of lactic 

acid bacteria of the genus Lactobacillus, 

known as EM (Effective Microorganisms) 

in the integrated EM-FarmingTM 

in poultry farming, resulted not only in 

the world, but also in Poland positive 

production results (high body weight, 

reduction of mortality and health conditions) 

(Dylewski, 2009). 

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beauty and health. Warszawa (in Polish). 

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of L-carnitine administration on growth 

performance, carcass traits, serum lipids and 

abdominal fatty acid compositions of geese. 

Revue Med. Vet., 155, 6, 315–320. 

Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology.: 

The Williams & Wilkins Co. 2000. Baltimore. 

Biofaktor – producer information. 

DYLEWSKI T., 2009: Microorganisms – opponent 

or friend. In: Natural probiotical microorganisms. 

[ed.] Dylewski T. Ecosystem EM 

Society. Nature Heritage, Licheń, 86–94 (in 

Polish). 

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2003: Determination of sensitivity of chosen 

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extracts In: Microbiological Decomposition 

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of Łódź, 318–321 (in Polish). 

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J., MICHALCZUK M., 2009: Influence of 

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–309 (in Polish). 

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traits of carcass and meat. Monographs and 

dissertations. Rocz. Nauk. Zoot. Kraków (in 

Polish). 

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enhance broiler performance. J. Anim. Sci. 80, 

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M., FIDYCH T., 2002: Application of selected 

replacements for antibiotic growth promoters 

in feed for broiler chickens. Rocz. Nauk. Zoot., 

Supl. 16, 211–217 (in Polish). 

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KANTI R., ZIAI W., PEEBLES E.D, 2010.: 

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hatchability and subsequent broiler performance 

and slaughter field. Poult. Sci., 89 (2), 


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on broiler chicken performance. Zesz. Nauk. 

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NANDEZ S., SALVADOR F., WILLIAMS P., 

LOSA R., 2006: Essential oils on mixed coccidia 

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VOTISKY E., GERENDAI D., 1997b: Influence 

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carcass quality of broiler chickens. Acta Biol. 

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1997a: Effects of dietary L-carnitine supplementation 

and protein level on performance 

and degree of meatiness and fatness of broilers. 

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feeding. Pol. J. Nat. Scie., 18 (1), 83–91. 

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-OWAIMER A.N., AL.-SAMAWEI K.A., 

2010: Effect of In ovo administration of L-carnitine 

on hatchability performance, glycogen 

status and insulin-like growth factor-1 of broiler 

chickens. Br. Poult. Sci., 51 (1), 122–131. 

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guide, 2006, by SPSS Ins. USA. 

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87, 1171–1181. 

Streszczenie: Wpływ preparatu Aminokarnifarm 

na skład mikrofl ory jelitowej kurcząt brojlerów. 

Badania przeprowadzono na 640 kurczętach 

COBB 500, podzielonych losowo na dwie grupy 

żywieniowe, kurczęta z grupy doświadczalnej 

otrzymywały do wody preparat Aminokarnifarm 

wg zaleceń producenta. Po zakończeniu odchowu 

wykonano ilościowe i jakościowe badania mikroflory 

jelitowej w treści jelita cienkiego kurcząt 

rzeźnych. Uzyskane wyniki wykazały wzrost 

liczebności bakterii kwasu mlekowego w treści 

jelita cienkiego brojlerów w grupie eksperymentalnej, 

w porównaniu z grupą kontrolną. Ogólna 

liczba heterotroficznych bakterii jelitowych 

nie różniła się znacznie między grupą kontrolną 

a doświadczalną. Nie stwierdzono w badanych 

próbkach treści jelita cienkiego brojlerów obecności 

chorobotwórczych bakterii: Salmonella sp., 

Shigella sp., E. coli beta hemolitycznych oraz 

Clostridium perfringens redukujących siarczyny. 

Aminokarnifarm nie miał istotnego wpływu na 

obniżanie współczynnika coli/lacto w jelicie cienkim 

kurcząt. Wartości współczynnika coli/lacto 

w grupie doświadczalnej i kontrolnej miały wartości 

niskie (poniżej 1), co wskazywało na właściwy 

skład mikroflory jelitowej. 



Monika Michalczuk 



Poland 

e-mail: monika_michalczuk@sggw.pl




The influence of commercial crossbreeding of dairy cows 

with bulls of French breeds (Blonde d’Aquitaine, Charolaise, 

Limousine) on calving course 

HENRYK GRODZKI, TOMASZ PRZYSUCHA, JAN SLÓSARZ 

Department of Cattle Breeding, Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW 

Abstract: The influence of commercial crossbreeding 

of dairy cows with bulls of French breeds 

(Blonde d’Aquitaine, Charolaise, Limousine) on 

calving course. The aim of presented study was 

to indicate the influence of chosen factors on 

calving course in commercial crossing of Black 

and White cows with bulls of the French breeds: 

Blonde d’Aquitaine, Charolaise and Limousine. 

The calving number significantly influenced delivery 

course of Charolaise and Limousine cows, 

but in case of Blonde d’Aquitaine did not. The 

most difficult deliveries were noticed for the heifers 

and cows delivered the second calf. In case 

of Limousine cows BCS described as “more than 

enough” the number of difficult calvings was 

26.7%, Charolaise – 20%, Blonde d’Aquitaine 

– 100%. It confirms, that regardless of the breed, 

fatty cows have much more problems during the 

delivery. The influence of calf body weight at 

birth on calving course was statistically proved 

for Charolaise and Limousine, also in case of 

Blonde s’Aquitaine the most difficult calvings 

were observed when the birth weight was higher 

than 40 kg. The obtained results show the extraordinary 

usefulness of the French breeds for commercial 

crossing with the dairy cows. 

Key words: commercial crossing, calving course, 

Blonde d’Aquitaine, Charolaise, Limousine. 

INTRODUCTION 

In the new sector of animal production 

in Poland, i.e. beef cattle breeding and 

husbandry, one of the main problems 

occurred is calving quality not only in 

purebred beef herds, but also in case of 

commercial crossbreeding (dairy cow × 

specialized beef bull). 

Difficult deliveries cause the meaningful 

financial losses due to the high 

ratio of stillborn calves, higher labour 

needs, veterinary costs, worse reproduction 

indices etc. 

Papers presented by many authors 

show, that the problem of difficult calvings 

concerns mainly the purebred beef 

herds, when in the commercial crossing 

is comparable or even lower than that in 

purebred herds of Holstein cows, where 

the ratio of difficult deliveries amounts 

to about 15% in heifers and about 8–10% 

in older cows. 

The aim of presented study was to 

indicate the influence of chosen factors 

like cow age, calving number, cow BCS, 

calf sex and body weight at birth on 

calving course in commercial crossing 

of Holstein cows with French beef beed 

bulls – Blonde d’Aquitaine, Charolaise 

and Limousine. 

The short description of sires of different 

beef breeds used in commercial 

crossing were shown in tables 1, 2, 3 

(Chów bydła mięsnego 2009).

32 H. Grodzki, T. Przysucha, J. Slósarz 

TABLE 1. Blonde d’Aquitaine bulls in commercial crossing with dairy cows 

Suitability for crossbreeding 

Crossbred body weight at birth 

Calving course 

Calves vitality 

Crossbred suitability for fattening 

Dressing percentage 

Meat quality 

Dairy cows suitability for crossing 

Remarks 

– high 

– crossbreds could be fattened to the high body weight without 

the risk of over-fattening 

– high (35–45 kg) 

– majority of self-calvings 

– if possible deliveries should be monitored 

– low percentage of stillbirths and early mortality 

– very good, high daily body weight gains, good feedstuff utilization, 

excellent muscularity, bulging, wide muscles 

– high (usually over 60%), but bone share in carcass not lower 

than in Black and White bulls 

– high 

– heifers and cows of smaller calibre could be used 

– crossbreds need some better husbandry conditions than the 

crossbreds with other beef breeds 

TABLE 2. Charolaise bulls in commercial crossing with dairy cows 

Suitability for crossbreeding – very high 



Crossbred body weight at birth – high (35–45 kg) 


– deliveries should be monitored 




Crossbred suitability for fattening – very good, high daily body weight gains, good feedstuff utilization, 


Dressing percentage – high (usually over 60%) 

Meat quality 


Dairy cows suitability for crossing – only multiparous big calibre cows should be used 

Remarks 

– crossbreds need some better husbandry conditions than the 


TABLE 3. Limousin bulls in commercial crossing with dairy cows 







Meat quality 

– very high 



– average 32–38 kg 

– deliveries should be monitored 

– very high 

– very good, high daily body weight gains, good feedstuff utilization, 


– high (usually over 60%), bone share in carcass much lower 


– very high

The infl uence of commercial crossbreeding... 33 

Table 3. (continued) 


Remarks 

– preferably multiparous cows should be used 

– in case of heifers semen of limousine bulls proved on base of 

calving ease could be used 

– crossbreds need slightly better husbandry conditions than the 

crossbreds with the British beef breeds 


Data from “Cow calving course sheet” 

prepared by the field technicians from 

Mazovian Center for Breeding & Reproduction 

Co. Ltd. (Mazowieckie Centrum 

Hodowli i Rozrodu Zwierząt Sp. z o.o.) 

in Łowicz constituted the material for 

investigation. They concerned deliveries 

of Black and White cows serviced by 

bulls of Blonde d’Aquitaine breed (105 

calvings), Charolaise (103) and Limousine 

(289). All of 492 calvings were divided 

into the following groups: N – easy, 

without any help, T – difficult, with 

farmer’s help or mechanical means use. 

Calving course dependences on: calving 

number (1, 2; > 3), body condition score 

estimated using 9 point scale according 

to Richards et al. (1986) directly before 

planned calving day according to the 

following levels: 1 – bad (notes 1, 2, 3), 

2 – suitable (notes 4, 5, 6, 7), 3 – more 

than enough (notes 8, 9) as well as calf 

body weight at birth (kg) were assessed 

by Pearson χ 2 test using SPSS ver. 10.0 pl 

software. 


Calving course ratio depending on calving 

number was shown in Table 4. Significant 

(Limousine) or highly significant (Charolaise) 

influence of calving number on 

delivery quality was proved, but in case 

of cows mated to Blonde d’Aquitaine 

bulls there was no statistically significant 

influence in the group of adult cows, but it 

TABLE 4. Calving course ratio depending on calving number 

Breed 

Blonde d’Aquitaine 

Charolaise 

Limousine 

Trait 

Calving course (%) 

easy 

difficult 

calving number 

1 and 2 90.5 9.5 

≥ 3 91.7 8.3 

average 91.4 8.6 

significance 

χ 2 = 0.030 not significant 


1 and 2 83.3 16.7 

≥ 3 96.3 3.7 


significance χ 2 = 3.321 P ≤ 0.01 


1 and 2 84.4 15.6 

≥ 3 93.4 6.6 


significance χ 2 = 4.200 P ≤ 0.05


was observed in case of heifers and young 

cows giving birth for the second time. 

Many authors (Philipsson, 1976a; 

Philipsson, 1976b; Sieber et al., 1989; 

Nogalski, Klupczyński, 1999; Krzywda 

et al., 2002; Albera et al., 2004; Przysucha 

et al., 2005b; Przysucha et al., 2005c; 

Przysucha et al., 2006) confirmed, that 

calving number has significant influence 

on delivery quality. Calvings where some 

kind of assistance is needed occurred 

much more often in case of primiparous 

than in multiparous cows. According to 

Wrona et al. (2001) insufficient pelvic 

area is the main reason of delivery problems 

in primiparous cows. Such problems 

also often take place in cows giving 

birth for the second time. It is connected 

with the smallest body measurements 

and not complete delivery of the sceleton 

of younger cows (Berger, 1994; Meyer et 

al., 2000). The most frequent reason of 

delivery problems in primiparous cows is 

not sufficient development of the reproductive 

duct (Philipsson, 1976c; Nogalski, 

2004a; Nogalski, 2004c; Przysucha 

et al., 2005a; Przysucha et al., 2005b). 

Cows delivering for 4–5 time usually 

have slight problems during calving. 

Breeders, who decided to start the reproductive 

use of beef breed heifers in the 

age of 15 month (the first delivery in the 

age of 2 years) must consider 3–4 time 

higher risk of difficult calving occurrence 

than in case of heifers calving in 

the age of 3 years. 

Table 5 shows calving course ratio 

depending on cow BCS. In beef cattle 

evaluation procedures the 9 point scale is 

commonly used (Selk et al., 1986; Wiltbank, 

1983). 

The BCS changes could be used by 

the breeders as an indicator of feeding 

correctness at the particular periods of 

TABLE 5. Calving course ratio depending on cow BCS 

Breed 


Charolaise 

Limousine 

Trait 


easy 

difficult 

bad 96.4 3.6 

Cow BCS suitable 97.2 2.8 

more than enough 0.0 100.0 


significance χ 2 = 67,893 P ≤ 0.01 

bad 90.1 9.9 


more than enough 80 20 



bad 94.6 5.4 


more than enough 73.3 26.7 




the reproduction cycle. Some authors 

also show the strong correlation between 

BCS and animal body weight as well as 

BCS and reproduction results in beef 

cattle herds. Cows of the different BCS 

notes show heat signs in the different 

time after the previous calving. It means, 

that BCS just before calving has the 

influence on readiness to the next pregnancy, 

which consequently influences 

reproduction indicies of the cow (Whitman 

et al., 1975). Higher BCS score 

before calving influences the percentage 

of pregnancies in 40th and 60th day 

after delivery (Corah, 1989). According 

to Nogalski (2004b) cows’ BCS evaluated 

as „more than enough” causes the 

increase of difficulties during the delivery. 

It is especially confirmed for heifers’ 

deliveries (Bellows et al., 1990; Pogorzelska 

et al., 1999; Pogorzelska, Szarek, 2002; 

Philipsson, 1976a; Nogalski, 2002). 

The most difficult calvings were 

observed when cows’ BCS was classified 

as “more than enough”. Difficult 

calvings constituted 100% of Blonde 

d’Aquitaine deliveries, 20% – Charolaise 

and 26.7% – Limousine. Cows’ feeding, 

especially in the high pregnancy period, 

has direct impact on calving quality. 

Periodical feedstuff shortages as well as 

bed balancing of the ration (protein to 

energy ration) may cause the increase of 

assisted deliveries. The best cow feeding 

welfare index is described by the Body 

Condition Scoring (BCS) method. 

In Table 6 calving course ratio depending 

on calf body weight at birth was 

shown. It was a surprise, that delivery 

course was not significantly influenced 

by calf body weight at birth, but the most 

deliveries needing assistance were when 

the calf body weight at birth was over 

40 kg. Obtained results are confirmed 

TABLE 6. Calving course ratio depending on calf body weight at birth 

Breed 

Trait 

easy 


difficult 


Charolaise 

Limousine 

≤ 35 94.4 5.6 

calf body weight at 

birth (kg) 

36–40 95.2 4.8 

> 40 86.4 13.6 


significance 

χ 2 = 2.405 bot significant 


birth (kg) 

≤ 35 97.8 2.2 

36–40 91.4 8.6 

> 40 73.9 26.1 




birth (kg) 

≤ 35 97.4 2.6 

36–40 91.5 8.5 

> 40 83.8 16.2 




by many authors (Brzozowski, 1985; 

Wroński et al., 1996; Colburn et al., 

1997; Pogorzelska et al., 1999; Stąporek, 

Ziemiński, 2000; Nogalski, 2002; 

Philipsson, 1976c; Malinowski et al., 

1983; Colburn et al., 1997; Brzozowski 

et al., 1998; Nogalski, 2003; Przysucha 

et al., 2005a; Holland, Odde, 1992; Przysucha 

et al., 2002; Przysucha et al., 2004; 

Philipsson, 1976b; Miciński et al., 2000; 

Przysucha i in., 2004; Thompson, Wiltbank, 

1983). 

CONCLUSIONS 

Summarizing, it should be stated, that: 

• Significant (Limousine) or highly 

significant (Charolaise) influence of 

calving number on delivery quality 

was proved, but in case of cows mated 

to Blonde d’Aquitaine bulls there was 

no statistically significant influence 

in the group of adult cows, but it was 

observed in case of heifers and young 

cows giving birth for the second time. 

• The most difficult calvings were observed 

when cows’ BCS was classified 

as “more than enough”. Difficult 

calvings constituted 100% of Blonde 

d’Aquitaine deliveries, 20% – Charolaise 

and 26.7% – Limousine. Cows’ 

feeding, especially in the high pregnancy 

period, has direct impact on 

calving quality. Periodical feedstuff 

shortages as well as bed balancing of 

the ration (protein to energy ration) 

may cause the increase of assisted deliveries. 

The best cow feeding welfare 

index is described by the Body Condition 

Scoring (BCS) method. 

• Delivery course was not significantly 

influenced by calf body weight at 

birth, but the most deliveries needing 

assistance were when the calf body 

weight at birth was over 40 kg. 

• The obtained results show the extraordinary 

usefulness of the examined 

French beef breeds for commercial 


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Streszczenie: Wpływ wybranych czynników na 

przebieg porodów w krzyżowaniu towarowym 

krów cb z buhajami francuskich ras mięsnych 

(blonde d’aquitaine, charolaise, limousine). Celem 

prezentowanej pracy było określenie wpływu 

wybranych czynników, takich jak: wiek krowy, 

kolejność ocielenia, kondycja krowy, płeć cielęcia 

oraz masa cielęcia przy urodzeniu na przebieg porodów 

w krzyżowaniu towarowym krów cb z buhajami 

francuskich ras mięsnych. Stwierdzono 

statystycznie istotny wpływ numeru ocielenia na 

przebieg porodu krów krytych nasieniem buhajów 

ras charolaise i limousine. Takiego wpływu nie 

stwierdzono w przypadku rasy blonde d’aquitaine, 

ale więcej trudnych porodów było w grupie pierwiastek 

i krów cielących się po raz drugi. U krów, 

których kondycję oceniono jako „zbyt dobrą”, obserwowano 

wysoki udział trudnych ocieleń, tj. dla 

rasy blonde d’aquitaine – 100%, dla charolaise – 

20% i dla limousine 26,7%. Istotny wpływ masy 

ciała cielęcia przy urodzeniu na rodzaj porodu 

potwierdzono dla ras charolaise i limousine. Dla 

rasy blonde d’aquitaine zależność ta okazała się 

statystycznie nieistotna, ale najwięcej trudnych 

porodów wymagających asysty hodowcy, zaobserwowano 

przy masie cielęcia przekraczającej 

40 kg. Uzyskane w prezentowanej pracy wyniki 

potwierdzają wybitną przydatność francuskich 

ras mięsnych do krzyżowania towarowego z krowami 

mlecznymi. 





Poland 

e-mail: henryk_grodzki@sggw.pl




Microsatellite polymorphism in the study of genetic diversity 

of an experimental flock of Ayam Cemani breed 

GRUSZCZYŃSKA JOANNA 1 , ŁUKASIEWICZ MONIKA 2 

1 


2 

Department of Animal Breeding, Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW 

Abstract: Microsatellite polymorphism in the 

study of genetic diversity of an experimental fl ock 

of Ayam Cemani breed. Blood samples were collected 

from pterygoidal vein of 53 birds (29 cocks 

and 24 hens) come from the experimental flock 

of Ayam Cemani hens and underwent molecular 

analysis. The phenol-chloroform method was used 

to extract genomic DNA from collected blood. Microsatellite 

sequences have been commonly used 

in molecular analysis of animal origin. On the basis 

of literature, 5 microsatellite sequences were 

chosen for further molecular analysis: MCW0210, 

MCW0184, LEI0071, MCW0145 and ADL0306. 

The automatic sequencer ALF Express (Pharmacia 

LKB) was used to genotype birds. Among 

all examined loci polymorphism was detected. 

Approximate analyzed microsatellite sequences 

lengths were: 156–168bp for MCW0210 (3 alleles); 

240 and 260bp for MCW0184; 280–300bp 

for LEI0071 (3 alleles); 206–218bp for MCW0145 

(4 alleles) and 119–125bp for ADL0306 (3 alleles). 

The highest level of homozygosity was found as 

follows for MCW0184 (about 81%), the lowest 

one for ADL0306 (4%). The high level of H O 

(0.19–0.96), H E (0.41–0.64) and PIC (0.32–0.56) 

were calculated and compared as not so high according 

to other scientific reports. 

Key words: Ayam Cemani breed, microsatellite 

sequences, genetic diversity. 

INTRODUCTION 

Microsatellite sequences are commonly 

exploited in investigations addressing the 

structure and genetic diversity of populations. 

Owing to their high polymorphism 

and co-dominant inheritance, they are 

applied for genome mapping and for 

plotting genetic maps. 

Ayam cemani is an original local breed 

from the province of Central Java (Indonesia). 

The word “cemani” in Java language 

means “completely black”, whereas 

“ayam” means hen. The characteristic 

feature of this breed is the black colour 

of body, comb, bells, beak, eyeballs, skin, 

tarsi, and black internal organs, bones 

and muscles. The mentioned birds are 

utilized for egg and meat production as 

well as in medicine and in religious rituals 

(Muryanto, 1991; Iskandar, Saepudin, 

2005). In Europe, they are considered as 

decorative breed. 

The aim of the current study was, to 

conduct genetic characterization of the 

investigated experimental flock of Ayam 

Cemani chicken breed, and to evaluate 

the usefulness microsatellite markers to 

assess genetic diversity. 


Characterisic of microsatellite 

sequences 

For the molecular analysis we used blood 

samples from pterygoidal vein of 53 birds

40 J. Gruszczyńska, M. Łukasiewicz 

(29 cocks and 24 hens) from the experimental 

flock of Ayam Cemani hens. The 

experiment was conducted at the Poultry 

Farm of the Warsaw University of Live 

Sciences in Obory. Genomic DNA was 

extracted from the blood by phenol-chloroform 

extraction. The presence and the 

purity of isolated DNA was checked on a 

NanoDropp spectrophotometer (Thermo 

Scientific). 

Five microsatellite sequences were 

used as a tool to determine genetic diversity 

of the bird population examined. Owing to 

the specific character of the experiment, 

in molecular analysis the microsatellite 

sequences were selected so as to be 

linked with the body weight of the hens. 

On the basis of literature, 5 microsatellite 

sequences were chosen as follows: 

MCW0145, MCW0184, MCW0210, 

LEI0071, and ADL0306 (Atzmon et al., 

1998; Weissmann et al., 1998). 

PCR amplification 

Five pairs of primers of microsatellite 

sequences were selected from the Roslin 

Institute chicken mapping database 

ArkDB (http://www.thearkdb.org). 

Forward primers were labelled with Cy5 

marker. The reaction mixture comprised 

primers each at 20ppmol, dNTP MIX, 

1.0 unit of Taq polymerase (Sigma) per 

24 μl reaction mixture, 1 ng template 

genomic DNA (prepared from red blood 

cells) in each reaction mixture, and 5 μl 

of 10x reaction buffer (100 mM Tris 

HCl, 15mM MgCl2, 50mM KCl, 0.01% 

gelatin). The cycling temperature was as 

follows: denaturation was run at 95 o C 

for 30 s; annealing was run for 60 s at 

46 o C for LEI0071, 47 o C for ADL0306, 

51 o C for MCW0210 and MCW0145, 

and 56 o C for MCW0184, depending on 

primer composition; extension war run 

at 72 o C for 60s.The reaction was carried 

out for 30 cycles. The final extension 

was run at 72 o C for 10 min. The conditions 

of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) 

were employed as earlier established by 

Gruszczyńska and Michalska (2005) and 

by Gruszczyńska et al. (2007). 

The birds were genotyped, using an 

automatic sequencer ALF Express (Pharmacia 

LKB). 

Statistical analysis 

Results of the molecular analysis were 

used to estimate the frequency of alleles of 

the analyzed loci, frequency of genotypes 

(homo- and heterozygotes), expected 

heterozygosity H E (Ott, 1992), and to 

determine the Polymorphic Information 

Content PIC (Botstein et al., 1980). The 

frequency of alleles, H O (observed heterozygosity), 

H E (expected heterozygosity) 

and PIC (polymorphic information 

content) were computed using Cervus 

3.0.3. software (Kalinowski et al., 2007), 

whereas the frequency of genotypes – with 

the use of an original ALFREQ software 

(Tereba Z., Tereba A., 2005). 


In the analyzed population of Ayam 

Cemani breed hens the polymorphism 

within all of 5 selected microsatellite 

sequences. The lengths of the sequences 

were: 156–168bp for MCW0210; 240 and 

260bp for MCW0184; 280–300bp for 

LEI0071; 206–218bp for MCW0145, and 

119–125bp for ADL0306 (Tab. 1). The 

number of alleles was ranging from 2 for 

MCW0184 sequence to 4 for MCW0145 

sequence. Within particular microsatellite 

loci we observed the following

Microsatellite polymorphism in the study... 41 

alleles with the highest frequency: 

locus MCW0210 – allele 166bp (0.66); 

MCW0184–240bp; LEI0071–300bp; 

MCW0145–206bp; and ADL0306–121bp 

(Tab. 1). 

Table 2 presents the frequency of genotypes 

in respect of the 5 microsatellite 

sequences analyzed in the experimental 

population of Ayam Cemani breed hens. 

The most frequent genotype in respect of 

MCW0210, LEI0071, MCW0145 and 

ADL0306 sequences were heterozygotes 

(156bp/166bp; 290bp/300bp; 206bp/214bp; 

119bp/121bp, respectively), whereas in 

terms of MCW0184 sequence – homozygote 

240pb/240bp (0.623) (Tab. 2). 

The number of alleles in the examined 

microsatellite sequences determined 

in hens of the Ayam Cemani breed was 

lower (Tab. 1) than that reported for other 

breeds by other authors (Tab. 3). In the 

case of the MCW0210 sequence, when 

analyzing broiler chickens Crooijmans 

et al., 1997 and Weissmann et al., 1998 

reported over 5 alleles, whereas in locus 

MCW0184 and locus LEI0071 they 

determined respectively 6 and 7 alleles 

(Crooijmans et al., 1997). In turn, 8 alleles 

were reported by Crooijmans et al. 

(1996) in broiler chickens and 7 alleles by 

Tadano et al. (2007a; 2007b) in Japanese 

long-tailed chickens (12 breeds of hens) 

TABLE 1. Frequency of alleles of the microsatellite sequences examined in the experimental population 

of Ayam Cemani breed hens (n = 53) 

MCW0145 MCW0184 MCW0210 LEI0071 ADL0306 

Allele (bp) 

Frequency 

Allele (bp) 

Frequency 

Allele (bp) 

206 0.547 240 0.717 156 0.292 280 0.028 119 0.292 

212 0.132 246 0.283 166 0.660 290 0.453 121 0.472 

214 0.311 168 0.047 300 0.519 125 0.236 

218 0.009 

Frequency 

Allele (bp) 

Frequency 

Allele (bp) 

Frequency 

TABLE 2. Frequency of genotypes in respect of the 5 microsatellite sequences analyzed in the experimental 

population of Ayam Cemani breed hens (n = 53) 

MCW0210 MCW0145 MCW0184 MCW0210 LEI0071 ADL0306 

Genotype 

bp/bp 

Frequency 

Genotype 

bp/bp 

Frequency 

Genotype 

bp/bp 

Frequency 

Genotype 

bp/bp 

Frequency 

Genotype 

bp/bp 

206/206 0.226 240/240 0.623 156/166 0.566 280/290 0.019 119/119 0.038 

206/212 0.113 240/246 0.189 156/168 0.019 280/300 0.038 119/121 0.491 

206/214 0.528 246/246 0.189 166/166 0.340 290/290 0.208 119/125 0.019 

212/212 0.038 166/168 0.075 290/300 0.472 121/125 0.453 

212/214 0.075 300/300 0.264 

214/218 0.019 

Frequency


in terms of the MCW0145 sequence, 

whereas Wardęcka et al. (2002) reported 

3 alleles in each ivestigated breed (156bp 

and 206bp both for Green-Legged and 

Rhode Island Red–RIR, 196bp–typical 

of Green-Legged Partrigenous, 202bp– 

–typical of RIR). In broiler chickens, 

Weissmann et al. (1998) showed 4 alleles 

in locus ADL0306. The length of alleles 

noted in Ayam Cemani hens was similar 

to that reported for other breeds (Tab. 3). 

However, in terms of the selected microsatellite 

sequence, some new alleles 

have been found in the examined population 

of hens, i.e. in locus MCW0145 

these were 214bp and 218bp alleles and 

in locus ADL0306 these were 119bp and 

125bp alleles (Tab. 3). 

The frequency of alleles of the microsatellite 

sequences determined in the 

studied population enabled determining 

indices of observed (H O ) and expected 

(H E ) heterozygosity as well as the polymorphic 

index (PIC). Values of the H E 

ranged from 0.41 to 0.64, and these of 

the PIC index were slightly lower (Tab. 

4). Other authors reported higher values 

(ca. 0.7) of these indices (Lujiang et al., 

2006; Tadano et al., 2007b). The highest 

percentage (81%) of homozygotes was 

reported in the terms of the MCW0184 

sequence, while the lowest (4%) in terms 

TABLE 3. Characteristics of 5 selected microsatellite sequences in Ayam Cemani and other chicken 

breeds 

Microsatellite 

sequence 

Sequence 

localization 

in chromosome 

of 

domestic 

hen 

Ayam 

Cemani in 

this study 

length of 

alleles (bp) 

number 

of alleles 

8 a) 

3 i) 

3 i) 

8 g) 

7 h) 

4 f) 

4 f) 

2 d) 

length of alleles 

(bp) 

Other authors 

2 k) 186; 195 

164–212 

156; 202; 206 

MCW0145 1 

156; 196; 206 

206; 


212; 


214; 

164; 192; 203; 207 

218 

192; 203; 205; 210 

186; 195 

MCW0184 2 240; 246 6 b) 240–293 Broiler 

MCW0210 5 

156;166; 4 b) 152–186 

Broiler 

168 4 j) 148; 152; 156; 160 Broiler 

LEI0071 1 

7 

280; 


Broiler 

8 

290; 

214; 224; 230; 277; Broiler 

308; 310; 318; 327 

300 

1 c) 263 

ISA lines 

ADL0306 3 

119;121; 4 j) 110; 113; 117; 121 

125 1 e) 127 

line or breed or type 

of chicken 

Broiler 

Rhode Island Red 

Green-Legged Partrigenous 

Japanese long-tailed 

Japanese long-tailed 

Broiler 

Layer 

Guangxi Three-yellow 

Qingyuan Partridge 

Broiler 

NicholasCommercial line 

a) 

Crooijmans et al. (1996); b) Crooijmans et al. (1997); c) Gibbs et al. (1997); d) Li et al. (2009); e) Reed 

et al. (2000); f) Rosario et al. (2009); g) Tadano et al. (2007a); h) Tadano et al. (2007b); i) Wardęcka et al. 

(2002); j) Weissmann et al. (1998); k) Zou et al. (2010)

Microsatellite polymorphism in the study... 43 

TABLE 4. Values of observed heterozygosity 

(Ho), expected heterozygosity (H E ) and polymorphic 

content index (PIC) for the microsatellite 

sequences analyzed in the population of Ayam 

Cemani breed hens 

Locus 

Indices 

H O H E PIC 

MCW0145 0.736 0.592 0.514 

MCW0184 0.189 0.410 0.323 

MCW0210 0.660 0.481 0.399 

LEI0071 0.528 0.530 0.414 

ADL0306 0.962 0.642 0.564 

of the ADL0306 sequence (Tab. 4). 

The test of conformity to Hardy-Weinberg 

distribution revealed in the studied 

population a significant (p ≤ 0.05) and 

highly significant (p ≤ 0.0001) lack of 

Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in terms 

of MCW0201 and ADL0306 sequence, 

respectively. 

In summary it is obvious that microsatellite 

sequences investigated in hens of the 

Ayam Cemani breed were polymorphic. 

The values obtained for expected heterozygosity 

(H E ), observed heterozygosity 

(H O ), and Polymorphic Information Content 

(PIC) confirm usability of the selected 

microsatellite sequences as markers being 

a convenient tool in the genetic diversity 

analysis of the hen population. 

Our results will be useful to compare the 

informativeness of microsatellite markers 

with other studies and help other investigators 

interested in using the chicken microsatellite 

markers in the study of genetics 

diversity of examined population. 

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of genetic diversity in Qingyuan Partridge


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from the Rhode Island Red and Greenlegged 

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DAN N., LECLERCQ B., HILLEL J., 1998: 

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Streszczenie: Do badań krew pobrano z żyły 

skrzydłowej od 53 ptaków (29 kogutów i 24 kur) 

rasy Ayam Cemani pochodzących ze stada doświadczalnego. 

Genomowy DNA izolowano z krwi 

metodą fenolowo-chloroformową. W analizie 

molekularnej wykorzystano 5 sekwencji mikrosatelitarnych: 

MCW0210, MCW0184, LEI0071, 

MCW0145 i ADL0306. Ptaki zgenotypowano 

przy wykorzystaniu automatycznego sekwenatora 

ALF Express (Pharmacia LKB). Stwierdzono 

występowanie polimorfizmu we wszystkich badanych 

loci. Długość analizowanych sekwencji 

mikrostaelitarnych była następująca: 156-168pz 

dla MCW0210 (3 allele); 240pz i 260pz dla 

MCW0184; 280-300pz dla LEI0071 (3 allele); 

206-218pz dla MCW0145 (4 allele) i 119-125 

pz dla ADL0306 (3 allele). Najwyższą homozygotyczność 

odnotowano pod względem sekwencji 

MCW0184 (około 81%), a najniższą dla 

ADL0306 (4%). Wielkość współczynników H o 

(0,19-0,96), H E (0,41-0,64) oraz wskaźnika PIC 

(0,32-0,56) nie była tak wysoka jak w badaniach 

innych autorów. 



Joanna Gruszczyńska 




Poland 

e-mail: joanna_gruszczynska@sggw.pl 

Monika Łukasiewicz 



Poland




Confiscation of live exotic animals in Poland by custom service 

during 1998–2008 period in accordance with EU law and CITES 

TADEUSZ KALETA, ANNA SZYMAŃSKA 


Abstract: Confiscation of live exotic animals in 

Poland by custom service during 1998–2008 period 

in accordance with EU law and CITES. On the 

basis of provided documentation from the Polish 

Custom Service authors examined the confiscation 

of live animals in Poland during the first period of 

enforcing CITES and EU law. Nearly 8000 animals 

from 126 transports were confiscated during 

1998–2008 period. Poland turned out to be mainly 

target country for smuggled animals and animals 

were transported predominately from Czech Republic 

and Ukraine. Birds and reptiles species 

were animals the most frequently uncovered by the 

custom officers The cases of smuggling live fishes 

and amphibians were not recorded. The greatest 

numbers of confiscated animal in one baggage was 

noted in the case of chelonians. The pattern of illegal 

trade was to some degree convergent with the 

results of the study of Polish online market with 

animals performed by NGO PTP “Salamandra”. 

Key words: confiscation, live animals, CITES, 

Poland. 

INTRODUCTION 

The world legal market with exotic animal 

and plant species is booming and worth at 

least 5 bilions $ a year. How worth is illicit 

trade is unknown but it may be realistically 

estimated at least at the same level 

(Fitzgerald, 1989). The trade is diverse 

ranging from live organisms to the many 

animal products (e.g. ivory, musk, skins, 

items for traditional Chinese medicine) 

But uncontrolled wildlife trade can have 

far – reaching ecological repercussions. 

As an effect of this trade the number of 

individuals belonging to various species 

exploited by man quickly depleted 

aggravating the troubles with the nature 

and biodiversity conservation. There are 

many facts from around the world supporting 

this claim (Oldfield, 2003). 

The trade in wildlife is really worldwide. 

Therefore, the control of it needed 

international cooperation of exporting and 

importing countries. Such was the genesis 

of Convention on International Trade in 

Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and 

Flora (CITES) originally signed in 1973 

by 85 countries. Convention has three 

categories of protection with Appendix 

1 covering the most vulnerable species 

(Fitzgerald, 1989). Today in CITES over 

5100 species are listed (www.cites.org). 

Since European Union has its own law 

protecting wildlife it was need to conform 

European legislation with CITES agreement. 

It resulted in EU Council Regulation 

no 338/97 which strongly mitigated 

trade in animals covering also some non- 

-CITES species protected in Europe (EU 

Wildlife Trade Regulation, 1996). 

Potentially the situation of Poland in 

Europe as regards trade in animals is very 

important. Poland is the biggest “border 

state” of European Union bordering

46 T. Kaleta, A. Szymańska 

upon post-USSR republics in which legislation 

of wildlife trade is often poorly 

enforced. These republics are exporters 

and re-exporters of many animals and 

animal products highly prized in the 

West. Therefore, Poland may be seen 

also as transit country on the route of 

legal and illicit trade in animals. 

Although Poland signed CITES in 

1989, the real participation in trade control 

based on Convention begun ten years 

later (Trusiński, 2009). Thus, the good 

starting point of any analysis of custom 

service work concerning transported animals 

should be this year. 

In this study we concerned ourselves 

with the number and type of confiscation 

of live animals executed in Poland 

by custom service in concordance with 

EU law and CITES. The reason of preference 

of live animals over animal products 

is the fact of growing popularity of 

pet animals (specially exotic species). It 

has been recorded already in 20th century 

(Serpell, 1996), and has caused many 

problems. For example exotic pet trade 

is often based on taking animals from 

the wild which is harmful for nature conservation 

(Fitzgerald, 1989). It should 

be noted that EU law imposed ban on 

the trade in many live animals devoid 

of proper documentation. For example 

this is the case of monkeys and apes, 

parrots and parakeets, tortoises crocodilians, 

some amphibians and invertebrates 

(tarantulas, leeches etc) (EU Wildlife 

Trade Regulation, 1996). 

MATERIAL AND METHOD 

The data concerning confiscation of 

individuals from wildlife species in 

Poland during the 1998–2008 period was 

provided by the Department of Custom 

Service in Polish Ministry of Finances. 

The reason of confiscation was usually 

lack of special documentation needed 

for species covered by CITES and EU 

law. This database covered cases of 

confiscations recorded at the frontier 

points and at the Custom Office province 

headquarters (in Poland custom service 

is decentralized). Some data concerned 

also confiscation in home market. Place, 

date, confiscated species, number of individuals, 

source country and target country 

(in the case of transit) were recorded in 

each case. Only records with full description 

were selected to further analysis. 

RESULTS 

Table 1 focuses on place where the animals 

were confiscated. The confiscations 

took place at 16 points. They were located 

either at the frontier (e.g. Cieszyn) or at 

Custom Office province headquarter 

(e.g. Wrocław, Cracow). Some confiscations 

also took place in Okęcie Airport 

in Warsaw and during controls in central 

part of the country. Confiscated animals 

arrived from 19 countries (import), in 8 

cases Poland was source country (export) 

and in two cases there was transit. 

In the studied period Cieszyn and 

Przemyśl turned out to be frontier posts 

where the greater number of smuggling 

acts was foiled. This fact is in accordance 

with the visible trend of direction of trade 

in animals leading to the Polish territory. 

As a whole the greater number of confiscations 

imported animals was noted 

at places geographically connected with 

the eastern and southern border (Tab. 1). 

In fact, as further analysis showed the 

import from Czech Republic accounted

Confi scation of live exotic animals in Poland... 47 

TABLE 1. The number of confiscations of live animals at various control points 

Place 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Total 

Wa 2 2 1 3 4 1 1 1 1 3 – 19 

1Bia – 1 – 2 – – – – – – – 3 

1Ol – – – – – – – – 1 – – 1 

1BP – 2 2 – 1 1 – 1 2 1 – 10 

1Prz – – 2 – 5 3 3 6 1 2 2 24 

2Kr – – – 1 – – – – – – – 1 

2NT 1 – – – – – – – – – – 1 

2Cie – 1 2 10 11 1 – – – – – 25 

2Kat – – – – – – 1 1 1 6 2 11 

2Wr – – 5 3 6 2 1 1 – – – 18 

2Op – – – – – – – 3 – 1 – 4 

3Rz – – – – – – 1 – – – – 1 

3Poz – 1 – – – – – – – – – 1 

4Sz 1 – – – – – – – – – – 1 

4Gdy – 1 – 1 2 – – 1 – – – 5 

Ł* – 1 – – – – – – – – – 1 

Total 4 9 12 20 29 8 7 14 6 13 4 126 

Abbreviations: 

Wa – Warszawa 

1– eastern border – Bia-Białystok, Ol – Olsztyn, Bp – Biała Podlaska, Prz – Przemyśl 

2 – southern border – Kr – Kraków, NT – Nowy Targ, Cie – Cieszyn, Kat – Katowice, Wr – Wrocław, 

Op – Opole 

3 – western border – Rz – Rzepin, Poz – Poznań 

4 – northern border – Sz – Szczecin, Gdy – Gdynia 

Ł* – Łódź – confiscation after the road control 

for 30% of total number of confiscations 

and from Ukraine 20%. On the other 

hand, the attempts to export live animals 

accounted only for 6% and 14% of confiscations 

concerned domestic market. 

Predominance of Czech Republic and 

Ukraine in confiscations which took 

place in 1998–2008 period not necessarily 

means that confiscated animas were 

smuggled only from these countries. 

These countries can re-export animals 

from remote countries e.g. Far Eastern 

countries. 

Table 2 shows the distribution of 

confiscations of animals from various 

groups in particular years. It is clearly 

visible that birds and reptiles accounted 

for greater part of confiscated specimens. 

Although number of species was 

rather restricted, the number of confiscated 

individuals highly varied from 52 

to over 2000 specimens. In the last case 

the high number is an effect of invertebrates 

(leeches). 

It should be noted that the number of 

confiscated birds is underestimated. In 

some database records (particularly in the 

first years of period studied) there were 

description such as “live birds” or “live 

parakeets”. This cases were not taken 

into account in the present analysis. 

List of fully or nearly identified animals 

uncovered by Polish custom service 

is shown in Table 3. In sum, there were 5


TABLE 2. Number of species and specimens of animals uncovered by Polish custom service in 1998– 

–2008 period 

Year 

Mammals Birds Reptiles Invertebrates Total Total 

Sp Spe Sp Spe Sp Spe Sp Spe Sp Spe 

1998 – – 1 2 2 62 – – 3 64 

1999 1 1 1 5 4 298 – – 6 304 

2000 – – 14 57 6 1 108 – – 20 1 165 


2002 – – 18 103 9 1 351 1 18 28 1 472 

2003 – – 7 12 3 15 3 25 13 52 


2005 1 1 2 2 8 1 002 1 1 12 1 006 

2006 – – 3 8 5 8 1 2 000 9 2 016 

2007 – – 18 137 6 109 1 3 25 249 

2008 – – 5 63 2 42 – – 7 105 

Total* x 5 x 516 x 5 192 x 2 047 7 760 

Specimens 

Abbreviations: 

Sp – species; Spe – specimens 

*As species repeated in various years the sum is not appropriate in this case. 

invertebrate species, 19 reptiles, 57 birds 

and 5 mammals. 

Confiscations of live fishes and 

amphibians have been not recorded. It 

does not mean that these animals were 

not smuggled to Poland at all. Rather the 

frequency of illegal transports was lower 

in this case The reason was probably 

relatively low popularity of keeping 

amphibians and big legal home market 

for ornamental fishes to great degree satisfying 

the needs of breeders. 

The two main groups of animals in 

database were birds and reptiles. The 

representatives of the first group were 

predominantly parakeets and parrots 

usually species widely bred and popular in 

the pet industry (e.g. lovebirds and rosellas) 

(Alderton, 1992). There were also 

macaws and grey parrot valuable and 

highly threatened in the wild, and some 

other non-psittacide species. It seems 

that the greater part of above mentioned 

birds originated from breeding, not from 

the wild.The reason of confiscation was 

apparently lack of proper documentation. 

According to EU law the trade is illicit 

in this case. 

In reptiles individuals from all main 

orders were present. In chelonians group 

there were mainly tortoises rather popular 

in Poland as pet animals according to 

some sources (http://wetkros.republika.pl/ 

zolwie.htm). The separate case of confiscation 

was slider seen in Poland as potentially 

invasive species (Głowaciński et 

al., 1998). In the studied group fairly 

well represented were also snakes from 

the family Boidae. There were several 

and biologically interesting species of 

lizard group (with very poplar green 

iguana). Two cases of smuggling crocodilians 

were also recorded. 

In mammals only order Primates was 

represented with five species commonly 

used as pet or laboratory animals. Since


TABLE 3. List of living animals confiscated in Poland during the 1998–2008 period 

English and latin name 

Short taxonomy 

1 2 

INVERTEBRATES 

Stony Coral* 

Cnidaria 

(no detailed taxonomy) 

Anthozoa 

Sclerastina 

Tridacna clam 

Tridacna sp. 

Medicinal leech 

Hirudo medicinalis 

Mexican fireleg tarantula 

Brachypelma boehmei 

Mexican redrump tarantula 

Brachypelma vagans 

Central Asia tortoise 

Testudio horsfieldi 

Hermann’s tortoise 

Testudio hermanni 

Spur-tighed tortoise 

Testudio graeca 

Egyptian tortoise 

Testudio keinmanni 

South American red-footed tortoise 

Geochelone carbonaria 

Slider 

Trachemys scripta elegans 

Green iguana 

Iguana iguana 

African spiny-tailed lizard 

Uromastyx acanthinurus 

Veiled chameleon 

Chamaeleo calyptratus 

Madagascar chameleon 

Furcifer sp. 

Crested gecko 

Rhacodactylus ciliates 

Madagascar gecko 

Phelsuma sp. 

VERTEBRATES 

Mollusca 

Bivalvia 

Tridacnidae 

Annelida 

Oligochaeta 

Hirudinidae 

Arthropoda 

Arachnida 

Araneae 

Theraphosinae 

Reptilia 

Testudinata 

Cryptodira 

Testdinidae 

Reptilia 

Testudinata 

Cryptodira 

Emydidae 

Reptilia 

Squamata 

Sauria 

Iguanidae 

Reptilia 

Squamata 

Sauria 

Agamidae 

Reptilia 

Squamata 

Sauria 

Chamaeleontidae 

Reptilia 

Squamata 

Sauria 

Gekkonidae



1 2 

Girdled lizard 

Reptilia 

Cordylus sp. 

Squamata 

Sauria 

Cordylidae 

Monitor 

Varanus sp. 

Indian python 

Python molurus 

Ball python 

Python regius 

Reticulated python 

Python reticulatus 

Boa constrictor 

Boa constrictor 

Australian python 

Morelia spilotes 

Green tree python 

Morelia viridis 

Rainbow boa 

Epicrates cenchria 

Amazon tree boa 

Corallus hortulanus 

American alligator 

Alligator mississippiensis 

Spectacled caiman 

Caiman crocodiles 

Fischer’s lovebird 

Agapornis fi scheri 

Yellow-collared lovebird 

Agapornis personata 

Rosy-faced lovebird 

Agapornis roseicollis 

Australian king parrot 

Alisterus scapularis 

Cuban parrot 

Amazona leucocephala 

Red-winged parrot 

Aprosmictus erythropterus 

Blue and yellow macaw 

Ara araruana 

Scarlet macaw 

Ara macao 

Salmon-crested cockatoo 

Cacatua moluccensis 

Burrowing parakeet 

Cyanoliseus patagonus 

Reptilia 

Squamata 

Sauria 

Varanidae 

Reptilia 

Squamata 

Serpentes 

Boidae 

Reptilia 

Crocodilia 

Alligatoridae 

Aves 

Psittaciformes 

Psittacidae



1 2 

Yellow-fronted parakeet 

Cyanoramphus auriceps 

Red-fronted parakeet 

Cyanoramphus novazelandiae 

Monk parakeet 

Miopsitta monachus 

Nanday parakeet 

Nandayus nenday 

Turqouise parrot 

Neophema pulchella 

Bourke’s parrot 

Neophema (=Neophotus) bourki 

Pale-headed rosella 

Platycercus adscitus 

Crimson rosella 

Platycercus elegans 

Eastern rosella 

Platycercus eximius 

Yellow rosella 

Platycercus fl aveolas 

Western rosella 

Platycercus icterotis 

Senegal parrot 

Poicephalus Senegalu 

Alexandra’s parrot 

Polytelis alexandrae 

Regent parrot 

Polytelis anthopeplus 

Superb parrot 

Polytelis swainsonii 

Red-rumped parrot 

Psephotus haematonotus 

Plum-headed parakeet 

Psittacula cyanocephalus 

Rose-ringed parakeet 

Psittacula krameri 

Grey parrot 

Psittacus erithacus 

Green aracari 

Pteroglussus viridis 

Cut-throat 

Amadina fasciata 

Black-rumped waxbill 

Estrilda troglodytes 

African silverbill 

Lonchura cantans 

African quailfinch 

Ortygospiza atricollis 

Aves 

Piciformes 

Ramphastidae 

Aves 

Passeriformes 

Passeridae



1 2 

Java sparrow 

Padda oryzivora 

Red-cheeked cordonbleu 

Uraeginthus bengalus 

Pin-tailed whydah 

Vidua macroura 

Common marmoset 

Callithrix jacchus 

Vervet monkey 

Cercopithecus aetiops 

Stump-tailed macaque 

Macaca arctoides 

Crab-eating macaque 

Macaca fascicularis 

Savanna baboon 

Papio cynocephalus 

Mammalia 

Primates 

Callithricidae 

Mammalia 

Primates 

Cercopithecidae 

Names and taxonomy based on Marshall (1996), Monoroe and Sibley (1993), Sokolov (1988), Ernst 

and Barbour (1989), Woliński (1990) and Arkive (www.arkive.org) 

the European Union highly restricted the 

use of primates as laboratory animals 

(Peter, 2010), it seems that destination 

for all smuggled animals was to be kept 

as pets. All these primates are commercially 

available for example in the US 

market (www.monkeys-for-sale.com) 

The invertebrate group comprised of 

marine species used in aquaculture (coral 

and tridacna clam) and spiders (tarantulas) 

kept as pet animals. Live tridacna 

clam was an exception in database in 

comparison with recorded huge number 

of tridacna shells each year illegally 

imported to Poland. 

Rather curious case seems to be confiscation 

of medicine leech. However, 

this animal is protected in the wild. In 

medicine only individuals from highly 

specialized breeding are used (Jurga, 

2004). 

It seems that the destination for live 

animals confiscated in Poland in 1998– 

–2008 was mostly pet animals market. 

Collection of species as regards taxonomy 

was rather typical for trade pattern 

observed in the world (Fitzgerald, 1989). 

However, as may be expected the number 

of animals smuggled varied depending 

on species and given transport. 

This aspect was shown in Table 4. 

Central Asia tortoise turned out to be 

the most numerous species in trade with 

high numbers ranged from 113 to 747 in 

a single transport. Other species of tortoises 

were also smuggled in fairly high 

numbers so was (in one recorded case) 

green iguana. On the other hand, birds 

uncovered in single transport were usually 

less numerous. The occurrences of 

mixed species (various birds or birds and 

reptiles or other animals) in single confiscated 

baggage were also noted. 

Undoubtedly number confiscated wild 

animals in Poland in 1998–2008 period 

only to some degree reflected the smug-


TABLE 4. Some high numbers of live animals 

confiscated by the Polish custom officers in single 

case during 1998–2008 period 

Species 

Year 

Number of 

specimens 

confiscated 

Medicinal leech 

2006 2000 

(Hirudo medicinalis) 

Central Asia tortoise 2000 747 

(Testudio horsfieldi) 

As above 2005 351 

As above 2002 113 

Spur-tighed tortoise 1999 120 

(Testudio graeca) 

Hermann’s tortoise 2000 84 

(Testudio hermanni) 

Lizard (Various species) 2007 102 

Green iguana 

1998 60 

(Iguana iguana) 

American alligator 2005 11 

(Alligator mississippiensis) 

Birds (Various species) 2000 42 

glers activity. This period was only the 

first when Polish custom service tried 

to control effectively illicit trade in animals. 

This was the period of gaining 

experiences and training of specialized 

enforcement officers to help identify the 

species being traded. 

As a discussion maybe it would be 

instructive to compare above-mentioned 

results with the offers on the internet 

sites concerning exotics animals. PTOP 

“Salamandra” is Polish NGO which has 

monitored trade in protected animals 

since 2004 when Poland joined EU. 

Members of PTOP “Salamandra” have 

monitored Polish internet sites related to 

trade in animals (e.g. auctions, advertisements 

and pet shops). This type of monitoring 

to some degree reflects the picture 

of trade in wild animals in Poland and 

popularity of particular species. 

In third report (Kepel et al., 2009) 

authors revealed that birds are the most 

popular animals offered online, with 

arachnids and reptiles as the second 

popular. In the birds group psittacide 

prevailed with the red-fronted parakeet 

rated as the most frequently mentioned 

in advertisements and auctions. Java 

sparrow was the most important species 

from non-psittacide birds. Both species 

occured in our database. 

As regards reptiles the snakes from 

family Boidae turned out to be the most 

wanted. All species mentioned in “Salamandra” 

study (boa constrictor and two 

pythons) can be found in our database. 

So were green iguana, veiled chameleon, 

Central Asia tortoise and Hermann’s tortoise, 

the most popular reptiles for sale 

from the other reptile groups. Offers 

concerning crocodilians were very rare 

(only spectacled caiman which was also 

present in our database). 

Advertisements concerning live mammals 

for sale were rare. Only three species 

of primates were mentioned in 

“Salamandra” study, with crab-eating 

macaque present in our database. Also very 

rare were offers concerning amphibians 

(only Dendrobates sp. and Phyllobates 

sp.). There were no offers concerning 

live fishes. 

In invertebrate group the most popular 

species turned out to be tarantulas from 

the genus Brachypelma. Great interest 

of potential buyers resulted in fact that 

number of offers concerning these animals 

was nearly so high as in the case 

of birds. From three species mentioned 

the Mexican redrump tarantula occurred 

in our database. There were also some 

offers concerning live corals, but as 

mentioned authors of “Salamandra”


study there were other ways than online 

buying to obtain corals in an aquaculture 

industry. 

To sum up, Kepel et al. (2009) claimed 

that number of offers online concerning 

exotic animals for sale on Polish 

sites increased three times comparing to 

2005–2006 period. 

As concerns present work, comparison 

of our data and PTOP Salamandra 

study revealed some convergence. It was 

particularly visible in the case of birds 

and reptiles wanted in home market and 

attempts to smuggle them into Poland. On 

the other hand, there was small interest in 

living amphibians and fishes observed in 

both sets of data. It would be interesting 

to investigate if this trend will be present 

also in the following years. 

CONCLUSIONS 

1. In the first ten years of trade in animals 

control in accordance with EU 

law and CITES in Poland custom officers 

confiscated nearly 8000 animals 

from 126 transports. 

2. The smuggling of live animals prevailed 

on eastern and southern Polish 

border. 

3. Poland was primarily target country 

with animals imported mainly from 

Czech Republic and Ukraine. 

4. Birds and reptiles with bias in favour 

of psittacide and chelonians were s the 

most important smuggled animals. 

5. The study of popularity of the exotic 

pets in Poland on the basis of the monitoring 

online trade revealed proximity 

of the popular species offered on internet 

sites (birds, arachnids and reptiles) 

to the set of species confiscated by the 

custom officers. 

LITERATURE 

ALDERTON D., 1992: You and your birds. Dorling 

Kidersley Ltd., London. 

ERNST C., BARBOUR R., 1989: Turtles of the 

World. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 

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http://wetkros.republika.pl/zolwie.htm


Streszczenie: Konfi skata przez służbę celną 

w Polsce żywych, egzotycznych zwierząt zgodnie 

z prawem Unii Europejskiej i konwencją CITES 

w latach 1998–2008. Na podstawie dokumentacji 

dostarczonej przez polską Służbę Celną autorzy 

zbadali konfiskaty żywych zwierząt w pierwszym 

okresie wdrażania w Polsce konwencji CITES 

oraz prawa Unii Europejskiej. W okresie 1998– 

–2008 skonfiskowano niemal 8000 zwierząt w 126 

transportach. Polska była przeważnie krajem docelowym 

dla przemycanych zwierząt, a transportowano 

je przede wszystkim z Republiki Czeskiej 

i z Ukrainy. Urzędnicy celni najczęściej odkrywali 

przemycane ptaki i gady. Nie odnotowano przemytu 

żywych ryb i płazów. Największe liczby 

skonfiskowanych zwierząt w jednym transporcie 

odnotowano w przypadku żółwi. Wzorzec nielegalnego 

handlu był do pewnego stopnia zbieżny 

z wynikami badań dotyczących rynku internetowego 

na zwierzęta w Polsce przeprowadzonych 

przez polską organizację pozarządową PTP „Salamandra”. 






Poland 

e-mail: tkaleta@gazeta.pl




Identification of quantitative trait loci for body composition 

in two growth-differentiated mouse lines 

DOROTA ŁUKASIEWICZ-ŚMIETAŃSKA 1 , 

ELŻBIETA WIRTH-DZIĘCIOŁOWSKA 1 , MARTA GAJEWSKA 2 

1 


2 

Department of Genetics and Laboratory Animal Breeding, The Maria Skłodowska-Curie Memorial 

Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology, Warsaw 

Abstract: Identifi cation of quantitative trait loci 

for body composition in two growth-differentiated 

mouse lines. We performed a genome-wide quantitative 

trait locus (QTL) analysis of body composition 

at two lines L and C derived from the cross 

of four mice strains (A/St, C57BL/6, BALB/c, 

BN/a). Interval mapping revealed five suggestive 

QTLs for tail length, two QTLs for mesenteric 

fat and liver weight, one QTL for parametrial fat 

weight, pancreas, kidney and adrenal weight and 

tree QTLs for spleen weight. 

Key words: body composition, quantitative trait 

loci, mouse, selected lines, fat. 

INTRODUCTION 

The body composition traits of livestock 

is one of the major challenge of breeders. 

The overall body weight consists of certain 

components, such as fat mass, muscle 

mass and internal organ mass. The livestock 

industry is currently making a big 

effort to reduce carcass fat in response to 

marketing and consumer demands. Selection 

is the best method of reducing fat 

in farm animals because of a permanent 

effect (Eisen, Coffey, 1990). Body composition 

is a typical example of a complex 

trait which is regulated by multiple 

QTL with small effect. The knowledge 

of QTL affecting certain components of 

body weight will facilitate the selection. 

Like it was referred in the previous 

paper, in Department of Genetics and 

Animal Breeding, Warsaw Agricultural 

University (SGGW) are maintained 

unique lines of laboratory mice selected 

divergently for body weight on 21st day 

of life for 120 generations. As a result of 

the long-term selection, the mice from 

tested lines varied significantly in body 

weight, body length and body composition 

(Wirth-Dzięciołowska et al., 1997; 

Wirth-Dzięciołowska, Czumińska, 2000). 

This study focuses on the discovery of 

QTLs affecting fat weights, body length 

and organ weights in L (light) and C 

(heavy) lines of mice. 


Animals 

Animals used in the present study were 

obtained by intercrossing the light line 

(L) and the heavy line (C). These two 

lines originated from the cross of four 

inbred strains: A/St, C57BL/6, BALB/c

58 D. Łukasiewicz-Śmietańska, E. Wirth-Dzięciołowska, M. Gajewska 

and BN/a. (Radomska et al., 1970a, b; 

Sławiński, 1974). The selection criterion 

was the body weight on day 21 of life. 

Group of animals from generation 120 

(10 females form the C line and 10 males 

form the L line) were mated to produce 

F1. The mating of F1 resulted in 236 F2 

individuals. The mice were housed in 

a conventionally conditioned room with 

temperature 22 ±2˚C and 60% humidity. 

The mice had free access to water and 

standard pelleted died (Labofeed H 

manufactured by Morawski Co, Poland). 

At 150 day of life all mice were sacrificed. 

The liver, kidney, adrenal, spleen 

and pancreas were removed from the 

carcass and individually weighed using 

a sensitive digital balance. The perigonadal, 

parametrial and mesenteric fat 

were dissected and weighed. The relative 

organ and fat weights were calculated by 

dividing the weight of the organ with the 

weight of the mouse to which it belonged. 

There was also measured the body length 

(from the nose tip to the base of the tail) 

and tail length. The animals received the 

human care and ethical treatment. The 

experiment was approved by the Local 

Ethics Commission. 

Genotyping 

DNA was extracted from tails with NucleoSpin® 

Tissue kit (Macherey-Nagel- 

-08/2004/rev 03). Seventy eight microsatellite 

markers distributed across 19 

autosomes and X, Y chromosomes were 

used in genotyping (Tab. 1). In choosing 

markers special attention was paid to the 

polymorphism level of the four initial 

inbred strains and the difference in the size 

of allele. Genotypes were analyzed using 

PCR reaction performed in the standard 

conditions (Gajewska et al., 2002). PCR 

products were electrophoresed on 4–5% 

high resolution agarose gel. 

QTL analysis 

Allele frequency, Fisher test and chisquare 

test were calculated using SAS. 

The Qxpak software (Perez-Enciso, 

Misztal, 2004) were used to evaluate the 

associations between phenotypes and genetic 

markers in the F2 population. The 

significance of each potential association 

was measured as likelihood ratio statistic 

(LRS). LOD score were obtained by 

dividing the LRS by 4.605. 


The differences between mice line light 

(L) and heavy (C) were evident not only 

in body weight (Łukasiewicz-Śmietańska 

et al., 2009), but also in their size (length) 

(Tab. 2).These differences are statistically 

significant between females (p ≤ 0.001) 

and males ( p ≤ 0.05). 

Mice from both selected lines differed 

in the absolute and relative weight of 

internal organs and fat mass. Particularly 

interesting is the difference in weight 

of perigonadal fat. The relative weight 

of perigonadal fat was significantly 

higher in females from line L than in 

line C. Females from the light line had 

considerably higher relative parametrial 

mass of fat as compared to females from 

the heavy line. The relative weight of 

total internal fat is also higher in L line 

females than in C line. The difference in 

this trait is not such expressive between 

males (Tab. 3). 

Using microsatellite markers analysis 

we detected 16 QTL for 10 traits: 5 for 

tail length, 3 for spleen, 2 for liver and 

mesenteric fat and 1 for parametrial fat,

Identifi cation of quantitative trait loci... 59 

TABLE 1. List of the microsatellite marker loci typed 

Marker and 

map position (cM)* 

D1Mit3 11 

D1Mit18 29.7 

D1Mit46 43.1 

D1Mit42 78 

D1Mit200 80 

D1Mit15 87.9 

D1Mit511 109.6 

D1Mit155 112 

Marker and 

map position (cM) 

D6Mit1 

D6Mit228 

D6Mit254 

D6Mit15 

2.8 

37 

60.5 

74 

Marker and 


D11Mit78 

D11Mit8 

D11Mit301 

Marker and 

2.0 

46.17 

69 


D16Mit9 

D16Mit174 

D16Mit114 

D16Mit50 

D16Mit106 

4.0 

43 

44.5 

53.5 

71.45 

Marker and 


D2Mit238 28 

D2Mit102 52.5 

D2Mit226 96 

D2Mit265 105 

D2Mit200 107 

Marker and 


D7Mit178 

D7Mit267 

D7Mit147 

D7Mit40 

D7Mit68 

0.5 

11 

37 

53 

60 

Marker and 


D12Mit136 

D12Mit214 

D12Mit133 

13 

38 

56 

Marker and 


D17Mit133 10.4 

D17Mit152 37.7 

D17Mit244 55.7 

Marker and 


D3Mit164 2.4 

D3Mit21 19.2 

D3Mit173 29.5 

D3Mit45 78.5 

D3Mit147 79.4 

Marker and 


D8Mit155 

D8Mit287 

D8Mit65 

D8Mit271 

D8Mit318 

1 

8 

22.5 

57 

57 

Marker and 


D13Mit88 

D13Mit128 

D13Mit77 

Marker and 

21 

48 

73 


D18Mit64 2.0 

D18Mit202 22 

D18Mit184 41 

*Map positions (cM) are from Mouse Genome Informatics database. 

TABLE 2. Traits measured in line L and C 

Marker and 


D4Mit315 0.0 

D4Mit288 28.6 

D4Mit152 40.0 

D4Mit234 71 

Marker and 


D9Mit48 

D9Mit311 

34 

65 

Marker and 


D14Mit14 

D14Mit165 

10 

52 

Marker and 

map position cM) 

D19Mit59 0.5 

D19Mit19 26 

D19Mit53 43 

Marker and 


D5Mit346 1.0 

D5Mit13 20 

D5Mit394 34 

D5Mit239 58 

D5Mit168 78 

Marker and 


D10Mit168 

D10Mit115 

D10Mit134 

9.0 

38.4 

59 

Marker and 


D15Mit12 

D15Mit122 

D15Mit161 

Marker and 

4.7 

34.2 

69.2 


ZFY 19 

DXM140 62 

DXM197 

Famale 

Male 

Trait 

L C L C 

Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD 

Body length (cm) 8.0 0.4 11.3 0.4 9.4 0.4 10.1 0.5 

Tail length (cm) 8.0 0.4 9.9 0.5 8.4 0.6 10.2 0.4 

TABLE 3. Relative value of analyzed traits to body weight (in %) 

Trait 

Female 

Male 

L C L C 

Mesenteric fat weight 

Perigonadal fat weight 

Parametrial fat weight 

Total internal fat 

Pancreas weight 

Liver weight 

Kidney weight 

Adrenal weight 

Spleen weight 

1.50% 

0.66% 

1.90% 

4.06% 

0.58% 

6.11% 

1.41% 

0.05% 

0.47% 

1.40% 

0.19% 

1.10% 

2.69% 

0.69% 

7.60% 

1.52% 

0.03% 

0.34% 

1.34% 

1.22% 

– 

2.56% 

0.49% 

6.54% 

1.85% 

0.03% 

0.37% 

1.32% 

0.99% 

– 

2.31% 

0.64% 

6.58% 

1.63% 

0.03% 

0.26%


pancreas, adrenal and kidney weight. No 

significant linkages were identified for 

body length and perigonadal fat (Tab. 4). 

Locus identified on chromosome 11 

(69 cM) controls three traits (kidney, 

mesenteric fat weight and tail length) 

(Fig. 1). It is possible that in this region 

of chromosome 11 there are 3 tightly 

linked QTL but we can’t exclude that 

co-localization could be caused by pleiotropic 

effects (Knott, Haley, 2000; Lund 

et al., 2003). 

TABLE 4. QTLs detected for analyzed traits 

Trait Chr LRS 

(LOD) 

Tail length 1 9.72 

(2.1) 

3 13.22 

(2.9) 

9 8.54 

(1.9) 

11 10.81 

(2.3) 

18 9.89 

(2.1) 

Mesenteric 7 9.99 

fat weight 

(2.2) 

11 8.6 

(1.9) 

Parametrial 2 10.44 

fat weight 

(2.7) 

Pancreas 11 11.25 

weight 

(2.4) 

Liver 

2 9.84 

weight 

(2.1) 

3 8.89 

(1.9) 

Kidney 11 11.02 

weight 

(2.4) 

Adrenal 7 9.98 

weight 

(2.2) 

Spleen 4 8.29 

weight 

(1.8) 

9 8.45 

(1.8) 

10 7.66 

(1.7) 

p 

The highest 

peak LOD 

score (cM)* 

Flanking 

Markers 

0.053 44 D1M46-D1M42 41–50 

CI 90% CI 95% 

0.007 20 D3M21-D3M45 4–42 9–39 















Chr – chromosome 

LOD – logarithm of odds 

LRS – likelihood ratio test 

p – p-value (statistical significance) 

*Approximate positions (Mouse Genome Database) 

of maximum likelihood peaks 

CI – confidence intervals


Chromosom 11 

1 

2 

3 

Plots of: 

1 Pancreas weight 2 Kidney weight 3 Mesenteric weight 

FIGURE 1. LOD score plot for Chromosome 11; Threshold is marked by solid line [suggestive – 

LRS > 6.915 ( LOD > 1.5)] 

For tail length there were identificated 

5 loci on chromosomes 1, 3, 9, 11 and 

18. The position of QTL mapped in this 

study on chromosome 1 coincident with 

result obtained by Kenney-Hunt et al. 

(2006) who mapped LBN1.1 at 50 cM. 

These authors have reported that the 

same genes can regulate tail length and 

long bone length because those QTL frequently 

share the same location. Cheverud 

(2001) located Skl1 (skeletal size (tail 

length) 1) at 41 cM at the same region 

as LBN 1.1, which affects all four long 

bones and consequently regulates the 

size of an animal. There are many publications 

which confirm that the tail can 

be an indicator of skeletal growth (Kaufhold 

et al., 2002; Christians et al., 2003; 

Ankara-Badu et al., 2009). In this study 

we didn’t measured the length of bones 

so it’s impossible to consider if this locus 

influences length of bones too. 

Christians et al. (2003) using mice 

cross (C57BL/6J × DBA/2J) F2 detected 

location of locus Tlln (tail length) similar 

to that reported by us. C57BL/6J-derived 

alleles confer increased tail length at this 

locus. QTL detected in this analysis colocalized 

also with the Bnszq2 (bone size 

QTL 2) (45 cM) which regulates bone 

size. 

Another two QTLs for tail length were 

mapped on chromosome 3 and 9 (20 and 

65 cM respectively). These two loci 

affect not only the tail length but also 

body weight gain from days 12 and 21, 

the trait which was described in the previous 

paper (Łukasiewicz-Śmietańska et 

al., 2009). Database searching provided 

no evidences to confirm our results for 

chromosome 3 and 9, however in this 

region of genome are QTLs which affected 

the skeleton; Lbn3a (long bones 3a) 

on chromosome 3, and on chromosome 9 

Bdln8 (body length 8) (59 cM) (Vitarius 

et al., 2006), Plskt47 (pleiotropic skeletal 

traits 47) (66.8 cM) which regulate tibia 

length (Kenney-Hunt et al., 2008). 

On chromosome 11, the peak LOD 

score for tail length was obtained at 25 

cM. The similar results for this trait were 

reported Rocha et al. (2004), detecting


Tlq1 at 22.8 cM. Farber et al. (2007) 

also identified on chromosome 11 QTL 

influencing tail length-Tailq8 (tail length 

QTL 8). 

QTL located on chromosome 18 regulated 

not only the length of tail but also 

body weight at 12 days (Łukasiewicz- 

-Śmietańska et al., 2009). In this region 

on chromosome 18 there is the locus 

Lbn16 (long bones 16) (24 cM) mapped 

by Norgard et al. (2009), which regulate 

the length of femur. 

For mesenteric fat we detected two 

QTL. Near the locus located on chromosome 

11 (69 cM), indicated in this study, 

there are some interesting loci influencing 

fat mass. Prkca (protein kinase C, 

alpha) gene is located at 68 cM in mouse 

genome. Protein kinase-c alpha is a negative 

feedback inhibitor of adipocyte differentiation 

and insulin signaling (Artemenko 

et al., 2005; Ranganathan et al., 

2002; Leitges et al., 2002). Murphy and al. 

(2009) observed an association of SNPs 

within the protein kinase-C alpha gene 

(PRKCA) with BMI in people population. 

Carlborg et al. (2005) also mapped a QTL 

on chromosome 11 which influences fat 

weight. They named this QTL as Abfw1 

(abdominal fat weight 1) (60 cM). 

There have been no publications confirming 

our results for the second QTL 

for mesenteric fat located on 7 chromosome. 

Chromosome 2 showed suggestive 

QTL for parametrial fat weight. The 

similar results for chromosome 2 were 

reported Mehrabian et al. (1998). They 

identified at 37 cM the Mob7 (multigenic 

obesity 7) QTL which regulates the 

amount of fat. 

Loci controlling weight of liver were 

detected on chromosomes 2 (22 cM) and 

3 (3 cM). The location of locus mapped 

by us on chromosome 3, is similar to that 

reported by Leamy et al. (2002). They 

identified QTL named Orgwq4 (organ 

weight QTL 4) 13.8 cM which regulate 

the weight of liver. Brockmann et al. 

(2004) mapped a loci for liver weight 

also on chromosome 2 and 3 (89 i 32 cM 

respectively) but the distances from QTL 

mapped in our study is too great. 

A single suggestive QTL was identified 

for adrenal weight on chromosome 

7. Weight of adrenal glands is a trait 

rarely analyzed so it is difficult to 

find confirmation for the result, however 

on 46 cM of chromosome 7 is 

a QTL named Org5 (organ weight 5) 

(Kenney-Hunt et al., 2006) which 

have an impact on this trait. 

Loci influencing spleen weight was 

mapped on chromosomes 4, 9 and 10. All 

three loci are suggestive. Similar results 

for chromosome 10 can be found in the 

other studies. There are two QTL located 

near the 95% CI (confidence interval) 

of locus identified in this analysis. One 

is Org6 (Organ weight 6) (57 cM) and 

the other is Swq5 (spleen weight QTL5) 

(64 cM) (Kenney-Hunt et al., 2006; 

Brockmann et al., 2000). 

Our studies have confirmed some 

known QTL and identified some novel 

in the mouse light and heavy line intercross. 

All of QTLs detected in present 

analysis have a small effect however 

some of them have confirmation in other 

publications so, it is possible to assume 

that novel QTLs are the regions of DNA 

which influence measured traits. In 

future experiments will be required a 

more detailed mapping studies for QTLs 

affecting perigonadal and total internal 

fat. There will be interesting to look


for loci influencing muscle weight and 

to understand the relationship between 

muscle and fat mass which are the most 

important components of body weight. 

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mice: II. Body composition. Mamm Genome.; 

15(2): 100–13. 

SŁAWIŃSKI T., 1974: Wpływ genotypu i efektu 

matki na ciężar ciała w okresie wzrostu postnatalnego 

( na przykładzie myszy laboratoryjnych). 

Zeszyty naukowe AR. Warszawa. 

VITARIUS J.A., SEHAYEK E., BRESLOW 

J.L., 2006: Identification of quantitative trait 

loci affecting body composition in a mouse intercross., 

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA; 103(52): 


WIRTH-DZIĘCIOŁOWSKA E., FABIJAŃSKA 

M., KARASZEWSKA J., CZUMIŃSKA K., 

1997: Dynamics of growth and changes occurring 

with age in mice selected for body weight 

for 90 generations on the 21st day od life Ann. 

Warsaw Agricult. Univ.-SGGW, Anim. Sci. 33; 


WIRTH- DZIĘCIOŁOWSKA E., CZUMIŃSKA 

K., 2000: Longevity and ageing of mice from 

lines divergently selected for body weight for 

over 90 generations. Biogerontology, vol. 1, 2: 


Streszczenie: Identyfikacja loci cech ilościowych 

dla masy narządów oraz masy tłuszczu w liniach 

hodowanych przeciwstawnie na masę ciała. Poszukiwanie 

loci regulujących masę narządów oraz 

masę tłuszczu prowadzono przy użyciu dwóch linii 

L oraz C uzyskanych dzięki przekrzyżowaniu czterech 

szczepów wsobnych. Zmapowano pięć sugestywnych 

loci determinujących długość ogona, 

dwa loci regulujące masę wątroby oraz masę tłuszczu 

okołojelitowego, jedno locus mające wpływ na 

masę tłuszczu macicy, trzustki, nerek i nadnerczy 

oraz trzy loci warunkujące masę śledziony. 


Authors’ addresses: 

Dorota Łukasiewicz-Śmietańska, 

Elżbieta Wirth-Dzięciołowska 


Wydział Nauk o Zwierzętach SGGW 


Poland 

Marta Gajewska 

Zakład Genetyki i Hodowli Zwierząt Laboratoryjnych 

Centrum Onkologii – Instytut im. Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie 

w Warszawie 

ul. Roentgena 5, 02-781 Warszawa 

Poland




Fibre characteristics of Huacaya alpaca bred at the age of 1 year 

ANNA MORALES VILLAVICENCIO, ROMAN NIŻNIKOWSKI, 

PIOTR PIETRZYKOWSKI, MARIUSZ WIERZBICKI 


Abstract: Fibre characteristics of Huacaya alpaca 

bred at the age of 1 year. Alpacas are known all 

over the world as a producers of thin fiber. Except 

the South America they are mainly bred in Australia, 

Canada, New Zealand, USA and also in 

Europe, including Poland. The fiber obtained from 

annual alpacas belongs the thinnest category, which 

is called “bebe alpaca” and in accordance with 

Peruvian standard the fibre diameter should not 

exceed 23 microns. The aim of presented paper is 

to explain in purpose for further selection, whether 

imported alpacas from Chile give offspring of 

a thin fiber. The fiber samples were collected 

from veil of 1-year old alpacas (n = 30) in 2007 to 

measure their average diameters. The fibre length 

was investigated on fleece of live animals. Collected 

samples were divided into 3 groups due 

to the intensity of color, each group included 10 

samples. The fibre samples of both sexes were 

equally represented: 15 females and 15 males. 

The group of bright fibers included white, cream 

and beige, middle dark fibers included all shades 

of brown and in the darkest dark, gray and black. 

Based on the results of the fibre length, the average 

length was 11.92 cm and statistically was 

much more longer in males (12.38 cm) than in 

females (11.46 cm). In case of color the diameter 

of all measured fibers (n = 30) was on average 

21.32 microns. Bright and middle dark fibers, 

which thickness was 20.92 and 20.72 microns, 

respectively, appeared to be high significantly 

(p ≤ 0.01) thinner comparing to 24.43 microns in 

the dark fiber. In case of sex, females had thinner 

fiber (21.34) than males (22.30) but the differences 

were not statistically approved. Among 

investigated alpacas 43% fell into the category of 

“bebe alpaca’, remaining the abovementioned 

requirements of thickness. 

Key words: alpaca, wool, fibre, diameter, length. 

INTRODUCTION 

Alpacas are known in the world -due to 

their ability to production of very thin 

fiber, which is characterized by the fact 

that it is three times more durable and 

six times warmer than wool of sheep. 

Alpaca fiber occurs in 22 natural colors 

from white to black with many shades of 

beige and brown. In the world’s population 

the 86% of alpacas are of a white 

fiber (Brenes et al., 2001, MINAG 

2009). Fiber obtained from the 1 year old 

alpaca is eligible for a so-called thinnest 

“bebe alpaca” and according to Peruvian 

standards should not exceed more than 

23 microns. (Norma Tecnica Peruana, 

2004: NTP 231301) 

Fiber thickness determines its price 

in procurement. Therefore from an economic 

point of view, it is desirable that 

alpacas produce a very thin fiber. Alpacas 

depending on the genetic value of animals, 

are able to produce fiber of a thickness 

of 18 to 30 microns. In textile industry 

the fibre length is also important. The 

fibre length of Huacaya alpaca breed is 

6–12 cm of annual growth in average. 

The largest population of alpacas in the 

world is in Peru and in this country the

66 A. Morales Villavicencio et al. 

fibre standards for the purchasing aims 

were established. The idea in trade is that 

thefinest fiber gets the higher the price. 

Alpacas population outside the South- 

-American continent started increasing 

in the early 90’s of XX century. Currently, 

alpacas are bred on all continents, including 

Europe (Lupton et al., 2006; Morales 

Villavicencio, Niżnikowski, 2006) as well 

as Poland. 

Alpacas were imported to Poland 

in 2004 from Chile. It is estimated that 

in Poland there are about 400 heads of 

alpacas. Most of them is breed on two 

large farms in the regions of the Podlaskie 

and Wielkopolska. The rest of that population 

is spread throughout the country, 

mainly for touristic purposes. Currently 

in the world, there is strong demand for 

alpaca fiber, but its price in procurement 

depends on the diameter, color and fashion 

trends. According to the Peruvian 

alpaca fiber standards are divided into 

four categories of fibre quality (Tab. 1). 

TABLE 1. Categories alpaca fiber in Peru (NTP 

231.301 – 2004) 

Category Fibre diameter 

(μm) 

Fibre lenght 

(mm) 

Extra fine > 23 65 

Fine 23.1 – 26.5 70 

Medium fine 26.6 – 29 70 

Fat 29 > 70 

The purpose of this study was to verify 

whether the imported alpacas gave offspring 

with a thin fiber, to carry out further 

selection. 


The coat samples were collected in 2007 

from Huacaya alpacas in the two largest 

farms in Poland. The research material 

was a group of 30 alpacas of both sexes 

of different coat colors at age of 1 year, 

which were born in Poland. 

Alpacas’ farm in the region of Wielkopolska 

fiber samples were taken from 

8 heads, and on the 22 head in Podlasie 

The study selected alpacas of both sexes, 

of up to 15 head of females males, respectively. 

Alpacas (n = 30) were divided 

into 3 groups depending on the fiber 

color intensity. The first group consisted 

of a bright alpaca fiber which included: 

white, cream and light brown, the second 

group consisted of alpaca fiber with 

a medium to dark shades of brown, and 

a third of the darkest alpacas’ fiber (dark 

brown, gray and black). 

The basic fiber length was measured 

on live animals using a measuring tape. 

Fibre samples were collected from the 

alpaca veil during shearing. Each sample 

prior to microscopic examination was 

washed in warm water with detergent and 

rinsed several times. After natural drying 

the fibers were cut with scissors in order 

to prepare the samples for microscopic 

measurements. The diameter of the 

fibers were measured on a microscope 

projection of 600 fibers in each sample. 

Measurements of fiber length and diameter 

have been collected in a database. 

The obtained results have allowed to 

assess the percentage of animals, where 

the fiber was located in the category of 

“bebe alpaca”. 

Statistical analysis of the effects of herd, 

sex, color, fiber and color x sex interaction 

on the fiber thickness and fiber length of 

alpacas wool were calculated using the 

least square method (LSM) using SPSS 

software v. 14.0 was measured and the 

statistical differences between groups 

alpacas. The applied model was as fol-

Fibre characteristics of Huacaya alpaca breed... 67 

lowing: y ijkl = μ + a i + b j + c k + bc jk + e ijkl ; 

where: y ijkl – test feature; μ – arithmetic 

mean; a i – the effect of herd (i = 1.2); 

b j – the impact of sex of alpacas (j = 

= female, male); c k – the effect of the 

color of fibers (k = dark, light, medium); 

bc jk – interaction effect of the sex-and- 

-from the color and e ijkl – error. 

Measured core length and thickness 

of the fibers and also defined the percentage 

of alpacasof which fall within the 

category of “bebe alpaca”. 


Examined some parameters of alpaca 

fiber, which affect the price and determined 

the percentage of animals tested 

in accordance with the Peruvian standard 

falls in the category of “bebe alpaca”, and 

the importance of the effects of the factors 

and results of the analyzed traitswere 

summarized in the table and graphs. 

Based on studies of fiber length, it was 

found that the average annual growth 

was 11.92 cm and was highly statistically 

higher (p ≤ 0.01) in males (12.36 cm) than 

in females (11.46 cm) as it was shown 

in Table 2 and Figure 1. In the case of 

color, it was found that the diameter of 

all measured fibers (n = 30) was on average 

21.82 microns. 

Regarding the effect of color on the 

studied traits, no correlation between the 

color of fiber and its length were found, 

but it must have been noted that the thin 

fibers were in the group of light color, 

which average thickness was 20.319 mm, 

followed by a medium-dark, 20.713 mm 

and the thickest fibers with a diameter of 

TABLE 2. The influence of some factors and interactions on the studied traits (n = 30) 

Traits 

Effect of: 

Interaction 

herd sex coat color sex x color 

X SE 

Fibre diameter (μm) NS NS XX NS 21.82 0.52 

Lenght fo fibre (cm) NS XX NS NS 11.92 0.17 

Statistical significance at: XX – (p ≤ 0.01); NS – non-significant 

25 

22.303 

21.342 

20 

15 

10 

12.38 

11.46 

females 

females 

5 

0 

fiber diameter (μm) 

fiber lenght (cm) 

FIURE 1. Effect of sex on the thickness and length of alpaca fiber (p ≤ 0.01)

68 A. Morales Villavicencio et al. 

30 

25 

20 

20.319 

A 

20.713 

A 

24.434 

BC 

15 

10 

11.958 12.076 12.076 

bright 

middle dark 

dark 

5 

0 

fiber diameter (μm) 

fibre lenght (cm) 

FIGURE 2. Effect of color on the thickness and length of fibers in alpaca 

24.00 mm belonged to the category of 

dark fibre (Fig. 2). 

Analyzing the effect of sex on the 

studied traits it was found that females 

(n = 15) had a thinner fiber (21.93 mm) 

than males (22.84 mm), but the differences 

were not statistically significant. 

Other studies conducted in Peru on 

alpacas reported (De Los Rios 2006; 

NTP 231 301 – 2004) that 20% of the 

produced fiber came from alpaca of 

a thick fiber, 46% of medium fine, 22% 

of fine and 12% of “bebe alpaca”. Alpacas 

at age of 1 year of both sexes (Fig. 1) 

received a fibers diameter which allows 

to classify them to the first category. As 

it was reported in the studies on alpacas 

(McGregor et al., 2000) and the llamas 

(Morales Villavicencio, Radzik-Rant, 

2005), the fibre diameter increases while 

the animals get older. The examined 

alpacas of “bebe” fibre might be used in 

the reproduction due to the heritability of 

the very fine fibres. The results obtained 

will be used to carry out further selection 

in the herds. 

CONCLUSION 

1. Alpacas imported from Chile adapted 

well in Poland conditions and provided 

a good genetic material, as producers 

of thin fibers. 

2. The Huacaya breed alpaca tested, 43% 

were located in accordance with the 

standard Peruvian in the category of 

thin fibers, which is very attractive 

from an economic point of view to 

encouraging further breeding work. 

REFERENCES 

BRENES E.R., MADRIGAL K, PÉREZ F., VAL- 

LADARES K., 2001: El Cluster de los Camélidos 

en Perú: Diagnóstico Competitivo y Recomendaciones 

Estratégicas. Instituto Centroamericano 

de Administración de Empresas, 1–71. 

DE LOS RIOS E., 2006: Producción textil de fibras 

de camélidos sudamericanos en el área alto-andina 

de Bolivia, Ecuador y Perú. Organización 

de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo 

Industrial. 

LUPTON C.J. et al., 2006: Fiber characteristics of 

the Huacaya Alpaca. Small Ruminant Research 

64: 211–224.

Fibre characteristics of Huacaya alpaca breed... 69 

MC GREGOR B.A., BUTLER K.L., 2004: Sources 

of variation in fibre diameter attributes of 

Australian alpacas and implications for fleece 

evaluation and animal selection. Australian 

Journal of Agricultural Research 55: 433–442. 

MORALES VILLAVICENCIO A., RADZIK- 

-RANT A., 2005: Characteristics of selected 

parameters of hair from Llamas (Lama glama) 

kept at Warsaw ZOO. Annals of Warsaw Agricultural 

University, Animal Science 43, 35–39. 


SKI R., 2006: Populacja wielbłądowatych południowoamerykańskich 

na świecie. Przegląd 

Hodowlany. 6, 16–19. 

MINAG 2009: http://minag.gov.pe 

NORMA TECNICA PERUANA 2004: NTP 

231.301. Fibra de Alpaca Clasificada – Definiciones, 

clasificación por grupos de calidades, 

requisitos y rotulado. INDECOPI. Perú. 


Base version 12.0 for Windows, inc. USA, 

2004. 

Streszczenie: Charakterystyka okrywy włosowej 

jednorocznych alpak rasy huacaya. Badaniami 

objęto 30 jednorocznych alpak rasy huacaya o różnych 

kolorach okrywy, które pochodziły z dwóch 

największych stad w Polsce (8 szt.) z Wielkopolski 

i (22 szt.) z Podlasia. Matki badanych jednorocznych 

alpak importowane były z Chile. Zmierzono 

podstawową długość oraz grubość włókien, 

a ponadto określono procentowy udział alpak 

mieszczących się w kategorii „bebe alpaca”. Wyniki 

badań długości włókna wykazały, że średni 

roczny przyrost był wysoce statystycznie dłuższy 

u samców niż u samic. Badając wpływ koloru na 

badane cechy odnotowano, że najcieńsze włókna 

należały do grupy jasnych, następnie średniociemne 

i najgrubsze włókna należały do kategorii 

ciemnych. Przebadane jednoroczne alpaki obu 

płci (wykres 1) uzyskały średnicę włókna która 

pozwala na kwalifikację do pierwszej kategorii 

i mogą uczestniczyć w dalszym etapie reprodukcji 

jako producenci cienkiego włókna. 


Author’s address: 



Poland. 

e-mail: anna_morales_villavicencio@sggw.pl




Estimated share of veil part in Huacaya alpaca fleece 

ANNA MORALES VILLAVICENCIO, ROMAN NIŻNIKOWSKI, 

PIOTR PIETRZYKOWSKI 


Abstract: Estimated share of veil part in Huacaya 

alpaca fl eece. Research concerned/took up a group 

of 25 alpacas of Huacaya race, coming from different 

herds, imported from Chile. The shearing 

took place in 2009. The fleece was weighed and 

classified by categories of body parts accordingly. 

The average estimated weigh of fleece was 1.78 kg 

and the veil made up 0.650 kg. Influence of gender, 

age, colour on mass of veil and its proportional 

part in comparison to the other part of fleece 

and bifactor interactions age × colour were investigated, 

but statistically essential differences were 

not shown. In the investigated population males 

had thinner fleece 2.2 kg and veil 0.7 kg than 

females which amount to 1.55 and 0.455 and its 

proportional part was qualified properly on 34.45 

with males and 31.75 with females. In case of age 

the thinnest fleece had eight-year and three-year 

alpacas and its proportional part equal to: 38.05 

and 37.26. The heaviest fleece came from white 

alpacas and weighed 2.21 kg on average, veil part 

was estimated as 36.23%. 

Key words: alpaca, fibre, weight of fleece, shearing. 

INTRODUCTION 

Alpacas (Llama Pacos) in Poland are the 

perfect alternative in income giving animal 

production. These animals imported from 

Chile are widely used for various purposes. 

The main product gained from them 

is fibre, but meat is also edible and has 

high nutritious value. Gentle character 

of alpacas permits using them in tourism 

and recreation (Morales Villavicencio, 

Niżnikowski, 2008). The mass of alpacas’ 

fibre is an important component from the 

economic point of view. Single alpaca 

after one-year shearing can give approximately 

2–5 kg of fibre in relation to the 

body part. Alpacas’ fleece is divided into 

4 categories, similarly to the Peruvian 

standard. The first category makes up the 

thinnest fibres from the back and sides 

also called as “veil”. Basic features of 

alpacas’ fibre, which are essential for the 

textile industry, are thickness and length. 

Fleece mass is the next important factor 

for breeder from the economical point of 

view. The income from the alpaca breeding 

depends on varying thickness, length 

and fleece mass. Alpacas coming from 

the traditional farm located in higher 

parts of Andy Mountains characterize 

worse quality of fibre than those alpacas, 

which were bred in semi-intensive conditions. 

In harsh conditions of alpine 

areas, harvest of fibre from two-year-old 

alpacas equals around 2.1 kg, while in 

mildly average climate year-old alpaca 

gives up to 2.3 kg. (MINAG 2009). The 

quality of veil acquired from Peruvian 

alpacas seemed worse with years in the 

case of the mass and fibre diameter 

(De Los Rios, 2006), however there are

72 A. Morales Villavicencio, R. Niżnikowski, P. Pietrzykowski 

herds in Peru with high quality fibre and 

heavy veil. The variations in veil mass 

and fibre diameter depend on the fodder 

quantity and other factors (Brayant et 

al., 1989; McGregor, 2002). Alpacas’ veil 

mass and its thickness also rely on the 

age and gender. Males produce more 

fibre than females, moreover, veil mass 

increases with the age. (Castellaro et 

al., 1998; Wulij et al., 2000; McGregor, 

2006; Lupton et al., 2006). The aim 

of the research was the proportional 

qualification of veil and other parts of 

alpacas’ fleece of Huacaya race at the 

age of 2–8 years and selecting animals 

characterised by thick and heavy fleece 

for the further reproduction. The results 

of the research will guide the selection of 

alpaca’s population in the future. 


The research was conducted on 25 

Huacaya alpacas bred on the polish farm, 

of both gender at the age of 2 to 8 years 

in 6 fibre colours, all imported from 

Chile. Sheared fibre in the year of 2009 

has been divided into categories: veil, 

neck, thigh and rest (fibre from belly and 

limbs), which have a lower market price 

(Picture 1, Worked out on the basic Peruvian 

standard). All parts of fibre from 

each alpaca were weight on an electronic 

scale, aiming to estimate the percentage 

participation of each animal. Among 

investigated alpaca population were 16 

females and 9 males. The range of age 

was from 2 to 8 years. The most common 

among the group were 2 and 7 years old 

alpacas, each per 7 units, followed by 6 

and 8 years old, each per 2 units, 3 units 

of 3 year olds and 4 units of 4 year olds. 

In case of colour variation there were 2 

PICTURE 1. Categories fleece alpacas worked 

on basis NTP 231.301 (Morales Villavicencio M., 

2010) 

white alpacas, 2 grey – heath, 3 brown, 

5 grey, 6 black and 7 light brown. Analysis 

of statistical influence factors such 

us: age, colour and gender and bifactor 

interactions age and colour according to 

example with using SPSS Base version 

12.0 for Windows, inc. USA, 2004 has 

been conducted. y ijkl = μ + a i + b j +c k + 

bc jk + e ijkl ; where: yijkl – test feature; 

μ – arithmetic mean; a i – the impact of 

sex of alpacas (j = female, male); b j – the 

impact of age of alpacas c k – the effect 

of the color of fibers (k = black, b cjk 

– interaction effect of the age and – from 

the colour and e ijkl – error. 


Table 1 has introduced the influence of 

age, colour and gender on investigated 

features, however it did not prove statistically 

important differences. The 

shearing obtained 44.62 kg of fibre from

Estimated share of veil part in Huacaya alpaca fl eece 73 

which 14.68 kg came from the veil (Fig. 

1). It determined over 33% total fibres 

mass obtained from shearing. It is rather 

low result taking into attention that the 

veil makes up the largest proportion of 

body surface (Fig. 2). From investigation 

conducted on alpacas from Chile 

it appears that average fibre production 

from alpaca results to 1.8 kg yearly, but 

the season has rather high influence, so 

in rainy season on a good pasture, the 

fibre production may increase by 0.6 kg 

(Bonacic, 1991). 

Among gathered population, the average 

animal veil participation resulted in 

33.26% at average mass 0.650 kg; neck 

18.23 % at average mass 0.362 kg; limbs 

22.24% at average mass 0.435 kg and 

other 26.26% a average mass 0.503 kg 

(Fig. 3). The fibre acquired from males 

was heavier and in average obtained 

2.2 kg in comparison to females 1.55 kg 

TABLE 1. The influence of some factors and interactions on the studied traits (n = 25) 

Traits 

Effect 

Interaction 

Statistics 

sex age coat color age × color X SE 

Veil NS NS NS NS 0.650 0.034 

Neck NS NS NS NS 0.362 0.037 

Thigh NS NS NS NS 0.435 0.038 

Rest NS NS NS NS 0.503 0.026 

Total 1.949 0.064 

Share (%) 

Veil NS NS NS NS 33.264 1.543 

Neck NS NS NS NS 18.231 1.884 

Thigh NS NS NS NS 22.243 1.800 

Rest NS NS NS NS 26.262 1.751 

Statistical significance at: XX – (p ≤ 0.01); NS – non-significant 

16 

14 

12 

10 

8 

14.68 9 9.5 11.44 

6 

4 

2 

0 

veil neck thigh rest 

FIE 1. ei ght breed huacaya alpacas fleeces from different parts of the body (kg)


25.63 

32.9 

veil 

neck 

thigh 

rest 

21.3 

20.17 

FIGURE 2. The percentage of alpacas veil in comparison to other parts of the fleece 

0.9 

0.8 

0.7 

0.6 

0.5 

0.4 

0.3 

0.2 

0.1 

0 

white light grey greyheath 

brown black 

brown 

FIGURE 3. Alpacas fleece weight divided into the colors of various body (kg) 

veil 

neck 

thigh 

rest 

0.8 

0.7 

0.6 

0.5 

0.4 

0.3 

Females 

Males 

0.2 

0.1 

0 


FIGURE 4. Weight of individual cover lots of alpacas by gender (kg) 

at average veil mass resulted 0.751 kg and 

0.455 kg accordingly. Veil part in comparison 

to other fibre parts equals in average 

33% and was higher for males 34.45 than 

for the females 31.75% (Fig. 4). Figure 5 

shows, that the biggest veil participation 

rate in total fibre mass had males 34.45%, 

while females 31.75%. The heaviest 

alpaca veil had come from eight-year- 

-olds and three-year-olds (Fig. 6) and


35 

30 

25 

20 

15 

Females 

Males 

10 

5 

0 


FIGURE 5. The percentage of alpacas veil by gender 

0.8 

0.7 

0.6 

0.5 

0.4 

0.3 

veil 

neck 

thigh 

rest 

0.2 

0.1 

0 

2 3 4 6 7 8 

age 

FIGURE 6. Weight veil alpacas depending on age 

next four-year, two-year, six-year, and 

seven-year-olds as follows: 0.77 kg; 

0.746 kg; 0.695 kg; 0.571 kg; 0.54 kg 

and 0.434 kg. The biggest proportion of 

veil part (Fig. 7) was matched to eight- 

-years old alpacas 38.05 and three-years 

old alpacas 37.26 and was significantly 

smaller at six-years old alpacas 35; 

four-years old alpacas 33.02; two-years 

old alpacas 32.44; and seven-years old


40 

35 

30 

25 

20 

15 

veil 

neck 

thigh 

rest 

10 

5 

0 

2 3 4 6 7 8 

age 

FIGURE 7. Participation veil alpacas depending on age 

40 

35 

30 

25 

20 

15 

veil 

neck 

thigh 

rest 

10 

5 

0 

white light grey greyheath 

brown 

brown 

FIGURE 8. Percentage veil alpacas depending on color 

black 

alpacas 28.75%. From investigations 

conducted by Ccopa (1980) it appears 

that alpacas veil mass is directly connected 

with age. Velarde et al. (1998) 

noticed that the veil growth spurs last till 

the fourth year of alpaca’s life, goes down 

during the fifth year and remains on that 

level till the sixth year old of alpaca’s 

life, where it slows down inconsiderably. 

In investigated population there 

was wide age range but the amount of 

investigated alpacas by age groups was 

too small. In case of colour the heaviest 

fibre was acquired from white alpacas 

which weight on average 2.21 kg, followed 

by grey-heather 2.11, brown 1.99, 

black 1.766, grey 1.744 and the lightest 

brown 1.525 kg. Alpaca veil mass in


white colour equals in average 0.82 kg 

and was lower than published by Quispe 

et al. 2007 who conducted research on 

547 white alpacas and gained average 

veil mass of 2.303 kg. Proportional veil 

part in case of fibre colour introduced 

on Figure 8, which shows that it was the 

highest in case white alpacas 36.23%. 

Next it was grey fibre 35.74%, grey- 

-heather 32.9, black 32.04%, light brown 

31.2% and brown 30.25%. The results 

of research would make up the base in 

alpacas selection in an analysed herd. 

Obtained results are not impressive, 

although it must be noticed that alpacas 

were brought from different farms and 

their numbers do not allow an objective 

comparison. 

CONCLUSION 

1. Proportional participation rate of veil 

part in an investigated alpaca group 

was estimated as low, taking into attention 

body area it fills. 

2. The thickest fibre has been acquired 

from white alpacas and their proportional 

veil share was the highest. 

3. Males had noticeably heavier fibre 

and its proportional share was higher 

too. 

4. Alpacas’ age has a significant influence 

on veil mass and its proportional 

share. 

REFERENCES 

BONACIC S.C., 1991: Características biológicas 

y productivas de los camélidos sudamericanos. 

Avances en Medicina Veterinaria, Vol. 6(2), 

Julio-Diciembre 1991. 

BRYANT F.C. et al., 1989: Sheep and alpaca productivity 

on high andean rangelands in Peru. 

Journal Animal Science 67: 3078–3095. 

CASTELLARO G. et al., 1998: Alpaca live 

weight variations and fiber production in 

Mediterranean range of Chile. Journal Range 

Management 51: 509–513. 

CCOPA V., 1980: Peso vivo, peso de vellón y rendimiento 

de vellón en alpacas. Tesis de medico 

Veterinario. Puno Univ. Nacional del Altiplano. 

DE LOS RIOS E., 2006: Producción textil de 

fibras de camélidos sudamericanos en el área 

alto-andina de Bolivia, Ecuador y Perú. Organización 

de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo 

Industrial. 

LUPTON C.J., et al. 2006: Fiber characteristics of 

the Huacaya Alpaca. Small Ruminant Research 


McGREGOR B.A., 2002: Comparative productivity 

and grazing behaviour of Huacaya alpacas 

and Peppin Merino sheep grazed on annual pastures. 

Small Ruminant Research 61: 93–111. 

McGREGOR B.A., BUTLER K.L., 2004: Sources 

of variation in fibre diameter attributes of 

Australian alpacas and implications for fleece 

evaluation and animal selection. Australian 

Journal of Agricultural Research 55: 433–442. 

McGREGOR B.A., 2006: Production attributes 

and relative value of alpaca 

fleeces in southern Australia and implications for 

industry development. 

Small Ruminant Research 61: 93–111. 

MORALES VILLAVICENCIO A., NIŻNI- 

KOWSKI R., 2008: Lamy i alpaki alternatywą 

w produkcji zwierzęcej. Wieś Jutra, Nr 11(124), 


MORALES VILLAVICENCIO M., 2010: Rysunek 

1 opracowany na podstawie norm peruwiańskich. 

MINAG 2009. 

NORMA TECNICA PERUANA 2004: NTP 

231.301. Fibra de Alpaca Clasificada – Definiciones, 

clasificación por grupos de calidades, 

requisitos y rotulado. INDECOPI. Perú. 

QUISPE E. et al., 2007: Algunos aspectos de la 

fibra y peso vivo de alpacas Huacaya de color 

blanco en la region de Huancavelica., APPA 

– ALPA – Cusco, Perú. 


Base version 12.0 for Windows, inc. USA, 2004. 

VELARDE C.U., GUERRERO J., 1999: Improving 

quantity and quality of Alpaca fiber; using 

a simulation model for breeding strategies. 

SAAD III, Lima, Perú, Nov. 7–10.


WULIJ et al., 2000: Production performance, 

repeatability and heritability estimates for live 

weight, fleece weight and fiber characteristics 

of Alpacas in New Zealand. Small Ruminant 

Research 37, 189–201. 

Streszczenie: Określenie udziału welonu w okrywie 

włosowej alpak rasy Huacaya. Badaniami objęto 

grupę 25 alpak rasy Huacaya importowanych 

z Chile i pochodzących z różnych stad, których 

strzyżę przeprowadzono w 2009 roku. Zważono 

runo z podziałem na kategorie według partii ciała, 

z której pochodzi. Średnią masę runa oszacowano 

na 1,78 kg, z czego 0,650 kg stanowił welon. 

Zbadano wpływ płci, wieku, koloru na masę welonu 

i jego procentowy udział w porównaniu do 

pozostałych partii okrywy, oraz dwuczynnikową 

interakcję wiek × kolor, ale nie wykazano istotnych 

statystycznie różnic. W badanej populacji 

samce miały cięższe runo o 2,2 kg i welon 0,75 od 

samic, który wynosił odpowiednio 1,55 i 0,455, 

a jego procentowy udział określono odpowiednio 

na 34,45 u samców i 31,75 u samic. W przypadku 

wieku najcięższy welon miały alpaki ośmioletnie 

i trzyletnie, i jego procentowy udział wynosił 

odpowiednio 38,05 i 37,26. Najcięższe runo 

pochodziło od alpak w kolorze białym i ważyło 

średnio 2,21 kg, a udział welonu u nich określono 

na 36,23%. 

MS. received August 2010 




Poland 

e-mail: anna_morales_villavicencio@sggw.pl




Fat fraction components’ content in milk of Polish Red cows 

TERESA NAŁĘCZ-TARWACKA, PIOTR STACHELSKI, HENRYK GRODZKI, 

BEATA KUCZYŃSKA 

Faculty of Animal Breeding, Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW 

Abstract: Fat fraction components’ content in 

milk of Polish Red cows. The observations were 

carried out on 12 Polish Red breed (pc) cows on 

farm in Szczyrzyc. In this experiment the components 

of milk fat fraction including fatty acid 

profile and the content of vitamins were characterized. 

The level of these components depends 

on feeding season. During the period of feeding 

the cows on pastures, their milk contained significantly 

higher amount of such nutritional elements 

as: BA, TVA, LA, CLA, PUFA, n-6 and n-3 as well 

as vitamin A, and β-carotene than the milk of cows 

fed with PMR system. It should be emphasized 

that that the CLA level in milk of a pasture-fed 

cows is very high – two times higher than that 

observed in PMR feeding system. 

Key words: fatty acids, CLA, pc cows. 

INTRODUCTION 

Polish Red cattle (pc) has been the 

subject of many studies, from which it 

is followed that the mentioned species is 

a specific reservoir of genes which they 

have been eliminated in other breeds as a 

result of selection oriented to increase of 

milk performance (Żurkowski, Duniec, 

2005). Lower yield is compensated by 

better milk composition which is characterized 

by higher dry matter content, 

especially of fat, protein and casein 

(Szarek et al., 1996). 

Milk of Polish Red (pc) cows has also 

very good technological properties (such 

as e.g. higher yield of casein curd and its 

better quality) which are especially valuable 

in case of cheese production (Szarek 

et al., 1996; Barłowska, 2007). The content 

of milk fat fraction components has 

been the subject of many studies but they 

concerned mainly the effect of nutrition 

and Holstein-Friesian (hf) breed. From 

the comparison of the quality of milk of 

hf, Black-and-White, Montbeliarde and 

Normande breed (Lawless et al., 1999), 

it results that the highest CLA concentration, 

as being most frequently analysed 

in the studies, was found in the milk of 

Montbeliarde breed (1.99 g/100 g FA). 

On the other hand, there are rather scarce 

studies concerning the content of health- 

-promoting components in the milk of 

pc cows. The studies in this respect were 

conducted by Reklewska et al., 2005. 

From the above mentioned studies, it is 

followed that the milk of pc cows has 

a higher concentration of functional fatty 

acids as compared to the milk of Black- 

-and-White cows; it concerned BA, LA, 

LNA, AA, EPA and DHA. 

Barłowska (2007) analysed nutritive 

value and technological suitability of 

the milk from 7 cattle breeds, managed 

in Poland and she found that the milk 

of pc cows was characterized by a very 

good chemical composition. The higher

80 T. Nałęcz-Tarwacka et al. 

PUFA content (3.73%) was found in the 

spring-summer seasons as compared to 

the autumn-winter period. 

The aim of the submitted studies was 

to analyze the suitability of health-promoting 

components in milk of Polish Red 

cows with consideration of the effect of 

feeding season. 


The studies were conducted in the Cistercian 

Order farm in Szczyrzyc where 

pc cows were kept in pasture – indoor 

system of management: in summer – on 

the pasture and in winter – fed by PMR 

system. Feeding ration in the summer 

season – apart from pasture grazing) consisted 

of 1–2 kg of concentrates (wheat 

40%; barley 40%; oats 20%) and hay. 

During winter feeding period, the ration 

included 15 kg of maize silage, 15 kg of 

haylage from grasses, 3 kg of hay, 2 kg 

of straw and ca 2 kg of concentrates. 

In June and December 2006, the milk 

samples from 12 at random selected 

cows being found in the peak lactation 

period, were collected. In the collected 

samples, the analysis of fatty acid profile 

and of the content of vitamin A, E and 

β-carotene was carried out in the laboratory 

of the Faculty of Animal Breeding 

of Warsaw University of Life Sciences 

(SGGW) in Warsaw. 

The qualitative and quantitative analysis 

of fatty acid composition was performed 

by a gas chromatography, using gas 

chromatograph of Hewlett-Packard company. 

The capillary column had the following 

parameters: length 60 m, internal 

diameter 0.25 mm, thickness of film of 

liquid phase 0.25 mm, stationary phase 

DB-23. 

The obtained data were statistically 

developed, using a single factor variance 

analysis, with the STATGRAPHICS Plus 

for Windows 4.1. 


Season of feeding had a highly significant 

effect on milk yield and percentage 

content of fat and protein in the milk 

(Tab. 1). Higher daily milk yield was 

found for the cows the nutrition of which 

was based upon the pasture, as compared 

to the winter PMR feeding system. In the 

milk of the cows fed the PMR system, 

higher content of fat and protein was 

recorded as compared to the milk of the 

cows from the summer feeding period. 

Irrespectively of the feeding season, 

the conducted studies indicate the high 

content of fat and protein in the milk of 

pc cows. It was confirmed by the results 

of the studies performed by Reklewska 

et al. (2005): 4.34% of fat and 3.43% of 

protein in the milk of the examined pc 

cows, and by Barłowska (2007): 4.35% 

of fat and 3.42% of protein, respectively. 

The data submitted in Table 2 showed 

that the milk of cows, grazed on the pastures 

contained statistically significantly 

more following components: BA, TVA, 

CLA as compared to the milk obtained 

during winter feeding by PMR system. 

In the milk of the pasture-grazed cows, 

the content of BA was by 0.514 g (per 

100 g of fat) higher than in the milk of 

the cows fed PMR system in winter. The 

obtained results do not confirm the results 

obtained in the studies of Jensen (2002), 

Schroeder et al. (2003) and Nałęcz-Tarwacka, 

Grodzki (2005). The mentioned 

authors obtained higher BA levels in the 

milk of the cows fed the preserved feeds.

Fat fraction components’ content in milk of Polish Red cows 81 

TABLE 1. Milk performance of cows (average per day) in dependence of feeding system 

Milk [kg] 

Fat [%] 

Protein [%] 

Urea [mg/l] 

Feeding system 

General 

summer feeding winter feeding 

average 

(traditional) 

(PMR) 

n 18 15 33 

LSM 10.96 A 9.59 A 10.34 

SE 0.30 0.33 

n 18 15 33 

LSM 4.50 A 4.77 A 4.62 

SE 0.06 0.06 

n 18 15 33 

LSM 3.24 A 3.44 A 3.33 

SE 0.04 0.05 

n 18 15 33 

LSM 179.37 143.10 162.88 

SE 16.57 18.15 

Values in the same row marked by the same letters differ significantly: capital letters – P ≤ 0.01, small 

letters – P ≤ 0.05. 

TABLE 2. Functional fatty acids content in cow milk in dependence of feeding season (g/100 g of fat) 

Acid name 

n 

General 

average 

Summer feeding 

(traditional) 

Winter feeding 

(PMR) 

C4:0 (BA) 12 LMS 2.674 2.931 a 2.417 a 

SE 0.138 0.138 

C18:1 trans 11 (TVA) 12 LMS 2.980 3.830 A 2.129 A 

SE 0.223 0.223 

C18:2 (LA) 12 LMS 1.903 2.256 A 1.551 A 

SE 0.104 0.104 

C18:2 c9t11 (CLA) 12 LMS 0.987 1.283 A 0.690 A 

SE 0.078 0.078 

C20:4 (AA) 12 LMS 0.120 0.126 0.114 

SE 0.005 0.005 

C20:5 (EPA) 12 LMS 0.082 0.081 0.082 

SE 0.009 0.009 

C22:5 (DPA) 12 LMS 0.123 0.133 0.113 

SE 0.009 0.009 

C22:6 (DHA) 12 LMS 0.021 0.015 A 0.028 A 

SE 0.002 0.002 


letters – P ≤ 0.05.


Lack of conformity between the results 

of the studies concerning the effect of the 

type of feed (fresh or preserved) on BA 

content indicates the purposefulness of 

the studies aimed in this direction as BA 

plays the important role in preventing 

and treatment of colon cancers (Hague et 

al., 1996; Parodi, 1997; Przybojewska, 

Rafalski, 2003). Values of BA in the milk 

of pc cows as obtained in the studies of 

Reklewska et al. (2005) exceeded the 

results obtained in the present studies. 

In the milk of pasture grazed cows, 

CLA content was almost twice higher 

than in the milk of the cows fed by 

PMR system. TVA content in the milk 

of grazed cows was also higher than in 

winter nutrition. Similar results in respect 

of the increased CLA and TVA content in 

the milk of the cows fed the green forage 

were obtained in the studies of many 

authors: Jahreis et al. (1997), Kelly et al. 

(1998), Dihman et al. (1999), Chilliard et 

al. (2001) and Nałęcz-Tarwacka (2006). 

The milk of the cows fed on the pasture 

in the summer contained considerably 

more LA (by 0.71 LA/100 g of fat) than 

the milk of the cows fed by PMR system 

in winter. The obtained results have not 

been confirmed the studies of Jahreis et 

al. (1997), Kelly et al. (1998), Dihman 

et al. (1999), Elgermsa et al. (2004) 

and Nałęcz-Tarwacka (2006) where the 

higher LA content was obtained in the 

milk of TMR fed cows compared to pasture 

graced cows. 

From among the analysed fatty acids, 

only DHA had the higher content in 

the milk of the cows during the winter 

feeding period (0.028 g/100 g of fat) in 

comparison to the summer nutrition 

period (0.015 g/100g of fat). Similar 

results were obtained by Reklewska et al. 

(2003) when comparing DHA content in 

the milk of the cows fed by TMR in winter 

(0.017 g DHA/100 g of fat) and grazed on 

the pasture in summer (0.016 g/100 of 

fat). In the studies of Nałęcz-Tarwacka 

(2006), the highest DHA level was found 

in the milk of the cows fed the feeding 

ration consisting of green forage supplemented 

with wilted grass silage. A small 

number of papers, where the content of 

polyunsaturated fatty acids with the chain 

length above 20 carbon atoms was determined, 

results, inter alia, from the fact 

they constitute a small part of milk fat and 

their level has been until recently almost 

near detection threshold and therefore, in 

many till-now existing studies have not 

discussed it. 

Table 3 shows the content of the selected 

groups of fatty acids in cow milk, depending 

on the employed feeding system. 

Significant differences were recorded 

in SFA content in the milk of the pasture 

grazed cows in summer and fed PMR 

system in winter. It was found that the 

milk of the cows fed on the pasture in the 

summer time contained by 2.856 g SFA 

/100 g of fat less than the milk from the 

cows fed by PMR system in winter. It was 

confirmed by the results of the studies 

of many authors: Dhiman et al. (1999), 

Kuczyńska et al. (1999), Elgersma et 

al. (2003), Nałęcz-Tarwacka (2006) and 

Barłowska (2007). The obtained lower 

SFA levels in the milk of the cows from 

the summer feeding period are significant 

from the consumer health point of view. 

The conducted studies revealed highly 

significant differences in the content of 

PUFA, acids from n-6/n-3 family in the 

milk of the cows, depending on the feeding 

season and the related feeding ration. It 

was confirmed by the results of the studies


TABLE 3. Content of chosen fatty acid groups in cow milk in dependence of feeding season (g/100 g 

of fat) 

Acid group name 

n 

General Summer feeding Winter feeding 

average (traditional) (PMR) 

SFA 12 LMS 61.16 59.988 a 62.844 a 

SE 0.902 0.902 

PUFA 12 LMS 4.486 5,433 A 3.539 A 

SE 0.219 0.219 

N – 6 12 LMS 1.988 2.342 A 1.634 A 

SE 0.104 0.104 

N – 3 12 LMS 1.241 1.543 A 0.939 A 

SE 0.068 0.068 

N – 6 / N – 3 12 LMS 1.639 1.545 1.733 

SE 0.075 0.075 



TABLE 4. Content of saturated fatty acids (negatively influencing human health) in cow milk in dependence 

of feeding season (g/100 g of fat) 

Acid name 

n 



C12:0 12 LMS 2.179 2.163 2.196 

SE 0.127 0.127 

C14:0 12 LMS 9.060 9.065 9.056 

SE 0.333 0.333 

C16:0 12 LMS 29.654 28.225 a 31.083 a 

SE 0.926 0.926 

Values in the same row marked by the same letters differ significantly – P ≤ 0.05. 

of many authors: Kuczyńska et al. (1999), 

Elgersma et al. (2003), Nałęcz-Tarwacka 

(2006) and Barłowska (2007). 

In Table 4, the content of saturated 

fatty acids (having unfavourable effect 

on human health) in the milk of cows 

depending on the employed feeding 

system, was presented. 

As far as fatty acids, negatively affecting 

human health is concerned, significant 

differences were obtained in the 

content of C12:0 and C14:0 in the milk of 

Polish Red cows, fed on the pasture in the 

summer and by PMR system in winter. In 

the studies of Nałęcz-Tarwacka (2006) 

when comparing the quality of milk fat 

coming from the summer and winter 

period, different tendencies were recoded 

– higher C12:0 content was found in the 

milk of the cows fed with green forage 

and of C14:0 was higher in the milk of 

the cows fed the preserved feeds. 

In the conducted studies, lower, i.e. 

more favourable level of C16:0 was 

found in the milk of the pasture grazed 

cows as compared to the animals fed by 

PMR system. It was confirmed by the 

results of the studies of many authors:


TABLE 5. Vitamins A and E as well as β-carotene in cow milk in dependence of feeding season 

(mg / l) 


Component name 

n 


12 LMS 0.458 0.494 a 0.423 a 

Vitamin A 

SE 0.024 0.024 

12 LMS 1.228 1.341 1.114 

Vitamin E 

SE 0.115 0.115 

12 LMS 0.256 0.314 A 0.197 A 

β – carotene 

SE 0.027 0.027 



Kelly et al. (1998), Schroeder et al. 

(2003) and White et al. (2001), Loor et 

al. (2003) and Nałęcz-Tarwacka (2006). 

The data submitted in Table 5 indicate 

the higher level of vitamins A and E 

and of β-carotene in the milk of the pasture 

grazed cows in the summer than of 

the cows fed by PMR system in winter. 

Higher concentration of vitamin A and 

β-carotene in the milk of the pasture grazed 

cows in the summer results from higher 

supply of carotenoids in the rations, containing 

green forage in relation to the feds 

from winter feeding. It was confirmed by 

the results of the studies of many authors: 

Jensen et al. (1999), Kuczyńska (2001), 

Reklewska et al. (2003) and Nałecz-Tarwacka 

(2006). 

CONCLUSIONS 

Summing up, it should be stated as follows: 

• In the milk of pasture grazed Polish 

Red cows, almost twice higher content 

of CLA was found as compared to the 

milk of the cows fed by PMR system. 

• The studies revealed also the favourable 

effect of pasture feeding on the 

content of the following components 

in the milk: BA, TVA, LA, PUFA, 

n-6 and n-3, vitamins A and β-carotene 

(increase of the content), C16:0 

and SFA (decrease of concentration) 

as compared to the level of the mentioned 

components in the milk of the 

cows fed by PMR system in winter. 

• During winter feeding, higher DHA 

level was found in the milk in comparison 

to the summer feeding period. 

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składników: BA, TVA, LA, CLA, PUFA, 

n-6 i n-3, jak również witaminy A i β-karotenów 

niż mleko krów żywionych systemem PMR. Należy 

podkreślić, że w mleku krów żywionych na 

pastwisku poziom CLA był dwa razy większy niż 

u krów żywionych systemem PMR. 



Teresa Nałęcz-Tarwacka 



Poland




Multiple pregnancies in cattle and the frequency 

of their occurrence 

TERESA NAŁĘCZ-TARWACKA, KATARZYNA PALIŃSKA, 

HENRYK GRODZKI 

Departament of Animal Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW 

Abstract: Multiple pregnancies in cattle and the 

frequency of their occurrence. The aim of the studies 

was to determine the effect of the sequence of 

lactation and season of calving on occurrence of 

multiple births. The studies included 6755 cows 

which had at least one multiple pregnancy during 

6 years. The percentage of multiple pregnancies 

was increasing from year to year but it did not exceed 

2% of all parturitions. It was found that 

the greatest number of multiple births occurred 

in cows in the second (26.63%) and the third 

(21.01%) lactation. A significant influence is exerted 

by season of calving; the greatest number 

of multiple births occurs in winter-spring season, 

that is, in months: December–May (53% of all 

multiple births); it comes from spring-summer 

fertilization (effective insemination) of the cows 

(March–August). 

Key words: cows, multiple pregnancy. 

INTRODUCTION 

Natural multiple pregnancies in cattle, 

as typical one-fetus animals, occur sporadically. 

They result, first of all, from 

double ovulation, relatively seldom from 

the self-division of the fertilized cell 

Max (2000). Multi-fetus pregnancies in 

cattle constitute a small percentage of all 

parturitions. It results from the studies of 

Litwińczuk et al. (1987) that it is equal 

to 1.25–1.48%, depending on the region 

of Poland. Higher frequencies of occurrence 

of multiple pregnancies were found 

by Kuźma R., Kuźma K. (1994), that is 

1.4–3.1% and by Max (2004): 1–4% of 

all deliveries. The highest percentage of 

twin pregnancies – 3.57% was obtained 

by Sawa (1994) in her studies. With the 

improvement of nutrition, the increase of 

occurrence of multiple pregnancies was 

proved; even up to 10–15%. According to 

Sawa (1994) the natural factors, affecting 

the increased number of multiple pregnancies 

include, inter alias, effect of the 

successive reproduction cycle, effect of 

season (period) of fertilizing. Numerous 

studies prove that the highest percentage 

of multiple pregnancies occurs with the 

third calving and the lowest one – in 

case of the first birth. In the studies of 

Litwińczuk et al. (1987) it was found that 

the multi-fetus pregnancies occur relatively 

rarely in primiparous cows (0.02% 

of all multiple births) and in older cows 

– after the sixth, or later fertilization. The 

highest percentage, i.e. as much as 20.7% 

of multiple births was recorded in the 

cows at the third calving, whereas in case 

of the second, fourth and fifth delivery 

– their frequency was found in the range 

of 15.3–17.3%. In the studies of Kuźma 

R., Kuźma K. (1994) a similar tendency

88 T. Nałęcz-Tarwacka, K. Palińska, H. Grodzki 

is indicated: the lowest number is at the 

first calving (1.0% from all parturitions) 

and the highest one – at the third (3.2%) 

and the seventh parturition (3.4%). On 

the other hand, Sawa (1994) showed that 

the highest frequency of multiple births 

occurred at the second and fourth calving 

(30% of all multiple parturitions), 

somewhat lower – at the third one (26%) 

and the lowest frequency was recorded, 

similarly as by other authors, at the first 

delivery (6.5%). 

As it was given by Litwińczuk et al. 

(1987), more than 62% of all multiple 

pregnancies occurred in winter – spring 

period, i.e. since December until May, 

thus from the effective fertilization of the 

cows in March–August. Similar results 

were reported by Sawa (1994) who 

obtained almost 65% of multiple pregnancies 

in the mentioned period. 

In literature, there is a lack of data 

concerning the current state of occurrence 

of multiple pregnancies in cattle. 

Due to the fact that the productivity 

of our cow population, resulting from 

crossbreeding with HF as well as from 

nutrition improvement has been considerably 

increased during the recent years, 

the authors undertook the task of presenting 

the current situation of the discussed 

problem. 

The purpose of the work was to show 

the problems of multiple pregnancies in 

cattle during the recent six years and of 

the factors, affecting their occurrence. 


Material for the studies was constituted by 

the data from breeding documentation of 

Polish Federation of Cattle Breeders and 

Milk Producers. The collected information 

covered the period from 1.01.2002 

to 31.12.2007 and they concerned the 

farms, situated in the Mazovian voivodeship. 

The analysis included 6755 cows which 

had at least one multiple calving. Thus, 

7112 calved were obtained. The collected 

data concerned frequency of multiple 

births in the particular years, month of 

a year and in the successive lactations 

of the cows. The data concerning all 

parturitions of the cows covered with 

milk recording system in the Mazovian 

voivodeship were collected from publications 

of the National Centre of Animal 

Breeding [1, 2, 3, 4] and Polish Federation 

of Cattle Breeders and Milk Producers 

[11, 12]. 

The obtained data were estimated 

according the frequency of multiple pregnancies, 

depending on the year of observation, 

calendar month and the successive 

lactation, with the application of basic statistics 

of Program SPSS Statistics 17.0. 


Occurrence of multiple pregnancies 

In population of dairy cows, being 

covered with cattle utility evaluation by 

Polish Federation of Cattle Breeders and 

Milk Producers in Mazovian voivodeship 

in the 2002–2007, a gradual increase of 

the number of multiple births has been 

recorded (Fig. 1). The highest increase 

had place in 2004 and it was equal to 

32%. The increase of the number of 

multiple parturitions results probably 

from the increase of the number of cows 

under the evaluation of PFCMMP. Also, 

administration of phytoestrogens in feed, 

commonly occurring in certain species 

of clover, alfalfa or soy is considered as

Multiple pregnancies in cattle... 89 

alving number 

1700 

1500 

1300 

1100 

900 

700 

760 

874 

1140 

1338 

1476 

1524 

500 

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 

Year 

FIGURE 1. Multiple pregnancies in 2002–2007 

TABLE 1. The percentage of multiple calvings in Mazovian voivodeship in 2002–2007 

alving number 

Lear 

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 

Total 

Total 56 341 60 389 63 118 88 369 75 467 78 626 422 310 

Multiple 760 874 1 140 1 338 1 476 1 524 7 112 

ercentage 1.35 1.45 1.81 1.51 1.96 1.94 1.68 

a potential source of natural estrogens 

– Kraszewska et al. (2007). 

In the 2002–2007, 422 310 parturitions 

were recorded in total, including 7112 

multiple births (Tab. 1). The frequency 

of incidence of multiple pregnancies 

was different in the particular years and 

varied within the limits of 1.35–1.96%. 

The obtained results are similar as observations 

of other authors who report their 

intervals as 1.25–1.48% (Litwińczuk 

et al., 1987) and 1.4–3.1% (Kuźma R., 

Kuźma K., 1994). 

The frequency of occurrence of multiple 

calvings is given in Table 2. From 

6755 cows, more than 90% were the 

cows with one multiple calving. Besides 

it, there were registered 306 cows with 

two multiple births, 24 cows with three 

multiple parturitions and one cow with 

four multiple calvings. 

TABLE 2. Frequency of multiple calvingsoccurrence 

umber of multiple ows 

calvings 

(heads) 

% 

ne 6 424 90.326 

Two 306 4.303 

Three 24 0.337 

Four 1 0.014 

Total cows 6 755 94.98 

alvings in total 7 112 100 

Factors, affecting the frequency 

of multiple pregnancies 

Effect of successive calving 

Age is one of the analyzed factors, affecting 

the increase of frequency of 

occurrence of multiple pregnancies in 

cows. The distribution shown in Table 

2 illustrates that multiple births in cows 

occur most frequently at the second


% 

30 

25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

15.07 

26.63 

21.01 

15.72 

10.33 

FIGURE 2. Multiple pregnancies in subsequent calvings of analyzed cows (%) 

5.61 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 

Calving 

3.01 

1.39 

0.73 

0.38 

0.07 

0.04 

calving (26.63%). At the third calving, 

the percentage of multiple pregnancies 

was equal to 21.1% and at the fourth one 

– 15.57%, being somewhat lower than at 

the first calving – 15.07% and then, at 

the fifth calving – 10.33%. On the other 

hand, in later lactations (VII and further) 

it was found below 5.61%. 

Similar results were obtained by 

Kuźma R., Kuźma K. (1994) who reported 

that the greatest number of multiple 

births occurred in the second lactation 

(25.6%). Sawa (1994) expresses the same 

opinion and shows in her studies that the 

highest frequency of multiple births was 

recorded in the second and fourth calving 

(30% of all multiple deliveries). 

The own studies differ from the results, 

obtained by Litwińczuk et al. (1987) 

who state that the greatest number of 

twins and triples was born in the third 

calving (20.7%) and the lowest number 

was observed during the first calving 

(0.02%); the mentioned studies differ 

also from those ones of Sawa [13] where 

it was recorded that the lowest percentage 

of multiple pregnancies occurred in 

the first calving (6.5%). 

Kuźma R., Kuźma K. (1994) explain 

that the reason for obtaining such small 

percentage of multiple pregnancies in 

primiparous cows lies in incompletely 

developed body of female. The increased 

demand on protein and energy is necessary 

for twin fetuses as well as for mother 

alone. 

Max (2001) states that more seldom 

occurrence of multiple pregnancies in 

primiparous as compared to multiparous 

cows is caused by too small space 

inside uterus what is favorable for death 

of embryos (lower migration of embryos 

until the 18th day after fertilization). 

Effect of the period of fertilization 

When analyzing the effect of the period 

of fertilization of female on the frequency 

of multiple pregnancies, we may observe 

that their greatest umber occurs in the 

winter-spring period, that is, in the 

months: December–May (53% of all 

multiple pregnancies) so, it comes from

Multiple pregnancies in cattle... 91 

11% 

10% 

9% 

8% 

7% 

6% 

5% 

I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII 

Month 

FIGURE 3. Multiple pregnancies in subsequent months (%) 

the spring-summer fertilization of the 

cows (March – August) (Fig. 3). Similar 

results were obtained by Litwińczuk et 

al. (1987) and Sawa (1994). 

Administration of feeds, which contain 

phytoestrogens, being commonly 

present in certain species of clover (Trifolium 

repens, Trifolium fragirerum), alfalfa 

or soy in spring period, is considered 

as a potential source of natural estrogens. 

Kraszewska et al. (2007) report that phytoestrogens 

may disturb activity of many 

systems of the female’s body, including 

reproduction system. In the opinion of 

the authors, phytoestrogens reveal structural 

similarity to 17-β-estradiol (E2; 

female sex hormone) and it may, in turn, 

lead to binding of the mentioned compounds 

with estrogen receptors α and β 

(ER α and β). Phytoestrogens act in the 

same way as agonists or antagonists of 

the discussed receptors, competing with 

estradiol for the place of binding. 

REFERENCES 

1. KRAJOWE CENTRUM HODOWLI ZWIE- 

RZĄT, 2006: Ocena wartości użytkowej krów 

oraz ocena i selekcja buhajów. Wyniki oceny za 

2005 rok. 




2004 rok. 




2003 rok. 




2002 rok. 

5. KRASZEWSKA O., NYNCA A., KAMIŃ- 

SKA B., CIERESZKO R., 2007: Fitoestrogeny. 

I. Występowanie, metabolizm i znaczenie 

biologiczne u samic. Postępy biologii komórki, 

tom 34, 1, 189–205. 

6. KUŹMA R., KUŹMA K., 1994: Występowanie 

wycieleń mnogich u krów mlecznych w warunkach 

naturalnych i ich wpływ na poród, okres 

poporodowy i płodność. Przegląd Hodowlany, 


7. LITWIŃCZUK Z., MAJEWSKA E., MAJEW- 

SKI Z., 1987: Wpływ porodów bliźniaczych na 

wydajność i płodność krów rasy ncb. Medycyna 

Weterynaryjna, 2, 111–114. 

8. MAX A., 2000: Punkcja pęcherzyków jajnikowych 

pod kontrolą USG jako element sterowania 

owulacją u bydła. Rozprawy Naukowe 

i Monografie, 21–25. Wydawnictwo SGGW, 

Warszawa. 

9. MAX A., 2001: Próba uzyskania i wczesnego 

rozpoznawania ciąży bliźniaczej jałówek po 

indukowanych owulacjach mnogich. Medycyna 

Weterynaryjna, 57, 433–436.


10. MAX A., 2004: Problemy kliniczne związane 

z ciążą mnogą u krów. Magazyn Weterynaryjny, 


11. POLSKA FEDERACJA HODOWCÓW 

BYDŁA I PRODUCENTÓW MLEKA, 2008: 

Ocena i hodowla bydła mlecznego. Dane za 

rok 2007. 

12. POLSKA FEDERACJA HODOWCÓW 

BYDŁA I PRODUCENTÓW MLEKA, 2007: 

Ocena i hodowla bydła mlecznego. Dane za 

rok 2006. 

13. SAWA A., 1994: Wpływ ciąży bliźniaczej na 

użytkowość krów. Zeszyty Naukowe – Zootechnika, 

189, 26, 7–14. 

Streszczenie: Ciąże mnogie u bydła i czynniki 

warunkujące ich występowanie. W województwie 

mazowieckim w latach 2002–2007 zaobserwowano 

wzrost liczby wycieleń mnogich u bydła. 

Występowanie porodów mnogich w tym okresie 

kształtowało się na poziomie 1,35–1,96%. Powtarzalność 

ciąż mnogich była niska – zaledwie 

u 331 sztuk (z 6755) zarejestrowano przynajmniej 

dwie ciąże mnogie, co może świadczyć o wpływie 

czynnika genetycznego. Największa częstotliwość 

ciąż mnogich wystąpiła w okresie zimowo-wiosennym, 

a więc od grudnia do maja i jest 

to 53% ciąż mnogich. Największy odsetek ciąż 

wielopłodowych występuje u krów przy drugim 

wycieleniu. 






Poland




Effect of multiple pregnancies on cow milk production 

and reproduction indices 

TERESA NAŁĘCZ-TARWACKA, KATARZYNA PALIŃSKA, HENRYK GRODZKI 

Faculty of Animal Breeding, Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW 

Abstract: Effect of multiple pregnancies on cow 

milk production and reproduction indices. The 

aim of the studies was to determine the effect of 

multiple pregnancies on milk performance and 

the reproduction indicators of cows. The studies 

covered 6755 animals in which at least one multiple 

birth occurred during 6 years. The data concerning 

cow milk performance during previous, 

parallel lactation and that one, occurring directly 

after multiple pregnancy and gestation period and 

cow reproduction parameters – inter-calving and 

inter-pregnancy periods during, before and after 

multiple pregnancy. It was found that the multiple 

pregnancies did not lower milk performance. 

After multiple pregnancy, the examined reproduction 

indices were abbreviated as compared to their 

length before the multiple pregnancy. 

Key words: multiple pregnancy, milk performance, 

reproduction indices. 

INTRODUCTION 

Phenomenon of multiple pregnancies in 

cattle is very interesting and has been the 

subject of many studies. In the opinion of 

Litwińczuk et al. (1987), multiple pregnancies 

do not lower milk productivity. 

The author reports that the cows in multiple 

pregnancy gave more milk (4152 

kg) than the cows from control group, 

delivering always one calf (3846.8 kg). 

When analyzing the results, Litwińczuk 

et al. (1987) found that the lowest milk 

yield was obtained from the cows in lactation 

before multiple parturition (4103 

kg of milk), somewhat higher – after 

multiple birth (4174.3 kg of milk) and the 

highest one was obtained in the remaining 

lactations (4252.0 kg of milk). In 

the opinion of the authors, twin pregnancy 

decreases significantly milk performance 

only during duration of lactation. 

Similar results were obtained by Wood 

(1975) and Szarek and Feleńczak (1978); 

they reported that after the multiple parturition, 

the cows reached higher milk 

yield as compared to other lactations. On 

the other hand, Sawa (1994) has stated 

that after multiple calving, the decrease 

of milk yield occurred. Sawa (1994) similarly 

as Skrzypek et al. (1989) reports 

that the natural twin pregnancies occur 

more frequently in the cows with higher 

participation of HF genes. 

Basic reproduction indicators in cattle 

include, first of all, length of pregnancy 

and length of calving-to conception 

interwal and inter-calving periods. 

The duration time of multiple pregnancy 

is shorter than a single gestation period 

(Gregory, Echternkamp, 1990; Sawa, 

1994; Echternkamp, Gregory, 1999). 

Echternkamp et al. (1999) analysed 

also the relationship between the length 

of twin gestation and sex of fetuses. The 

longest duration of pregnancy occurred


in case of various-sex twins (276.0 days) 

and the shortest one – in one fetus females 

(275.1 days) and in one fetus males it 

was equal to 275.8 days. The studies 

confirmed that the sex of twins did not 

affect (P < 0.1) the length of gestation. 

Many authors indicate elongation of 

reproduction indices – calving-to conception 

interwal and inter-calving periods in 

cows after multiple pregnancy as compared 

to the same parameters before multiple 

pregnancy (Goszczyński, Skulmowski, 

1977; 1994; Sawa, 1994). On the 

other hand, Szarek, Feleńczak (1978) and 

Kuźma R., Kuźma K. (1994) satte that 

mothers of twins are equivalent in respect 

of fertility in comparison to mothers of 

single calves. 

The aim of the studies was to determine 

the effect of multiple pregnancy on 

milk performance and reproduction indices 

of cows. 


Material for the studies included the data 

from breeding documentation of Polish 

Federation of Cattle Breeders and Milk 

Producers. The results of cow performance 

covered the period from 1.01.2002 

to 21.12.2007 and concerned farms, situated 

in the Mazovian voivodeship. The 

analysis included 6755 cows in which at 

least one multiple calving had place. The 

collected data concerned yield of milk, fat 

and protein and also, percentage content 

of the mentioned components in the milk 

in preceding, parallel and directly subsequent 

lactation (after multiple gestation), 

length of inter-pregnancy and calving-to 

conception interwal directly before and 

after multiple gestation and the length of 

pregnancy duration. 

When evaluating milk performance, 

the cows with 305-day lactation and shorter 

but not less than 260-day long, were considered. 

The data on calving of the cows 

in the Mazovian voivodeship derived 

from annual publications of the National 

Centre of Animal Breeding (2002–2006) 

and Polish Federation of Cattle Breeders 

and Milk Producers (2007–2008). 

The obtained data were statistically 

developed, using one-factor variance 

analysis (ANOVA) in programme SPSS 

Statistics 17.0. 


Cow milk performance 

The results concerning the productivity 

of cows in multiple and single pregnancy 

in the years 2002–2007 are contained in 

Table 1. 

The cows with multiple pregnancies 

gave more milk (6212.3 kg) in comparison 

to the mean performance of the cows 

with a single gestation (5864.4 kg). The 

mentioned difference amounted to 347.9 

kg of milk. Besides it, from the cows 

– mothers of twins and triples, higher 

mean fat and protein yield was obtained 

whereas the mean percentage content 

of the mentioned utility components in 

milk was lower. A big group of animals 

and genetic diversity may suggest that 

the discussed results are objective. 

Similar results are reported by Litwińczuk 

et al. (1987) who state that multiple 

births do not lower milk productivity. 

In opinion of the authors, the cows with 

multiple pregnancies are characterized 

by higher milk performance (4152 kg) as 

compared to the cows with a single gestation 

(3846.8 kg).

Effect of multiple pregnancies on cow milk production... 95 

TABLE 1. Average milk yield of cows under control in Mazovia voivodeship 

Cows with single pregnancy Cows with multiple pregnancy 

yield yield 

Year 

n 

milk 

fat protein 

milk 

fat 

n 

(kg) kg % kg % (kg) kg % kg % 

2002 55 052 5 495.4 227.88 4.15 179.85 3.27 633 5 815.2 238.21 4.1 189.56 3.26 

2003 60 632 5 517.2 229.91 4.17 181.89 3.29 711 5 848.7 237.4 4.07 191.71 3.28 

2004 64 966 5 759.6 240.03 4.16 188.97 3.28 962 5 993.1 246.14 4.13 195.80 3.28 

2005 72 657 6 034.7 251.87 4.17 198.85 3.29 1 084 6 398.3 260.6 4.09 208.81 3.27 

2006 77 192 6 170.9 256.86 4.16 202.83 3.29 1 194 6 573.0 266.12 4.07 214.22 3.26 

2007 81 669 6 208.6 261.86 4.22 205.84 3.31 1 215 6 645.6 271.16 4.11 216.93 3.27 

Total 68 695 5 864.4 244.74 4.17 193.04 3.29 967 6 212.3 253.27 4.1 202.84 3.27 

When analyzing the data contained 

in Table 2, we may state that the lowest 

milk production occurs before multiple 

pregnancy (6135.14 kg), somewhat 

higher in lactation which is a result of 

multiple pregnancy (6287.83 kg) and 

the highest one occurs in the successive 

lactation (6615.31 kg). The mentioned 

differences were statistically confirmed 

(p ≤ 0.01). In the analysed population, 

the increase of yield together with the 

age was expected because the evaluation 

concerned the successive lactations. The 

increase of mother’s demand on nutrients 

which are directed for growth of two 

fetuses is probably the reason for the 

lowered yield in lactation preceding twin 

delivery. Also, the mean fat and protein 

yields (expressed in kg) differ highly significantly 

each other. 

The similar results were obtained by 

Wood (1975), Szarek and Feleńczak 

(1978) who stated that productivity of 

cows in the lactation after multiple parturition 

was increased. In the experiment 

of Litwińczuk et al. (1987) similar 

results were obtained: the lowest yield 

was recorded in the lactation before twin 

birth (4103.7 kg of milk), the higher one 

– after twin delivery (4174.3 kg) and 

the highest milk yield was found in the 

remaining lactations (4252 kg). As it was 

reported by Litwińczuk et al. (1987), it 

results probably from the lower productivity 

of a cow in a final lactation period 

when the greater part of nutrients is 

directed by organism for nutrition of two 

fetuses. 

The lowering effect of multiple pregnancy 

on cow productivity is also confirmed 

by the studies of other authors 

(Skrzypek et al., 1989). The authors explain 

that the reason for decrease of the yield


TABLE 2. Cows productivity in lactation before and after multiple calving 

Average yield 

Lactation 

n 

fat 

protein 

milk (kg) 

kg % kg % 

Before multiple pregnancy 5 764 6 135.14 A 252.05 A 4.13 198.59 A 3.24 

After multiple pregnancy 5 799 6 287.83 B 256.23 B 4.10 205.27 B 3.27 

Subsequent 3 002 6 615.31 A.B 272.48 A.B 4.14 214.23 A. B 3.24 

A-A – Statistical differences significant at P ≤ 0.01. 

is insufficient coverage of nutritional 

requirements during duration of such 

pregnancy. 

Sawa (1994) states that in the lactation 

parallel with the multiple pregnancy, the 

highest milk yield is recorded and after 

twin calving – it decreases and is by 10% 

lower as compared to the previous lactation. 

REPRODUCTION INDICES 

The length of multiple pregnancy was 

279.5 days, i.e. by three days shorter than 

the theoretical value (282 days). 

Table 3 shows the comparison of 

duration time of pregnancy in relation to 

the type of gestation. The length of triplet 

pregnancy, as it has been reveled, is 

shorter (278.7 days) as compared to twin 

gestation (279.5 days). The mentioned 

differences have not been, however, statistically 

confirmed. 

In the experiment, the relationship 

between the length of twin pregnancy 

and sex of fetuses was also considered 

(Tab. 4). 

Similarly as in the studies, conducted 

by Echternkamp and Gregory (1999), the 

longest pregnancy was recorded in case 

of various sex twins (2822.6 days) and 

the shortest one – in one sex female twins 

(276.4 days). The sex of fetuses affects, 

therefore, the length of gestation period. 

TABLE 3. Multiple pregnancy lenght (days) 

depending on pregnancy type 

Multiple 

pregnency 

Quantity 

Pregnency lenght 

(days) 

Twin 559 279.5 

Triple 3 278.7 

TABLE 4. Twin pregnancy lenght (days) depending 

on foetus sex 

Twins’ sex 

Calves 

number 

Pregnency lenght 

(days) 

♂♂ 4 172 281.2 

♂♀ 5 118 282.6 

♀♀ 4 766 276.4 

Table 5 contains the indicators of cow 

fertility. It was found that after multiple 

pregnancy, they were decreased. The 

Calving-to-conception interwal in the 

analysed cows before multiple gestation 

was equal to 144 days whereas that one 

after multiple calving – 139 days. The 

mentioned differences were statistically 

insignificant. Calving-to-conception 

interwal in twins-delivering females was 

therefore longer than the theoretical one. 

As it was reported by authors (Grodzki et 

al. 2002), the time between calving and 

the next breeding should be found in the 

range of 60–90 days. The reason for the 

obtained results lies probably in the fact 

that at present, the cows with the higher


TABLE 5. Fertility indices of lactating cows directly before and after multiple calving 

Pregnency 

lenght 

(days) 

Calving-to-conception interwal (days) 

n 

before 

multiple 

pregnancy 

n 

after 

multiple 

pregnancy 

n 

Calving interwal (days) 

before 

multiple 

pregnancy 

n 

after 

multiple 

pregnancy 

279.5 3 047 144 1 582 139 6 620 445 A 4 386 425 A 

A-A – Statistical differences significant at P ≤ 0.01. 

TABLE 6. Average lenght of intercalving periods 

(days) in Mazovia voivodeship and in Poland in 


Year Mazovia voivodeship Poland 

2002 400 408 

2003 407 414 

2004 413 419 

2005 410 416 

2006 414 420 

2007 423 426 

Average 411 417 

production potential are milked for 

a longer period. 

The obtained results occurred to be 

completely different than those ones, 

obtained by the remaining authors. In the 

opinion of Sawa (1994), fertility of the 

cows after multiple births deteriorates. 

According to the studies of the author, 

difference between the calving-to-conception 

interwal before multi-litter gestation 

and after it, is equal to 4 days. 

From the submitted data (Tab. 5) it is 

resulted that the length of inter-calving 

periods in the cows after multiple birth is 

abbreviated. Before multiple gestations, 

it amounted to 445 days and after multiple 

pregnancies – by 20 days shorter. 

The mentioned differences occurred to 

be highly significant. In case of breeding 

cows, managed in the intensive system, 

the discussed index should vary within 

the limits of 365 days (Grodzki, 2002). 

When comparing the obtained results 

with the mean inter-calving periods for 

the cows in the Mazovian voivodeship 

and in the country in the years 2002–2007 

(Tab. 6) it is stated that the discussed fertility 

indicator is longer by 6 days in the 

cows covered with milk recording in the 

national population. 

In the opinion of Litwińczuk et al. 

(1987), the length of inter-calving periods 

is subjected to significant prolongation 

in the cows with multiple pregnancies 

(379 days) as well as in the cows 

with a single birth (381 days). From the 

studies of the authors, it results however 

that the discussed index before multiple 

birth is equal to 370.3 days and after 

multiple delivery – 392.8 days). Also, 

according to Goszczyński and Skulmowski 

(1977), the inter-calving period is 

prolonged after twin parturition. 

R. Kuźma and K. Kuźma (1994) consider 

that fertility of the cows with multiple 

gestation, as compared to the cows 

with a single pregnancy, is not much 

worse. Similar statement was expressed 

by Szarek and Feleńczak (1978). In their 

opinion on fertility indices, mothers of 

twins are equivalent to mothers of single 

calves. 

Obtaining of the prolonged inter-pregnancy 

period and calving-to conception 

interwal and of the abbreviated length


of gestation by other authors explains 

decrease of milk yield in the cows with 

multiple births. 

In the opinion of Max (1996), however, 

a single administration of GnRH to 

the cows allows approximating fertility 

indices to the indicators, occurring in 

females with a single gestation. 

CONCLUSIONS 

Multiple pregnancies do not lower milk 

performance. The cows with multi-fetus 

gestation gave more milk (6212 kg) in 

relation to the cows with a single litter 

(5864 kg). The lowest milk production 

was recorded for the cows before multiple 

pregnancy (6135 kg), somewhat 

higher – in lactation, being a result of 

multiple gestation (6287 kg) and the 

highest one was found in the successive 

lactation (6615 kg). 

Duration time of multiple pregnancy 

was equal to 279 days in average and it 

was affected by he sex of fetuses. The 

calving-to conception interwal as well 

as inter-calving period was abbreviated 

after multiple parturition. Both fertility 

parameters occurred to be longer than the 

theoretical ones and besides it, the intercalving 

period was longer than the mean 

for the voivodeship and the country. 

REFERENCES 

ECHTERNKAMP S.E., GREGORY K.E., 1999: 

Effects of twinning on gestation length, retained 

placenta, and dystocia. Journal of Animal Science 


GOSZCZYŃSKI J., SKULMOWSKI J.P., 1977: 

Obserwacje nad występowaniem ciąż bliźniaczych 

w stadzie bydła rasy charolaise. Prace 

i Mat. Zoot., 14, 85–93. 

GREGORY K.E., ECHTERNKAMP S.E. et al., 

1990: Twinning in cattle III. Effects of twinning 

on dystocia, reproductive traits, calf survival, 

calf growth and cow productivity. Journal of 

Animal Science 68, 3133–3144. 

GRODZKI H., 2002: Hodowla i użytkowanie 

bydła. Wyd. SGGW, Warszawa. 

Krajowe Centrum Hodowli Zwierząt, 2006: Ocena 

wartości użytkowej krów oraz ocena i selekcja 

buhajów. Wyniki oceny za 2005 rok. 










KUŹMA R., KUŹMA K., 1994: Występowanie 

wycieleń mnogich u krów mlecznych w warunkach 

naturalnych i ich wpływ na poród, okres 

poporodowy i płodność. Przegląd Hodowlany 


LITWIŃCZUK Z., MAJEWSKA E., MAJEWSKI 

Z., 1987: Wpływ porodów bliźniaczych na wydajność 

i płodność krów rasy ncb. Medycyna 

Weterynaryjna, 2, 111–114. 

MAX A., 1996: Ciąża bliźniacza u bydła. Medycyna 

Weterynaryjna 52, 85–88. 

Polska Federacja Hodowców Bydła i Producentów 

Mleka, 2008: Ocena i hodowla bydła mlecznego. 

Dane za 2007 rok. 

Polska Federacja Hodowców Bydła i Producentów 

Mleka, 2007: Ocena i hodowla bydła mlecznego. 

Dane za 2006 rok. 

SAWA A., 1994: Wpływ ciąży bliźniaczej na użytkowość 

krów. Zeszyty Naukowe – Zootechnika, 

189, 26, 7–14. 

SKRZYPEK R., BARANIAK R., GRYCZ J., 

1989: Wpływ ciąży bliźniaczej na użytkowość 

mleczną, rozrodczą i brakowanie krów oraz 

żywotność urodzonych cieląt. Roczniki AR 

Poznań 38, 83–94. 

SZAREK J., FELEŃCZAK A., 1978: Przydatność 

do chowu cieląt pochodzących z urodzeń 

bliźniaczych. Przegląd Hodowlany 12, 12–13. 

WOOD P.D.P., 1975: A note on the effect of twin 

births on production in the subsequent lactation. 

Anim. Prod., 20, 421–424. 

Streszczenie: Wpływ ciąży mnogiej na użytkowość 

mleczną i wskaźniki rozrodu krów. Celem


badań było określenie wpływu ciąży mnogiej na 

użytkowość mleczną i wskaźniki rozrodu krów. 

Badaniami objęto 6755 krów, u których wystąpiło 

przynajmniej jedno mnogie wycielenie w okresie 

6 lat. Zebrano dane dotyczące użytkowości mlecznej 

krów w laktacji poprzedniej, równoległej 

i bezpośrednio po ciąży mnogiej oraz czasu trwania 

ciąży i wskaźników rozrodu krów – okresów 

międzyocieleniowych i międzyciążowych w czasie 

przed ciążą i po ciąży mnogiej. Stwierdzono, 

że ciąża mnoga nie obniża użytkowości mlecznej. 

Po porodzie mnogim badane wskaźniki rozrodu 

uległy skróceniu w porównaniu do ich długości 

przed ciążą mnogą. 






Poland




Effect of crossbreeding of Polish Merino ewes with rams 

of German Mutton Merino on growth rate and slaughter value 

of their offspring 

ROMAN NIŻNIKOWSKI 1 , ARTUR OPRZĄDEK 2 , EWA STRZELEC 1 , 

DOMINIK POPIELARCZYK 1 , KRZYSZTOF GŁOWACZ 1 , BEATA KUCZYŃSKA 3 

1 


2 

The Agricultural Property Agency – APA 

3 

Division of Cattle Breeding, Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW 

Abstract: Effect of crossbreeding of Polish Merino 

ewes with rams of German Mutton Merino on 

growth rate and slaughter value of their offspring. 

The research was carried out in 2005–2007 on the 

5 sheep flocks owned by the companies of The Agricultural 

Property Agency (APA) in Zachodniopomorskie 

and Wielkopolskie voivodeships. The 

experimental material (n = 1184) consisted of the 

female and male lambs of pure Polish Merino 

(PM) and PM F1-crosses with German Mutton 

Merino (GMM) born in 2005–2007. The group 

of 75 male-rams were fattened and the evaluation 

of body growth development, live body measurements 

as well as carcass and mld meat quality was 

researched. The crossing of PM with GMM did 

not affected the body growth development as well 

as body weights of lambs. However, the differences 

between farms were established, which indicated 

the necessity of improvement the rearing 

conditions of lambs of both sexes. The analysis 

of slaughter traits as well as the carcass quality 

presented the effect of genotype on the examined 

traits. The huge diversification of trade value, 

slaughter value, meatiness and quality of meat 

was observed between all farms, which indicated 

the huge impact of environmental conditions of 

production on the studied traits. The interaction 

genotype x environment showed huge impact of 

the place of breeding and the genotype of male 

lambs on the production traits. 

Key words: sheep, crossing, Polish Merino, German 

Mutton Merino, body weight, carcass quality, 

meat quality. 

INTRODUCTION 

The actions undertaken to reduce the level 

of inbreeding in sheep flocks of Polish 

Merino (PM) caused the initiative, which 

aimed to import the rams of German 

Mutton Merino (GMM) due to the Sheep 

Breeding Program in the companies of 

The Agricultural Property Agency (APA) 

(Niżnikowski, Oprządek, 2004). German 

Mutton Merino is widely described in 

the scientific papers (Stritmatter, 2004) 

and its meat traits would be easily introduced 

into the PM. The group of 20 rams 

of GMM was imported to five flocks of 

APA companies (Dobrzyniewo, Garzyn, 

Lubiana, Żołędnica and Żydowo). Each 

of companies possessed 4 GMM rams 

and they started one-stage crossing with 

PM ewes. The effects of this crossings 

due to the slaughter characteristics and 

meat quality of pure PM lambs and the 

F1-crosses with GMM was presented in 

this study. Obtained results were gathered 

in tables and properly commented. 


Analysis of growth development and 

live body weight. The research was

102 R. Niżnikowski et al. 

carried out in 2005–2007 on the 5 sheep 

flocks owned by the Companies of The 

Agricultural Property Agency (APA) in 

Dobrzyniewo, Lubiana, Garzyn, Żołędnica 

and Żydowo. The experimental material 

were the female and male lambs born 

in the experimental years. The data concerning 

the lambs’ body weights at 56 day 

of life were collected in 2005–2006 from 

the breeding books in all APA’s companies, 

whereas the evaluation of body 

weight at birth and daily gains till 56 day 

of life was provided in 2007, because 

these data were possible to obtain only in 

one flock (Dobrzyniewo). The statistical 

calculations were done with the LSM 

method (Anon. 2004) using the SPSS 

software (v.12.0). The statistical model 

considered the effects of genotype, year of 

lambing, flock, sex of lambs and type of 

birth of lambs as well as the double-factor 

interactions of genotype × sex of lambs, 

type of birth of lambs × sex of lambs, 

type of birth × genotype, year of lambing 

× genotype and flock × genotype, on the 

body weight at 56 day of life considering 

the lambs of following genotypes: PM 

and 50% GMM. In case of body weight 

at birth and daily gains till 56 day of age 

the similar statistical model was applied, 

however the effects of year of lambing 

and flock as well as the interaction were 

excluded. Due to these traits, the lambs of 

three genotype groups (PM, 50% GMM 

and 25% GMM) bred in Dobrzyniewo 

were included into the studies. 

Analysis of slaughter value, carcass 

quality and meat quality of ramlambs. 

The research was carried out in 

2005–2007 on five sheep flocks. The 

experimental material consisted of ramlambs 

belonged to the following genotype 

groups: Polish Merino (PM) and the 

F1-crosses with German Mutton Merino 

(GMM). The lambs were bred in massive 

buildings and they were fed accordingly 

to the norms (Osikowski et al., 1993) 

using the own-made fodders (silage, 

herbage, hay, dehydrated forage and concentrates). 

When the lambs achieved the 

slaughter weight of 35 kg (±1.5 kg), the 

body measurements at live animals were 

collected regarding: length and round of 

foreshrank, height in withers, length of 

body, spread and depth of chest, length 

and spread of head (Niżnikowski, 1979). 

Then the lambs were slaughtered and the 

carcasses were chilled in 4°C throughout 

24 hours. The following items were 

estimated: 

I. Slaughter traits: age at slaughter, 

gross dressing percentage, weight of 

carcass and weight of skin (Nawara 

et al., 1963). 

II. Carcass quality due to the EUROP 

classification: conformation class 

(E, U, R, O, P), fat class (1 – the 

lowest fat content, 2, 3, 4, 5 – the 

highest fat content), fat consistency 

(very cohesive, cohesive, tender, very 

tender) and fat colour (white or coloured). 

III. Carcass measurements: length and 

round of foreshrank (Niżnikowski, 

1979), spread of hock joint, depth of 

leg, length of leg, round of leg, leg 

index (round of leg/ length of leg × 

100), loin eye area, fat cover over 

loin eye (Nawara et al., 1963). 

IV. Carcass cuts composition (Nawara 

et al., 1963): kidney with fat, both 

shanks (front and hind), shoulder, 

neck, middle neck, rib back, loin, 

leg, breast and the valuable cuts (leg, 

rib back, loin and tenderloin);

Effect of crossbreeding of Polish Merino... 103 

V. Tissue composition of leg: lean, 

bone and fat (Nawara et al., 1963); 

VI. Physical and chemical characteristics 

of raw mld muscle: the pH-24 

value as well as the water, protein, 

fat and dry matter content (AOAC, 

1990); 

VII. Fatty acids profile of the intramuscular 

fat of mld muscle. The fat extraction 

was prepared due to the Röse- 

-Gottlieb method (AOAC, 1990). 

Fatty acids profile composition was 

determined with the gas chromatography 

due to the norms PN-EN ISO 

5508 (1996). 

Statistical calculations were done 

using the LSM analysis in the SPSS software 

(v.12; Anon., 2004). The statistical 

model included the following variation 

sources: genotype, year and type of 

birth and flock as well as the interactions 

(genotype × flock and genotype × year). 

Due to the traits mentioned in the paragraphs 

of I, III, IV (estimated in kg, cm 

and mm) and V (in kg), the regression on 

body weight at slaughter was also included 

to the model. The effects of EUROP 

and fat class were extra integrated to the 

model in case of the traits of slaughter 

value, carcass measurements and physical 

and chemical characteristics of mld 

muscle, including the fatty acid profile 

as well. When the effect of genotype on 

the researched traits was observed, the 

significance of the differences between 

factor levels were checked out with F-test 

(Ruszczyc, 1981). The traits mentioned in 

II point are shown in table. 


The evaluation of chosen factors on 

body weights and growth development 

of lambs was presented in Tables 1–3. 

The accidental statistical significance of 

the variation sources on the examined 

traits was presented in Table 1. No effect 

of genotype on any of the investigated 

TABLE 1. Effects of chosen factors and interactions on body weights and growth development basing 

on data from Dobrzyniewo in 2007 and the other flocks in 2005–2006 

Items 

genotype 

year of lambing 

Effects of 

flock 

sex of lambs 

type of birth 

of lambs 

genotype * 


type of birth of lambs * 


Interactions 

type of birth of lambs * 

genotype 

year of lambing* 

genotype 

flock* 

genotype 

N x S 

Body weight 

at birth (kg) NS – – NS X NS NS X – – 223 4.12 0.08 

Body weight 

at 56 day (kg) NS NS XX XX NS X NS NS NS NS 1184 18.50 0.12 

Daily gains 

(g/day) from 

birth till 56 day NS – – NS NS NS NS NS – – 223 289.00 1.00 

Statistical significance at: X – p ≤ 0.05; XX – p ≤ 0.01; NS – non-significant


TABLE 2. Effect of flock on body weight at 56 day 

Flock 

Item 

Dobrzyniewo (A) 

n 208 243 509 176 48 

LSM 18.79 18.78 20.01 18.43 16.46 

Body weight at 56 day (kg) 

SE 0.18 0.17 0.18 0.20 0.43 

* CE CE ABDE CE ABCD 

* – Statistical significance at: a,..., e – p ≤ 0.05; A..., E – p ≤ 0.01 

Garzyn (B) 

Lubiana (C) 

Żołędnica (D) 

Żydowo (E) 

TABLE 3. Effect of sex and type of birth of lambs on body weights and growth development 

Items 

Sex of lambs Type of birth 

male female singles twins 

N 110 123 58 175 

Body weight at birth (kg) 

LSM 4.13 4.11 4.29X 3.95 

SE 0.11 0.12 0.14 0.09 

N 573 611 527 657 

Body weight at 56 day (kg) 

LSM 18.98XX 18.03 18.41 18.60 

SE 0.16 0.17 0.16 0.18 

N 110 123 58 175 

Daily gains (g/day) from birth till 56 day LSM 297 282 293 285 

SE 12 13 1.5 9 

Statistical significance at: X – p ≤ 0.05; XX – p ≤ 0.01 

traits was observed. Also the effects of 

interactions was not compatible to the 

expectations. However, the effect of 

flock and sex was observed in the body 

weight at 56 day (p ≤ 0.01). Due to the 

body weight at 56 day the highest values 

were obtained in flock of Lubiana, 

and the lowest in the flock owned by 

Żydowo (Tab. 2). As it was reported in 

other studies, the ram-lambs dominated 

over female-lambs at this age, as well 

as the single lambs were significantly 

heavier than the twins (Tab. 3). In case 

of the daily gains till 56 day of life, no 

effects of chosen factors and interactions 

were observed. The results indicated that 

the genotype of lambs did not varied 

the values of indicators of body growth 

development, which allowed to conclude 

that the use of GMM in crossing with PM 

did not bring the negative effects. 

The results of subjective evaluation 

of carcasses due to the EUROP classification 

was presented in Table 4. The 

quality of male-lambs carcasses was 

similar in both genetic groups, however 

the carcasses of F1 crosses with GMM 

were more desirable. Most of carcasses 

were classified to the E, U and R categories, 

which are the typical carcasses


for the lamb market in the EU. Only one 

carcass of class O per the genetic group 

were observed and both were from the 

flocks of Dobrzyniewo and Żołędnica. 

The carcasses of class O are for the food 

processing purposes. The evaluation of 

fat classification showed that majority 

of the investigated carcasses belonged 

to the most desired fat classes (2 and 

3). Relatively high number of carcasses 

were classified to the category 4 in PM, 

which was not observed in carcasses 

from Dobrzyniewo. The leanest carcasses 

were observed in flock of Garzyn. 

Accordingly to the fat colour, the whiter 

fat was observed on carcasses from F1- 

-crosses with GMM, which is more desirable 

due to the EU market requirements. 

In case of the fat consistency, both genetic 

groups presented similar results, whereas 

majority of carcasses were qualified to 

the fat groups of very cohesive and cohesive. 

Carcasses of tender and very tender 

fat were found in flocks from Lubiana 

and Żydowo. The carcasses of the best 

trade quality were observed in flocks 

from Garzyn, Lubiana and Żydowo and 

all carcasses from these flocks were 

TABLE 4. Subjective evaluation of carcass quality (heads) due to the sex of lambs and flock 

Genotype 

Flock 

Items 

Σ 

Polish 

Merino 

F 1 

Polish Merino* 

German Mutton 

Merino 

Dobrzyniewo 

Garzyn 

Lubiana 

Żołędnica 

Żydowo 

EUROP class (categories): 

E 

13 

U 

42 

R 

18 

O 

2 

P 

0 

Fat class (categories): 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

Fat colour: 

coloured 

white 

Fat consistency: 

very cohesive 

cohesive 

tender 

very tender 

2 

29 

34 

10 

0 

18 

57 

16 

41 

12 

6 

4 

25 

8 

1 

0 

2 

16 

14 

6 

0 

11 

27 

9 

20 

6 

3 

9 

17 

10 

1 

0 

0 

13 

20 

4 

0 

7 

30 

7 

21 

6 

3 

0 

7 

4 

1 

0 

0 

8 

4 

0 

0 

3 

9 

2 

8 

2 

0 

1 

9 

2 

0 

0 

0 

3 

4 

5 

0 

2 

10 

3 

5 

3 

1 

0 

9 

3 

0 

0 

0 

4 

6 

2 

0 

3 

9 

0 

7 

4 

1 

4 

0 

2 

1 

0 

0 

3 

3 

1 

0 

4 

3 

1 

5 

1 

0 

8 

17 

7 

0 

0 

2 

11 

17 

2 

0 

6 

26 

10 

16 

2 

4


classified to the most desired lamb meat 

group on the EU market. Comparison of 

both experimental groups consisted of 

male-lambs indicated the better quality 

of carcasses from the F1-crosses with 

GMM than the pure PM due to the trade 

quality of carcasses. 

The effects of chosen factors and interactions 

on the live body measurements, 

slaughter value and carcass measurements 

were presented in Table 5. The effect of 

genotype was observed only on the height 

of the loin eye (cm). The effect of flock 

was observed on more of traits, as well 

as the effect of the year, which should be 

understood as the effect of environment 

in different years and flocks. The EUROP 

carcass classification affected the body 

weight at slaughter, carcass yield and leg 

index. No effect of fat classification on 

the investigated traits was observed. The 

investigated interactions were observed 

TABLE 5. Effect of chosen factors and interactions on live body and carcass measurements (n = 75) 

Items 


Interactions 

Fat 

genotype 

flock year 

EUROP 

class genotype * genotype * 

flock year 

x S 

Live body measurements (cm) 

Height in withers NS NS NS NS NS 58.48 0.54 

Length of body NS X X NS NS 61.15 0.53 

Length of foreshank NS NS NS NS NS 11.03 0.14 

Round of foreshank NS X X NS NS 9.12 0.09 

Length of head NS XX NS NS X 19.35 0.19 

Spread of head NS NS XX NS NS 10.77 0.13 

Fattening and slaughter traits 

Days of fattening NS NS NS NS NS 155.44 9.56 

Body weight at 

slaughter (kg) NS NS NS X NS NS NS 35.25 0.89 

Slaughter yield (%) NS NS XX X NS XX NS 43.81 1.00 

Pelt (kg) NS XX XX NS NS 3.38 0.06 

Carcass (kg) NS NS XX XX NS 16.03 0.20 

Carcass measurements 

Spread of hock joint 

(cm) NS XX NS NS NS 3.74 0.02 

Depth of leg (cm) NS XX NS NS NS 21.23 0.33 

Length of leg (cm) NS XX NS NS NS 23.90 0.19 

Round of leg (cm) NS XX NS NS NS 38.49 0.25 

Index of leg (%) NS XX NS X NS NS NS 157.62 2.75 

Spread of the loin 

eye (cm) NS NS NS NS NS 5.32 0.07 

Height of the loin 

eye (cm) XX X X NS X 3.17 0.07 

Loin eye area (cm 2 ) NS X X NS X 14.08 0.29 

Fat cover over loin 

eye (mm) NS XX XX NS NS 1.58 0.13 



at very limited level, whereas the most 

interesting was the effect of interaction 

genotype × flock on carcass yield and 

carcass weight. 

The effects of chosen variation sources 

on the carcass cuts composition and 

tissue composition of leg were presented 

in Table 6. The genotype affected sig- 

TABLE 6. Effects of chosen factors and interaction on carcass cuts composition and tissue characteristic 

of leg (n = 75) 

Items 


Interactions 

Fat 

genotype 

flock year 

EUROP 

class genotype * genotype * 

flock year 

x S 

Half-carcass (kg) NS NS XX NS NS 7.99 0.08 

Half-carcass cuts composition 

Kidney with fat (kg) NS X XX NS NS 0.16 0.01 

Kidney with fat (%) NS X NS NS NS NS NS 1.98 0.18 

Foreshank (kg) NS X NS NS NS 0.29 0.01 

Foreshank (%) NS X X NS NS NS NS 3.71 0.14 

Hideshank (kg) X XX NS NS NS 0.35 0.01 

Hideshank (%) NS X X NS NS NS NS 4.59 0.14 

Neck (kg) NS NS XX NS NS 0.65 0.02 

Neck (%) NS NS X NS NS NS NS 8.49 0.38 

Middle neck (kg) NS NS XX NS NS 0.52 0.01 

Middle neck (%) NS X X NS NS NS NS 6.41 0.26 

Shoulder (kg) NS NS NS NS NS 1.29 0.02 

Shoulder (%) NS NS XX NS XX NS NS 16.84 0.25 

Breast (kg) NS XX XX NS NS 1.33 0.02 

Breast (%) NS NS NS X NS NS NS 15.87 0.37 

Rib back (kg) NS XX XX NS NS 0.62 0.01 

Rib back (%) NS XX NS NS NS NS NS 7.74 0.24 

Loin (kg) NS NS NS NS NS 0.54 0.01 

Loin (%) NS NS NS NS NS NS NS 6.80 0.25 

Tenderloin (kg) XX NS X NS NS 0.13 0.01 

Tenderloin (%) X NS X NS NS NS NS 1.74 0.09 

Leg (kg) NS X XX X NS 2.20 0.03 

Leg (%) NS NS NS NS NS NS NS 27.16 0.40 

Valuable cuts (kg) NS X XX NS NS 3.36 0.04 

Valuable cuts (kg) NS XX NS NS NS NS NS 41.70 0.49 

Tissue composition of leg 

Lean (kg) NS X XX NS NS 1.61 0.02 

Lean (%) NS XX NS XX NS NS NS 71.56 0.94 

Fat (kg) NS XX X NS NS 0.29 0.01 

Fat (%) NS XX NS NS NS NS NS 13.50 0.59 

Bone (kg) NS NS NS NS NS 0.28 0.01 

Bone (%) NS NS NS NS NS NS NS 13.70 0.57 



TABLE 7. Effect of chosen factors on physical and chemical characteristics of mld muscle (n = 75) 

Items 


genotype flock year 

EUROP 

Fat 

class 

genotype * 

flock 

Physical characteristic of mld muscle 

Interactions 

genotype * 

year 

pH 24 NS XX NS X NS NS NS 5.53 0.02 

Water holding 

capacity (cm 2 ) NS XX XX NS NS NS NS 27.72 2.21 

Chemical composition of raw mld muscle (%) 

Crude protein NS NS NS NS NS NS NS 21.35 0.98 

Fat NS NS NS X NS NS NS 3.15 0.28 

Dry matter NS NS NS NS NS NS NS 28.63 1.70 

Fatty acids profile (g/100g fat) 

C10:0 NS NS NS NS NS NS NS 0.19 0.02 

C12:0 NS X NS NS NS NS NS 0.33 0.05 

C14:0 NS XX NS NS NS NS NS 4.30 0.31 



C15:1 NS XX X NS X NS NS 0.24 0.02 

C16:0 NS XX NS NS NS NS NS 25.39 0.81 


C17:0 NS NS NS X NS NS NS 1.30 0.05 



C18:1c9 NS NS NS NS NS NS NS 33.96 1.40 

C18:2n6 NS NS NS NS NS NS NS 3.17 0.22 

C18:3n3c NS NS NS NS NS NS NS 0.16 0.01 

C18:3n3t NS NS NS NS NS NS NS 0.34 0.03 

CLA NS XX NS X NS NS NS 0.42 0.03 

C20:1 X NS NS NS NS NS NS 0.14 0.03 

C20:3n3 NS X NS NS NS NS NS 0.14 0.02 

C20:4n6 NS XX X NS NS NS NS 0.53 0.07 

C20:5n3 NS XX NS NS NS NS NS 0.08 0.01 



SFA NS X NS NS NS NS NS 47.92 1.2 

MUFA-cis NS NS NS NS NS NS NS 39.78 1.53 

MUFA-trans NS NS NS NS NS NS NS 1.12 0.06 

PUFAn3 NS NS NS NS NS NS NS 0.43 0.06 

PUFAn6 NS XX X NS NS NS NS 0.53 0.07 

Statistical significance at: X – p ≤ 0.05; XX – p ≤ 0.01; NS – non-significant 

x 

S


nificantly the weight f hideshank (kg) 

and the weight and content of tenderloin 

(kg, %). As it was previously presented 

in Table 5, the effects of flock and year 

of research on the majority of traits, 

confirmed the significant effect of different 

environmental conditions on the 

presented results. However, the effect of 

EUROP classes on the contents of breast 

and lean in leg (%) as well as the effect of 

fat class on the content of shoulder (%) 

were observed. The effect of the interaction 

genotype × flock on weight of leg 

(kg) was observed. 

The results of physical and chemical 

characteristics and fatty acids profile of 

the mld muscle were presented in Table 7. 

In this case, the significant effect of genotype 

on the C 20:1 content was observed, 

whereas the effect of flock significantly 

affected majority of studied traits. The 

effects of year, EUROP classes and fat 

classes as well as the colour and consistency 

of fat affected the studied traits at 

definitely lower level. No effects of interactions 

on these traits were observed. 

The huge effect of environmental conditions 

on majority of studied traits was 

observed (Tabs 5, 6 and 7), concerning 

mainly the effect of the flock and then 

the other factors. 

The effect of genotype on the studied 

traits was presented in Table 8 and it was 

observed in case of height of loin eye, 

content of hideshank (%) and weight and 

content of tenderloin (kg, %) as well as 

the content of the C20:1 fatty acid in the 

mld muscle. The value of height of loin 

eye was statistically higher in the group 

of Polish Merino ram-lambs in contrary 

to the F1-crosses, whereas the opposite 

results were observed in the other traits. 

Therefore it was hard to recognize which 

of the genetic combinations was better 

due to the quality of carcass and meat. 

The effect of flock on the live body 

and carcass measurements, slaughter 

traits as well as the cuts’ composition, 

tissue characteristic of leg and mld 

muscle traits were presented in Table 9. 

Due to the live body measurements, the 

greatest body length was observed in the 

sheep flock in Dobrzyniewo, whereas 

the smallest was reported in Żydowo 

flock. The lowest values of round of 

foreshank were observed in lambs in 

Żydowo and moreover in this flock and 

in Garzyn flock the longest heads were 

also reported as well. This leads to the 

conclusion that the lambs in Dobrzyniewo 

presented significantly larger body 

size in comparison to Żydowo flock. 

TABLE 8. Effect of genotype on chosen prameters of carcass and meat quality of lambs (n = 75) 

Genotype 

Items 

Polish Merino 

F 1 

Polish Merino × German Mutton Merino 

LSM SE LSM SE 

Height of the loin eye (cm) 3.35XX 0.09 3.00 0.08 

Hideshank (kg) 0.34X 0.01 0.36X 0.01 

Tenderloin (kg) 0.12X 0.01 0.14 0.01 

Tenderloin (%) 1.61X 0.11 1.85 0.10 

Fatty acid: C20:1 0.10X 0.04 0.18 0.04 

Statistical significance at: X – p ≤ 0.05; XX – p ≤ 0.01


The evaluation of pelt content provided 

quite different results, which might have 

been distorted due to the shearing time, 

whereas the results for the spread of hock 

joint was in close relationship with the 

results for the round of foreshank. The 

traits of leg characteristics presented the 

lowest values in Garzyn flock, whereas 

the longest legs were found in Lubiana 

and Dobrzyniewo flocks. Moreover the 

Dobrzyniewo flock presented the highest 

results in the round of leg, which 

was not confirmed by the weight of leg, 

which was the heaviest in Garzyn flock. 

The Garzyn flock presented also the best 

results of loin characteristics: high values 

of loin eye area and height of loin eye as 

well as the lowest values of fat cover over 

loin eye. These results suited to the data 

obtained for the EUROP carcass classification, 

which also presented a very 

good parameters of their trade quality 

required for the slaughter lambs. Evaluation 

of the fat classes was confirmed 

by the obtained values for the weight 

of kidney with fat, which were also the 

lowest in Garzyn flock. The analysis of 

less valuable cuts composition, such as 

the weights of foreshank and backshank, 

middle neck and breast generally did not 

varied the quality of carcasses. Accordingly 

to the valuable cuts analysis (leg, 

tenderloin, rib back and loin), the their 

highest content was observed again in 

carcasses from the Garzyn flock. Nevertheless 

the best tissue composition of 

leg (high lean content and low fat content) 

was presented in carcasses from 

Żołędnica and Żydowo flocks. The presented 

tendencies were already reported 

by other authors (Gruszecki et al., 2004, 

Niżnikowski, 1979). 

The physical characteristic of mld 

muscle presented the lowest pH value of 

meat from carcasses obtained in Dobrzyniewo 

and Garzyn flocks, whereas the 

water holding capacity was at the highest 

values in lamb meat from Dobrzyniewo 

and Lubiana flocks and the lowest values 

in Garzyn and Żołędnica. These results 

indicated that the lamb carcasses from 

Garzyn and Żołędnica flocks presented 

the highest level of water holding in meat 

in comparison to the other flocks. Analysis 

of the fatty acids profile indicated their 

best composition in mld muscle of malelambs 

from Dobrzyniewo flock, which 

was also confirmed e.g. by the level of 

CLA fatty acids. Generally, the significant 

effect of flock on the fatty acids 

profile was observed in all experimental 

animals, especially in the Dobrzyniewo 

flock. Due to obtained results, the carcasses 

could be highly evaluated in terms 

of dietary quality in human nutrition, 

which was also reported by other authors 

(Gruszecki et al., 2004). 

In general, the effect of flock on the 

traits presented in Table 9 indicated that 

the largest animals of the most favorable 

fatty acids profiles were bred in 

Dobrzyniewo. However the lambs of 

the best meatiness level and the lowest 

fat content as well as of the best level 

of water holding capacity in mld muscle 

were observed in Garzyn flock. The most 

favorable tissue composition of leg was 

presented in carcasses from Żołędnica 

and Żydowo. The APA’s sheep flocks 

produce the animals of high quality of 

meat and slaughter characteristics, however 

the value of traits included in this 

study was very differentiated, which 

should be regarded as the effect of different 

environmental conditions specific 

to individual farms. 

The effect of EUROP classification on 

the chosen carcass traits were shown in


TABLE 9. Effect of flock on examined slaughter traits (n = 75) 

Items 

Flock 

Dobrzyniewo (A) Lubiana (B) Garzyn (C) Żołędnica (D) Żydowo (E) 

LSM SE LSM SE LSM SE LSM SE LSM SE 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 


Length of body 63.38 E 1.09 60.82 1.09 62.58 e 1.10 60.30 1.52 59.10 Ac 0.60 

Round of foreshank 9.22 0.19 9.25 e 0.19 8.84 0.19 9.49 e 0.26 8.80 bd 0.10 

Length of head 19.10 0.39 19.62 d 0.39 19.94 D 0.39 17.91 bCE 0.54 19.95 D 0.22 


Pelt (kg) 2.77 BCE 0.13 3.69 Ae 0.13 3.54 A 0.13 3.21 0.19 3.36 Ab 0.07 


Spread of hock joint (cm) 3.76 c.E 0.05 3.72 e 0.05 3.62 a 0.06 3.75 e 0.08 3.56 AeD 0.03 

Depth of leg (cm) 20.47 E 0.68 21.48 c 0.68 19.70 bE 0.68 21.10 0.95 22.72 AC 0.38 

Length of leg (cm) 25.84 CDE 0.39 25.50 CDE 0.39 23.62 ABD 0.40 21.30 ABCE 0.55 23.13 ABD 0.22 

Round of leg (cm) 41.05 BCDE 0.52 37.87 A 0.52 37.68 A 0.53 36.85 A 0.73 37.85 A 0.29 

Loin eye area (cm 2 ) 13.64 Ce 0.64 13.59 Ce 0.64 15.63 a.B 0.64 15.15 0.89 15.36 ab 0.35 

Height of the loin eye (cm) 3.18 b 0.14 2.81 aCE 0.14 3.40 B 0.14 3.28 0.19 3.25 B 0.08 

Fat cover over loin eye (mm) 2.29 BCe 0.26 0.99 Ade 0.26 1.09 A 0.26 2.03 b 0.36 1.64 ab 0.14 


Kidney with fat (kg) 0.15 0.02 0.15 0.02 0.12 E 0.02 0.18 0.02 0.19 C 0.01 

Kidney with fat (%) 1.81 e 0.25 1.99 0.27 1.53 E 0.30 2.35 0.32 2.40 aC 0.20 

Foreshank (kg) 0.29 c 0.01 0.30 0.01 0.32 aE 0.01 0.29 0.02 0.27 C 0.01 

Foreshank (%) 3.48 C 0.19 3.85 0.21 4.12 AE 0.23 3.59 0.25 3.47 C 0.15 

Hideshank (kg) 0.36 0.01 0.33 C 0.01 0.38 BE 0.01 0.365 0.01 0.33 C 0.01 

Hideshank (%) 4.46 C 0.19 4.53 C 0.21 5.10 ABdE 0.23 4.35 c 0.25 4.38 C 0.15 

Middle neck (%) 5.70 bDE 0.36 6.51 a 0.40 6.07 d 0.44 7.46 c 0.47 6.82 A 0.29 

Breast (kg) 1.44 DE 0.04 1.35 d 0.04 1.41 D.E 0.05 1.16 AbC 0.06 1.25 AC 0.03 

Rib back (kg) 0.57 Cd 0.02 0.55 CD 0.02 0.65 AB 0.02 0.70 aBe 0.04 0.61 BD 0.01 

Rib back (%) 6.98 CDE 0.32 7.30 cD 0.36 8.10 Ab 0.39 9.01 ABe 0.42 7.94 Ad 0.26 

Leg (kg) 2.23 b 0.05 2.10 C 0.05 2.28 Be 0.05 2.16 0.08 2.13 c 0.03 

Valuable cuts (kg) 3.37 b 0.08 3.17 aC 0.08 3.49 BE 0.08 3.35 0.11 3.25 C 0.04 

Valuable cuts (kg) 40.49 C 0.67 41.23 C 0.75 43.67 ABE 0.81 41.82 0.88 41.33 C 0.54



1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 


Lean (kg) 1.57 c 0.05 1.52 C 0.05 1.71 aB 0.05 1.59 0.06 1.60 0.03 

Lean (%) 68.99 DE 1.28 70.04 dE 1.43 71.63 1.55 74.92 Ab 1.68 73.89 AB 1.03 

Fat (kg) 0.34 BCE 0.01 0.26 A 0.01 0.28 A 0.01 0.30 e 0.02 0.25 Ad 0.01 

Fat (%) 15.82 BCE 0.80 13.23 A 0.90 13.37 A 0.98 13.34 1.05 11.72 A 0.65 


pH 24 5.49 BcE 0.02 5.55 Ad 0.02 5.55 a 0.03 5.47 bE 0.03 5.56 AD 0.02 

Water holding capacity (cm 2 ) 34.19 CDe 3.06 34.20 Cde 3.48 19.18 ABe 3.87 19.59 Ab 3.74 27.37 abc 2.40 


C12:0 0.24 B 0.07 0.47 A.C 0.08 0.25 B 0.09 0.35 0.09 0.36 0.06 

C14:0 4.70 bC 0.43 5.75 aCDE 0.49 3.27 AB 0.54 3.31 B 0.52 3.96 B 0.34 

C15:0 0.62 0.08 0.71 C 0.09 0.43 B 0.10 0.48 0.10 0.56 0.06 

C15:1 0.24 b 0.02 0.29 aCDe 0.02 0.21 C 0.03 0.18 B 0.03 0.23 b 0.02 

C16:0 25.43 1.12 27.33 Cd 1.27 23.61 Be 1.41 22.86 be 1.36 26.47 cd 0.87 

C16:1 2.04 c 0.14 2.09 C 0.16 1.64 aB 0.18 2.04 0.18 1.88 0.11 

C18:0 14.18 Cde 0.94 14.93 c 1.07 16.97 Ab 1.19 17.61 d 1.15 16.37 e 0.74 

CLA 0.55 BCdE 0.04 0.41 A 0.05 0.35 A 0.05 0.38 a 0.05 0.39 A 0.03 

C20:3n3 0.10 Be 0.03 0.18 Ac 0.03 0.11 b 0.04 0.15 0.04 0.17 a 0.02 

C20:4n6 0.64 C 0.09 0.76 CE 0.10 0.27 ABe 0.11 0.47 0.11 0.48 Bc 0.07 

C20:5n3 0.11 Cde 0.01 0.09 A 0.01 0.06 AB 0.01 0.06 a 0.01 0.08 a 0.01 

SFA 46.62 b 1.64 50.74 aC 1.86 46.06 B 2.07 46.14 2.00 49.17 1.28 

PUFAn6 0.64 C 0.09 0.76 CE 0.10 0.27 ABe 0.11 0.47 0.11 0.48 Bc 0.07 

Statistical significance at: a,..., e – p ≤ 0.05; A..., E – p ≤ 0.01


Table 10. The highest weight of breast 

(%) as well as the lean content in leg (%) 

were found in carcasses of the class U. 

Also the high level of these traits were 

observed in class E, but these results 

were not statistically confirmed. By contrast, 

lamb carcasses qualified for the 

class O were characterized by the highest 

level of pH value and C17:0 fatty 

acid content as well as the lowest CLA 

content indicating the worst quality of 

meat from lambs in this class, and thus 

confirming the need to improve the meat 

and slaughter traits by breeding work to 

eliminate this meatiness class in time. 

In turn, the fat class (Tab. 11) affected 

the weight of the shoulder (%) and 

C15:1 fatty acid content. The weight of 

shoulder was the highest in the class of 

the smallest fatness level, which also did 

not shown the C15:1 fatty acid at all. The 

content of this fatty acid was the highest 

in the class 2 and 4 in comparison to the 

class 3. These results lead to the conclusion 

that the C15:0 fatty acid appeared 

in the intramuscular fat in lamb meat of 

higher fat category, while in the case of 

very low fat level of this fatty acid may 

not be reported. Summing up the results 

summarized both in Tables 10 and 11 it 

should be pointed out that the effects of 

EUROP classes and fat classes on the 

studied traits were negligible. 

Interesting results were observed 

in case of the interaction genotype × 

flock (Tabs 5 and 6). This results confirmed 

the effect of different conditions 

in individual sheep flocks on expressed 

level of studied traits in lamb groups 

consisted of two different genotypes. 

The effect of genotype × flock interaction 

on carcass yield (%) was shown on 

Figure 1. Although the Żołędnica flock 

was represented only by the male-lambs 

TABLE 10. Effect of EUROP classes flock on examined slaughter traits (n = 75) 

EUROP classes (categories) 

Items 

E (A) U (B) R (C) O (D) 

LSM SE LSM SE LSM SE LSM SE 

Breast (%) 16.33 0.44 16.89 d 0.33 15.71 0.47 14.57 b 0.98 

Lean (%) in leg 72.42 1.11 74.28 Cd 0.82 70.71 B 1.18 68.82 2.46 

pH 24 5.51 bcd 0.02 5.50 acd 0.02 5.49 abd 0.02 5.62 abc 0.04 

C17:0 (g/100g of fat) 1.22 d 0.07 1.12 cD 0.05 1.25 bd 0.07 1.61 aBc 0.14 

CLA (g/100g of fat) 0.42 0.04 0.43 c 0.03 0.51 cd 0.04 0.33 c 0.08 

Statistical significance at: a,..., d – p ≤ 0.05; A,..., D – p ≤ 0.01 

TABLE 11. Effect of fat classes flock on examined slaughter traits (n = 75) 

Fat class (categories) 

Cechy 

1 (A) 2 (B) 3 (C) 4 (D) 

LSM S E LSM S E LSM S E LSM S E 

Shoulder (%) 17.96 Bc 0.66 15.97 ACd 0.23 16.59 aB 0.24 16.83 d 0.39 

C15:1 (g/100g of fat) – – 0.24 cd 0.02 0.21 bd 0.02 0.26 bc 0.02 

Statistical significance at: a,..., e – p ≤ 0.05; A..., E – p ≤ 0.01


of F1-crosses with GMM, the dominating 

position of the F1-crosses over the 

pure PM lambs was observed, especially 

in Lubiana and then in Żydowo flock. 

The opposite tendency was observed in 

Dobrzyniewo and Garzyn flocks. Similar 

trends to these described above were 

observed due to the carcass weight (Fig. 

2). Accordingly to the weight of leg 

the F1-crosses dominated over the pure 

PM lambs in Lubiana as well as then 

in Żydowo and Garzyn flocks, whereas 

% 

50 

45 

40 

PM 

PM x GMM 

35 

30 

25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

Dobrzyniewo Garzyn Lubiana odnica ydowo 

FIGURE 1. Effect of interaction genotype × flock (p ≤ 0.01) on carcass yield (%) in lambs of Polish 

Merino (PM) and F-1 crosses of Polish Merino × German Mutton Merino (PM × GMM) 

Flock 

20 

kg 

18 

PM 

PM x GMM 

16 

14 

12 

10 

8 

6 

4 

2 

0 


FIGURE 2. Effect of interaction genotype × flock (p ≤ 0.01) on carcass weight (kg) in lambs of Polish 


Flock


2,4 

mm 

2,3 

PM 

PMxGMM 

2,2 

2,1 

2 

1,9 

1,8 

1,7 


FIGURE 3. Effect of interaction genotype × flock (p ≤ 0.01) on leg weight (kg) in lambs of Polish 


Flock 

the opposite trend was observed in 

Dobrzyniewo flock (Fig. 3). In regards 

to the genotype × flock interaction the 

results indicated different reactions of 

studied genotype groups within the individual 

flocks in case of production traits. 

These trends guided to the conclusion that 

sheep from Lubiana and Żydowo flocks 

should be kept in the genetic type consisted 

of 50% of GMM, whereas the pure 

PM were much well adapted to the environmental 

conditions in Dobrzyniewo. 

In case of Garzyn flock, the both genetic 

groups were possible to breed due to the 

similar results of the production traits. It 

was hard to recognize the proper direction 

of breeding work in the aim of meat 

traits improvement in Żołędnica flock 

due to the absence of the comparable 

PM group of lambs. Summing up, both 

the live body and carcass measurements 

as well as the analysis of slaughter traits 

indicated the high value of the lamb carcasses 

in all studied flocks. The Garzyn 

flock should be specially distinguished 

due to both the highest level of studied 

meat traits and content of valuable cuts 

as well as the lowest level of the fat content 

in carcasses. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The crossing of Polish Merino with 

German Mutton Merino did not affected 

the body growth development and body 

weights of lambs. However, some differences 

between flocks were observed, 

which indicated the necessity of improvement 

the lambs rearing conditions in 

both sexes, especially in Żydowo. The 

flock from Lubiana might be an example 

of the proper lambs’ rearing, which was 

confirmed by the best results obtained for 

that flock. 

The analyses of slaughter traits and 

carcass quality did not indicated the significant 

effect of genotype on the studied 

traits. Nevertheless, the significant dif-


ferences were found between flocks in 

the trade value, slaughter value, meat 

value and meat quality, which might be 

explained by the huge effect of environmental 

factors on the studied traits. 

The interaction of genotype × environment 

analysis showed the significant 

effect of the place of rearing and rising 

male-lambs with the genotype on the important 

production traits. This knowledge 

allowed to propose a proper way of 

breeding improvement for each of Merino 

flocks of APA companies. 

REFERENCES 

ANON., 2004: Statistical Product and Service 

Solution base version 12.0 for Windows. SPSS 

inc. USA. 

AOAC 1990: Association of Official Chemist. 

Food Composition Additives Natural Contaminants. 

GRUSZECKI T., JUNKUSZEW A., LIPECKA 

C., KAMIŃSKA A., SZYMANOWSKA A., 

PATKOWSKI K., 2004: Fatty acids composition 

in sheep milk and muscle tissue of lamb 

fed with protective fat-supplemented fodder. 

Arch. Tierz., Dummersdorf 47, Special Issue: 


NAWARA W., OSIKOWSKI M., KLUZ I., MO- 

DELSKA M., 1963: Wycena tryków na podstawie 

badania wartości potomstwa w stacjach 

oceny tryków Instytutu Zootechniki za rok 

1962. PWRiL, Warszawa. 

NIŻNIKOWSKI R., 1979: Próba charakterystyki 

budowy jagniąt w typie merynolinkolna 

w związku z użytkowością mięsną tej owcy. 

Zesz. Nauk. SGGW-AR. Zoot. 15: 25–40. 

NIŻNIKOWSKI R., OPRZĄDEK A., 2004: 

Program hodowli w spółkach Agencji Nieruchomości 

Rolnych na lata 2004–2015. Agencja 

Nieruchomości Rolnych, Zespół Nadzoru 

Właścicielskiego, Sekcja Zasobów Genetycznych 

i Hodowli. 

OSIKOWSKI M., PORĘBSKA W., KORMAN 

K., 1993: Normy żywienia owiec. Normy żywienia 

bydła i owiec systemem tradycyjnym. 

Instytut Zootechniki Kraków. 29–57. 

PN-EN ISO 5508: Oleje I tłuszcze roślinne oraz 

zwierzęce. Analiza estrów metylowych kwasów 

tłuszczowych metodą chromatografii gazowej, 

1996. 

RUSZCZYC Z., 1981: Metodyka doświadczeń 


STRITTMATTER K., 2004: The fine wool Mutton 

Merino in Germany – currently breed condition 

and problems. Arch. Tierz. 47, Special 

issue, 25–35. 

Streszczenie: Wpływ krzyżowania maciorek merynosa 

polskiego z trykami rasy niemiecki merynos 

mięsny na tempo wzrostu i wartość mięsną 

ich potomstwa. Badania wykonano w stadach 

5 spółek Agencji Nieruchomości Rolnych położonych 

w województwach zachodnio-pomorskim 

i wielkopolskim. Badaniami objęto 1184 jagnięta 

obu płci, spośród których 75 tryczków poddano 

tuczowi i ocenie wzrostu, pomiarom przyżyciowym 

i ocenie poubojowej tusz i mięsa mld, rasy 

merynos polski (MP) oraz ich mieszańców F 1 po 

trykach rasy niemiecki merynos mięsny (MF). 

Kojarzenie merynosa polskiego z niemieckim 

merynosem mięsnym nie wpłynęło na wyniki 

tempa wzrostu i masy ciała jagniąt. Wykazano 

jednak różnice pomiędzy gospodarstwami, wskazując 

również na konieczność poprawy warunków 

utrzymania młodzieży obu płci, szczególnie 

w odniesieniu do stada w Żydowie. Przykładem 

prawidłowo prowadzonych działań w tym kierunku 

może być stado w Lubianej, które uzyskało 

najkorzystniejsze wyniki w tym zakresie. Analizy 

rzeźne oraz ocena jakości tusz nie wykazała 

znaczącego wpływu genotypu na badane cechy 

użytkowości mięsnej. Stwierdzono natomiast 

znaczące zróżnicowanie wartości handlowej, wartości 

rzeźnej, mięsnej i jakości mięsa występujące 

pomiędzy gospodarstwami, co świadczy o znaczącym 

wpływie czynników środowiskowych na 

oceniane cechy. Ocena oddziaływania interakcji 

genotyp środowisko wykazała również znaczące 

oddziaływanie miejsca chowu tryczków z genotypem, 

w zakresie ważnych cech produkcyjnych. 

Na tej podstawie można przyjąć kierunek dalszego 

doskonalenia poszczególnych stad merynosowych 

w gospodarstwach Spółek ANR. 

MS. received July 2010


Roman Niżnikowski, Ewa Strzelec, 

Dominik Popielarczyk, Krzysztof Głowacz 




Poland 

Artur Oprządek 

Agencja Nieruchomości Rolnych – ANR 

ul. Dolańskiego 2, 00-215 Warszawa 

Poland 

Beata Kuczyńska 


Zakład Hodowli Bydła 


Poland 

Effect of crossbreeding of Polish Merino... 117




Analysis of reproduction performance in flocks of Polish Merino 

sheep bred in five companies of the Polish Agricultural Property 

Agency 


DOMINIK POPIELARCZYK 1 , KRZYSZTOF GŁOWACZ 1 

1 


2 


Abstract: Analysis of reproduction performance 

in fl ocks of Polish Merino sheep bred in five companies 

of the Polish Agricultural Property Agency. 

The research was carried out on the 5 sheep flocks 

of the Companies of The Agricultural Property 

Agency (APA), placed in Zachodniopomorskie 

and Wielkopolskie voivodeships. The experimental 

material consisted of 3701 ewes at age till 

13 years and 4987 lambs of Polish Merino as well 

as 182 and 48 yearlings of Polish Merino and its 

F1-crosses with German Mutton Merino, respectively. 

The reproduction traits were investigated in 

all examined flocks. The prolificacy indicator was 

presented as it was given in the breed standards. 

The other reproduction parameters needs further 

improvement due to their low level. The results 

for the reproduction traits of both genetic groups 

of yearlings indicated relatively low genetic distance 

between them. 

Key words: sheep, Polish Merino, German Mutton 

Merino, reproduction. 

INTRODUCTION 

Accordingly to the programme of sheep 

breeding for 5 Polish Merino (PM) sheep 

flocks of the Companies of The Agricultural 

Property Agency (APA) of Dobrzyniewo, 

Garzyn, Lubiana, Żołędnica 

and Żydowo, the group of pure German 

Mutton Merino (GMM) rams (n = 20) was 

imported from Germany (Niżnikowski, 

Oprządek, 2004). The meat performance 

of German Mutton Merino 

was widely described by Strittmatter 

(2004), therefore the import of its rams 

to sheep flocks of Polish Merino took 

place (Niżnikowski et al., 2005). Each 

of flocks obtained 4 GMM rams and the 

mating with Polish Merino started. The 

Ownership Supervision Group (APA) 

obtained the acceptance of the Polish 

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development 

for the recording to the breeding 

books of the F1-crosses (50% of GMM). 

The aim of the GMM rams’ import was 

to decrease the inbreeding level in Polish 

Merino population, which was caused 

by low accessibility of PM rams in the 

national sheep population. The study was 

focused on the analysis of the effectiveness 

of used mating schemes due to first, 

the reproduction traits of pure PM ewes 

as well as second, the PM yearling and 

their F-1 offspring with GMM rams. The 

results were presented in tables and the 

proper comments were given.



Reproduction performance analysis in 

five Polish Merino flocks in the APA 

Companies. The research was carried 

out on the 5 sheep flocks of Polish 

Merino the Companies of The Agricultural 

Property Agency (APA), placed 

in zachodnio-pomorskie (n = 1) and 

wielkopolskie (n = 4) voivodeships. The 

experimental material was the sheep 

population bred in 2000–2006 at age of 

1–13 years. Both ewes and lambs were 

born as singles, twins or triplets. The 

animals were kept in building during 

whole year and fed accordingly to the 

norms (Osikowski et al., 1993). The 

mating season was conducted in the 

period of March-May (excluding the 

flock in Żołędnica, where the sheep were 

prepared for Autumn mating season). 

Basing on the breeding books the data of 

litter size, lambs’ survivability till 7 th day 

and rearing of lambs they were collected. 

The data of particular reproduction traits 

were estimated due to the Petersson 

and Danell method (1985). In case of 

the lambs’ survivability till 7 th day and 

rearing indicator the LSM model was 

used to estimate the effects of flock, year, 

lambing number, type of birth and sex as 

well as the double-factor (flock × year, 

flock × lambing number, year × lambing 

number, flock × sex) and triple-factor 

(flock × year × lambing number and 

flock × year × sex) factor interactions. 

In case of litter size, the effects of type 

of birth and sex as well as the interaction 

(type of birth × sex) were excluded 

from the statistical model. The statistical 

calculations were done with the LSM 

method in SPSS software (v.12.0, Anon. 

2004) and the effects of chosen factors 

were estimated with the F-test. The data 

used in calculations were obtained from 

the information gathered from the particular 

flock books. The Duncan test was 

used to estimate the differences between 

flocks, litter size and sex in all examined 

traits (Ruszczyc, 1981). 

Reproduction performance analysis of 

yearlings of pure Polish Merino and 

its F-1 offspring gained in one-step 

crossing with German Mutton Merino. 

The data concerning these traits were 

possible to obtain only from 4 flocks due 

to the different time of mating season in 

Żołędnica. The analysis of fertility and 

prolificacy of yearling was calculated 

with the LSM model, which included the 

effects of flock and genotype as well as 

the interaction (flock × genotype). The 

calculation was done due to the method 

described in the previous paragraph. 


Reproduction performance analysis in 

five Polish Merino flocks. The results 

were presented in Tables 1–3. The effects 

of chosen factors and interactions 

on examined reproduction traits were 

presented in Table 1. The average fertility 

indicator presented typical value for 

this breed. The other indicators were 

presented at too low levels than they 

were expected, and this observation 

needs further experiments to recognize 

the range and reasons of such situation. 

The effects of the majority of variation 

sources (excluding flock) on the examined 

traits may be recognized as the 

typical. However, the effect of flock on 

reproduction traits was shown in Table 2. 

The highest level of fertility was observed 

in the flock in Garzyn (0.91)

Analysis of reproduction performance in fl ocks of Polish Merino... 121 

TABLE 1. Effects of chosen factors and interaction on the reproduction parameters of Merino sheep 

in flocks of the APA Companies in 2000–2006 


Double-factors interactions 

Triple-factors 

interactions 

Statistics 

Indicator of 

flock 

year 

lambing no 

litter size 

sex of lamb 

flock * 

year 

flock * 

lambing no. 

year * 

lambing no. 

flock* 


flock * 

year * 

lambing no. 

flock * 

year * 


Fertility 

(heads) XX XX XX – – XX XX XX – XX – 3407 0.81 0.01 

Prolificacy 

(heads/ 

/lambing) X XX XX – – XX NS NS – NS – 3701 1.35 0.01 

Survivability 

till 7 day of 

life 

(heads) XX NS XX XX XX XX – – X – XX 4987 0.90 0.02 

Lambs’ 

rearing 

(heads) XX XX XX XX XX XX – – X – NS 4987 0.83 0.03 

Statistical significance at: X – P ≤ 0.05; XX – P ≤ 0.01; NS – non-significant; “–“ – lack of data 

n 

x 

S 

TABLE 2. Effect of flock on the reproduction parameters of Merino sheep in flocks of the APA 

Companies in 2000–2006 


Dobrzyniewo 

(A) 

Lubiana 

(B) 

Sheep flocks 

Garzyn 

(C) 

Żołędnica 

(D) 

Żydowo 

(E) 

n 895 1355 367 790 

Fertility 

LSM 0.77 0.91 0.64 0.86 

(heads) 

SE 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.02 

* CDE ADe ACE AcD 

n 789 1354 1259 299 706 

Prolificacy LSM 1.32 1.42 1.30 1.39 1.33 

(heads/lambing) SE 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.04 0.03 

* B ACe Bd c b 

n 1039 1924 1615 409 942 

Survivability LSM 0.86 0.91 0.88 0.96 0.91 

(heads) 

SE 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.03 0.02 

* bDE aD DE AbcE ACD 

LSM 0.76 0.83 0.81 0.92 0.84 

Lambs’ rearing 

SE 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 

(heads) 

* BCDE AD ADe ABCE AcD 

* – Statistical significance at: a,..., e – p ≤ 0.05; A,..., E – p ≤ 0.01


TABLE 3. Effect of litter size and sex of lambs on their survivability and rearing of Merino lambs bred 

in flocks of the APA Companies in 2000–2006 


Survivability 

till 7 day of life 

(heads) 

Lambs’ rearing 

(heads) 

singles 

(A) 

Litter size 

twins 

(B) 

triplets 

(C) 

males 

Sex 

females 

Statistical 

differences # 

n 2831 3035 63 3048 2881 

LSM 0.93 0.95 0.83 0.89 0.92 ** 

SE 0.02 0.02 0.04 0.02 0.02 

* BC AC BC 

LSM 0.88 0.90 0.72 0.81 0.85 ** 

SE 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.03 0.03 

* aC bC AB 

* – Statistical significance at: a,..., c – p ≤ 0.05; A,..., C – p ≤ 0.01 

# 

– Statistical significance at: ** – p ≤ 0.01 

comparing to the other flocks. The 

flock in Garzyn presented the fertility 

indicator over 0.9 of lambed ewe and 

this result was compatible to the breed 

standards for Polish Merino. This result 

indicated the improvement of the fertility 

to the satisfying level in the Garzyn 

flock comparing to the previous studies 

which presented definitely lower values 

of this trait (Niżnikowski et al., 2005). 

Due to the prolificacy indicator, the 

highest values of this traits were obtained 

in Lubiana flock (p ≤ 0.01) comparing 

to the other sheep flocks. Very close 

results were obtained in Żołędnica flock, 

where the ewes were mated in Autumn 

months. Also the survivability of lambs 

till 7th day presented the highest values 

in Żołędnica flock, being compatible to 

the breed standards for Polish Merino. 

Unfortunately the rearing indicator did 

not suited to the breed standards in all 

examined flocks. 

The analysis of effects of type of birth 

and sex on survivability of lambs till 7th 

day as well as the lambs’ rearing indicator 

pointed out the tendencies compatible 

to the expected ones. The highest values 

were obtained in twins and the lowest 

– in triplets as well as the statistically 

approved (p ≤ 0.01) supremacy of lamb 

ewes over the lamb rams at high statistic 

(Niżnikowski et al., 2005). 

The age of ewes (lambing number) 

affected the reproduction traits in different 

ways. The analysis of Figures 1 and 

2 indicated that ewes lambed 7 time and 

more should not be used in reproduction 

in the flocks of the APA Companies. 

The Polish Merino breed presented 

sufficiently good results due to the fertility 

level, whereas the other indicators 

(excluding the prolificacy in the 

Garzyn flock and lambs survivability in 

Żołędnica) should be studied further to 

recognize the reasons of such low reproduction 

level, completely. The possible 

reasons should be searched for among 

the environmental conditions (as care, 

prevention or feeding) and perhaps this 

could be the effects of high inbreeding 

level or the time of mating season. This 

hypotheses needed to be researched 

further.


1,6 

Prolificacy Fertility 

1,5 

1,4 

1,3 

1,2 

1,1 

% 

1 

0,9 

0,8 

0,7 

0,6 

0,5 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 

Lambing no 

FIGURE 1. Effect of lambing number on prolificacy and fertility of ewes (P ≤ 0.01) 

1,00 

0,95 

Survivability 

Lamb's rearing 

0,90 

% 

0,85 

0,80 

0,75 

0,70 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 

Lambing no 

FIGURE 2. Effect of lambing number on survivability and rearing of lambs (P ≤ 0.01) 

Reproduction performance analysis of 

yearlings of pure Polish Merino and its 

F-1 offspring gained in one-step crossing 

with German Mutton Merino. The 

results were shown in Tables 4 and 5. 

No statistically significant effects of examined 

factors on the yearlings fertility 

were observed apart the effect of flock 

(p ≤ 0.01) (Tab. 4). It was important to 

observe that the lack of genotype effect 

on the studied traits leads to conclusion, 

that the crossing with German Mutton 

Merino did not affected the levels of 

reproduction traits in the F-1 offspring. 

Similar tendency to that shown in Table 

2 might be observed due to the prolificacy 

of yearlings (Tab. 5) and again the 

Garzyn flock had a higher position than 

the other flocks. The prolificacy level was 

the lowest in Lubiana flock (p ≤ 0.01) 

indicating unfortunately the declining 

trend comparing to the previous studies 

(Niżnikowski et al., 2005), which reported 

the higher results.


TABLE 4. Effect of chosen factors and interaction on reproduction traits of yearlings in 2007 



Interaction 

flock genotype flock * genotype 

n X S 

Fertility (heads) XX NS NS 230 0.79 0.03 

Prolificacy (heads/lambing) NS NS NS 179 1.34 0.04 

Statistical significance at: XX – P ≤ 0.01; NS – non-significant 

TABLE 5. Effect of flock on reproduction traits of yearlings in 2007 


Dobrzyniewo 

(A) 

Sheep flock 

Lubiana 

(B) 

Garzyn 

(C) 

Żydowo 

(D) 

n 34 100 52 44 

Fertility 

LSM 0.87 0.65 0.99 0.68 

(heads) 

SE 0.07 0.06 0.07 0.07 

* B aC BD C 

n 30 65 51 33 

Prolificacy 

LSM 1.50 1.17 1.32 1.40 

(heads/lambing) 

SE 0.09 0.08 0.08 0.10 

* – Statistical significance at: a,..., d – P ≤ 0.05; A,..., D – P ≤ 0.01 

CONCLUSIONS 

The prolificacy indicator was compatible 

to the values listed in the breed standards 

for all Polish Merino flocks. The other 

reproduction parameters needed further 

improvement due to their low level 

by the improvement of environmental 

breeding conditions (more careful preparation 

for mating season to increase the 

fertility level of ewes as well as better 

breeding and rearing conditions of ewes 

and lambs). 

No statistically significant differences 

between both genetic groups of yearlings 

(pure PM and F-1 crosses with GMM) 

in case of the reproduction traits indicated 

relatively small genetic distance 

between them. Therefore the use of 

German Mutton Merino breed in crossing 

schemes could help to decrease the 

inbreeding level in flocks and between 

flocks in the national population of 

Polish Merino. 

REFERENCES 



inc. USA 2004. 

NIŻNIKOWSKI R., OPRZĄDEK A., 2004: 

Program hodowli Owiec w Spółkach Agencji 

Nieruchomości Rolnych na lata 2004–2015. 

Agencja Nieruchomości Rolnych, Zespół Nadzoru 


Hodowli, Warszawa, 1–51. 

NIŻNIKOWSKI R., OPRZĄDEK A., POPIE- 

LARCZYK D., STRZELEC E., GROBEREK 

J., 2005: Wielkość miotu i wskaźniki odchowu 

jagniąt u owiec rasy merynos polski utrzymywanych 

w stadach należących do Agencji Nieruchomości 

Rolnych. Rocz. Nauk Zoot., z. 21, 

Suplement, 19–22. 


K., 1993: Normy Żywienia Owiec. [w:] Normy 

Żywienia Bydła i Owiec Systemem Trady-


cyjnym, Ryś R. (red.). Instytut Zootechniki, 

Kraków, p. 29–57. 

PETERSSON C.J., DANELL O., 1985: Factors 

Influencing Lamb Survival in Four Swedish 

Sheep Breeds. Acta Agric. Scand. 35, 217–232. 



STRITTMATTER K., 2004: The fine wool Mutton 

Merino in Germany – currently breed condition 

and problems. Arch. Tierz. 47, Special 

issue, 25–35. 

Streszczenie: Analiza wskaźników rozrodu w stadach 

owiec rasy merynos polski utrzymywanych 

w Spółkach Agencji Nieruchomości Rolnych. Badania 

wykonano w stadach 5 spółek Agencji Nieruchomości 

Rolnych położonych w województwach 

zachodnio-pomorskim i wielkopolskim. 

Badaniami objęto 3701 maciorek znajdujących 

się w wieku do 13 lat, 4987 jagniąt rasy merynos 

polski oraz 182 przystępki rasy merynos polski 

i 48 ich mieszańców F 1 po trykach rasy niemiecki 

merynos mięsny. Ocenie poddano wskaźniki rozrodu 

określane w tych stadach. W we wszystkich 

stadach wykazano zgodny ze wzorcem rasowym 

poziom wskaźnika plenności. Pozostałe wskaźniki 

rozrodu wymagają poprawy warunków utrzymania 

zwierząt celem ich udoskonalenia. W zakresie 

wskaźników rozrodu przystępek uzyskanych 

z kojarzenia maciorek merynosowych z trykami 

niemieckiego merynosa mięsnego nie wykazano 

różnic z rówieśnicami rasy merynos polski, co 

wskazuje na stosunkowo niewielki dystans genetyczny 

tej rasy w porównaniu do owiec tego typu 

utrzymywanych w Polsce. Wykorzystanie owiec 

rasy niemiecki merynos mięsny potwierdza w ten 

sposób ich celowość wprowadzenia do krajowego 

pogłowia owiec tej rasy celem konieczności 

zmniejszenia spokrewnienia pomiędzy owcami 

i stadami. 








Poland 




Poland




Effect of sex on slaughter value of lambs of Berrichon du Cher 

bred in Poland 



1 


2 


3 


Abstract: Effect of sex on slaughter value of 

lambs of Berrichon du Cher bred in Poland. The 

research was carried out on male and female 

lambs of Berrichon du Cher sheep breed. The animals 

were fed due to the norms. When the lambs 

achieved the slaughter weight of 35 kg (±1.5 kg), 

the body measurements at live animals were collected 

and then the slaughter characteristics on 

slaughtered lambs were investigated: slaughter 

value, subjective carcass evaluation, carcass 

measurements, cuts composition, tissue characteristic 

of leg, physical and chemical composition 

as well as the fatty acids profile of mld muscle. 

The results indicated similar slaughter value as 

well as meat and carcass quality of female and 

male lambs. The female lambs achieved superiority 

over male lambs in subjective evaluation of 

colour and consistency of fat, which was whiter 

and more cohesive in female lambs. Generally, 

the evaluation of carcass quality and slaughter 

value of both sexes of lambs showed their usability 

to producing the high-quality carcasses for the 

national market and for export. 

Key words: sheep, Berrichon du Cher, carcass 

quality, slaughter value. 

INTRODUCTION 

The Berrichon du Cher is a sheep breed 

used in Poland to multi-breed crosses 

with national maternal sheep breeds in the 

aim of improving the slaughter quality of 

meat lambs (Jagiełło, 2001; Niżnikowski, 

1995; Niżnikowski et al., 1998, 2001). 

A small number of scientific papers 

describing the slaughter value and meat 

quality of the Berrichone du Cher lambs 

is reported so far in Poland, but it could 

be useful to compare the real slaughter 

value with the effects obtained in their 

multi-breed crosses. Due to this fact, the 

study presents the evaluation of carcass 

quality based on the EUROP classification 

of carcasses as well as the slaughter 

value and meat quality according to the 

sex in lambs fattened till 35 kg of live 

body weight. Obtained results were 

discussed and presented in Tables. 


The research was carried out in 2008 in 

sheep flock kept by The Company of 

Agricultural Property Agency (APA) in 

Żydowo (wielkopolskie voivodeship). The 

research material contained the group of 

male and female lambs (10 and 7 heads, 

respectively). The animals were kept in 

solid buildings and fed accordingly to the 

feeding standards for sheep (Osikowski 

et al., 1993), with the own-made fodders 

(silage, herbage, hay and concentrate).


When the lambs achieved the slaughter 

weight of 35 kg (±1.5 kg), the body 

measurements at live animals were collected 

regarding: length and round of 





carcasses were chilled in 4ºC throughout 


estimated: 




et al., 1963); 



(E, U, R, O, P), fat class (1- the lowest 

fat content, 2, 3, 4, 5-the highest fat 

content), fat consistency (very cohesive, 

cohesive, tender, very tender) 

and fat colour (white or coloured). 







loin eye (Nawara et al., 1963); 




neck, middle neck, rib back, loin, leg, 

breast and the valuable cuts (leg, rib 

back, loin and tenderloin); 

V. Tissue composition of leg: lean, 

bone and fat (Nawara et al., 1963); 


of raw mld muscle: the pH-24 value 

as well as the water, protein, fat and 

dry matter content (AOAC, 1990); 








5508 (1996). 



for Windows v. 12.0 (Anon., 2004) 

estimating the effects of: type of birth and 

sex. Moreover, the regression on body 

weight at slaughter day was applied. 

When the effect of sex on the researched 

traits was observed, the significance of 

the differences between factor levels 

were checked out with F-test (Ruszczyc, 

1981). The results are shown in Tables. 


The effects of sex and type of birth of 

lambs on examined traits were gathered in 

Tables 1, 2 and 3. Generally, the statistically 

approved (p < 0.01) effect of type of 

birth on spread of head (Tab. 1), weight 

and content of bone tissue (Tab. 2) as well 

as C22:5n3 fatty acid content (Tab. 3) was 

reported. The sex of lambs statistically 

affected following traits: the fat cover over 

loin (Tab. 1), weight and content of neck 

and the weight of bones in the dissected 

leg (Tab. 2) as well as the C18:1c9 fatty 

acid content (Tab. 3). The layout of differences 

accordingly to the effect of lambs’ 

birth type is in conformity with the results 

reported in other studies (Gruszecki et 

al., 2004; Jagiełło, 2001; Niżnikowski, 

1995; Niżnikowski et al., 1998; 2001), 

whereas the effect of sex of lambs was 

a bit different from these results, especially 

in relatively small number of differences 

which should be observed in growing 

lambs due to their sex. In this respect,

Effect of sex on slaughter value of lambs of Berrichon du Cher... 129 

TABLE 1. Effects of chosen factors on live body and carcass measurements (n = 17) 

Items 




Height in withers NS NS 56.49 1.41 

Length of body NS NS 60.93 0.87 

Spread of chest NS NS 19.69 1.04 

Depth of chest NS NS 24.80 0.45 

Length of foreshank NS NS 10.82 0.30 

Round of foreshank NS NS 7.95 0.27 

Length of head NS NS 17.67 0.50 

Spread of head X NS 9.81 0.35 


Days of fattening NS NS 205.42 8.38 

Slaughter yield (%) NS NS 41.41 1.25 

Pelt (kg) NS NS 2.93 0.20 

Carcass (kg) NS NS 14.47 0.45 


Spread of hock joint (cm) NS NS 3.58 0.11 

Depth of leg (cm) NS NS 24.79 1.15 

Length of leg (cm) NS NS 24.09 0.63 

Round of leg (cm) NS NS 37.82 0.37 

Index of leg (%) NS NS 160.66 4.68 

Spread of the loin eye (cm) NS NS 5.31 0.19 

Height of the loin eye (cm) NS NS 2.92 0.17 

Loin eye area (cm 2 ) NS NS 13.97 0.64 

Fat cover over loin eye (mm) NS X 1.82 0.33 

Statistical significance at: X – p ≤ 0.05; NS – non-significant 

sex 

X 

S 

TABLE . Effects of chosen factors on carcass cuts comosition and tissue characteristic of le 

(n = 17) 

Items 


type of birth sex 

X 

S 

1 2 3 4 5 

Half-carcass (kg) NS NS 7.29 0.29 


Kidney with fat (kg) NS NS 0.21 0.03 

Kidney with fat (%) NS NS 2.80 0.33 

Foreshank (kg) NS NS 0.27 0.02 

Foreshank (%) NS NS 3.60 0.24 

Hideshank (kg) NS NS 0.33 0.02 

Hideshank (%) NS NS 4.48 0.33 

Neck (kg) NS XX 0.44 0.03 

Neck (%) NS X 6.10 0.51



1 2 3 4 5 

Middle neck (kg) NS NS 0.43 0.02 

Middle neck (%) NS NS 5.65 0.31 

Shoulder (kg) NS NS 1.37 0.06 

Shoulder (%) NS NS 18.52 0.77 

Breast (kg) NS NS 1.17 0.17 

Breast (%) NS NS 15.67 1.85 

Rib back (kg) NS NS 0.51 0.05 

Rib back (%) NS NS 6.94 0.42 

Loin (kg) NS NS 0.41 0.03 

Loin (%) NS NS 5.61 0.29 

Tenderloin (kg) NS NS 0.12 0.01 

Tenderloin (%) NS NS 1.65 0.14 

Leg (kg) NS NS 1.93 0.07 

Leg (%) NS NS 26.71 0.90 

Valuable cuts (kg) NS NS 2.85 0.12 

Valuable cuts (kg) NS NS 39.26 0.96 


Lean (kg) NS NS 1.46 0.07 

Lean (%) NS NS 75.35 1.55 

Fat (kg) NS NS 0.24 0.02 

Fat (%) NS NS 12.94 0.92 

Bone (kg) XX X 0.30 0.01 

Bone (%) X NS 15.13 0.60 


TABLE 3. Effects of chosen factors and interactions on physical and chemical quality traits as well as 

the fatty acids profile of mld muscle in lambs (n = 17) 

Items 


type of birth sex 

X 

S 

1 2 3 4 5 


pH 24 NS NS 5.72 0.06 

Water holding capacity (cm 2 ) NS NS 18.46 6.42 


Dry matter NS NS 26.91 2.08 

Crude protein NS NS 20.57 0.28 

Fat NS NS 2.12 0.39 

Fatty acids profile (g/100g fat): 

C10:0 NS NS 0.19 0.02 

C12:0 NS NS 0.13 0.05 

C14:0 NS NS 2.26 0.41 

C14:1 NS NS 0.15 0.01



1 2 3 4 5 

C15:0 NS NS 0.39 0.05 

C15:1 NS NS 0.20 0.03 

C16:0 NS NS 23.19 0.84 

C16:1 NS NS 1.50 0.09 

C17:0 NS NS 1.21 0.08 

C17:1 NS NS 0.62 0.06 

C18:0 NS NS 20.68 0.60 

C18:1c9 NS X 36.06 0.96 

C18:2n6 NS NS 3.35 0.30 

C18:3n3 NS NS 0.15 0.01 

C18:3n3 NS NS 0.35 0.04 

CLA NS NS 0.40 0.04 

C20:1 NS NS 0.17 0.02 

C20:3n3 NS NS 0.18 0.02 

C20:4n6 NS NS 0.97 0.13 

C20:5n3 NS NS 0.10 0.05 

C22:5n3 X NS 0.19 0.02 

C22:6n3 NS NS 0.03 0.00 

SFA NS NS 48.05 1.28 

MUFA-CIS NS NS 42.59 0.98 

MUFA-TRANS NS NS 3.41 0.55 

PUFAn3 NS NS 0.49 0.07 

PUFAn6 NS NS 0.97 0.13 


the own studies reported that the sexual 

dimorphism did not appeared clearly in 

case of examined slaughter traits, what is 

typical for the meat sheep breeds. 

The subjective evaluation of the carcass 

quality based on the meat and fat classifications 

as well as the colour and consistency 

of fat was presented in Table 4. The 

meatiness evaluation due to the EUROP 

classification indicated similar values in 

lambs of both sexes. Moreover, the high 

number of E-class carcasses was observed 

both in male and female lambs. Similar 

results were obtained due to the fat classifications 

and all carcasses were classified 

to the 2- and 3-class, which are the most 

demanded in the lamb meat market. In 

cases of colour and consistency of fat, the 

carcasses from female lambs were scored 

higher than the male ones. More carcasses 

from female lambs were covered with 

white fat as well as the fat was observed 

to be cohesive and very cohesive. In this 

case, the female carcasses obtained more 

favorable evaluation in comparison to the 

male carcasses. 

The list of traits affected by the sex 

of lambs were gathered in Table 5. The 

results showed that male lambs indicated 

the lower fat cover over the loin of eye 

(p ≤ 0.05), higher neck weight and content 

(p ≤ 0.05 and p ≤ 0.01) as well as the lower 

bone weight in the leg (p ≤ 0.05) in contrary 

to female lambs. In case of the C18:1c9


TABLE 4. Subjective evaluation of carcass quality due to the sex of lambs (n = 17) 

Sex of lambs 

Items 

male female male female 

(%) (heads) 

EUROP class (categories): 

E 80.00 71.43 8 5 

U 20.00 28.57 2 2 

R 0 0 0 0 

O 0 0 0 0 

P 0 0 0 0 

Fat class (categories): 

1 0 0 0 0 

2 50.00 42.86 5 3 

3 50.00 57.14 5 4 

4 0 0 0 0 

5 0 0 0 0 

Fat colour: 

Coloured 60.00 28.57 6 2 

White 40.00 71.43 4 5 

Fat consistency: 

Very cohesive 50.00 28.57 5 2 

Cohesive 30.00 71.43 3 5 

Tender 20.00 0 2 0 

Very tender 0 0 0 0 

TABLE 5. Effect of sex on chosen meat quality traits in Berrichon du Cher lambs (n = 17) 

Sex of lambs 

Items: 

female 

male Significance 

n 7 10 of differences 

LSM SE LSM SE 


Fat cover over the loin eye (mm) 2.50 0.54 1.14 0.24 * 

Carcass cuts 

Neck weight (kg) 0.36 0.05 0.52 0.02 ** 

Neck content (%) 5.15 0.79 7.04 0.40 * 


Bone weight (kg) 0.32 0.01 0.29 0.01 * 

Bone content (%) 16.02 0.93 14.25 0.47 

Fatty acids profile (g/100g fat): 

C18:1c9 37.63 1.50 34.48 0.75 * 

Statistical significance at * – P ≤ 0.05; ** – P ≤ 0.01


fatty acid content the higher values were 

observed in female lambs. Discussing 

the results gathered in the Table 5, the 

sporadic character of the appeared differences 

within only a few traits among 

the vast range of the evaluated traits was 

observed. 

In respect of the slaughter value as well 

as carcass and meat quality, the female and 

male lambs presented similar results, what 

is typical for meat sheep breeds in contrary 

to the sheep breeds of other production 

types (Gruszecki et al., 2004; Jagiełło, 

2001; Niżnikowski, 1995; Niżnikowski 

et al., 1998, 2001). Only the fact of favorable 

fat colour and consistency in female 

lambs should be emphasized indicating 

their possibly better tradability on the 

market, what needs to be approved on the 

larger number of experimental material. 

CONCLUSIONS 

Based on the obtained results of the 

slaughter value, carcass and meat quality 

of female and male lambs of Berrichon du 

Cher sheep breed slaughtered at 35 kg of 

body weight can be identified as follows: 

1. The similar slaughter value as well as 

meat and carcass quality of female and 

male lambs was observed. 

2. The female lambs achieved superiority 

over male lambs in subjective evaluation 

of colour and consistency of fat, 

which were whiter and more cohesive 

in female lambs. This tendency needs 

to be approved on the larger number of 

animals. 

3. Generally, the evaluation of carcass 

quality and slaughter value of both 

sexes of lambs showed their usability 

to producing the high-quality carcasses 

for the national market and for export. 

REFERENCES 



inc. USA . 

AOAC, 1990: Association of Official Chemist. 









JAGIEŁŁO M., 2001: Wybrane aspekty produkcji 

jagniąt rzeźnych w warunkach gospodarstwa 

zlokalizowanego na glebach lekkich, Rozprawa 

doktorska wykonana w Zakładzie Hodowli 

Owiec i Kóz SGGW w Warszawie (maszynopis). 










NIŻNIKOWSKI R., 1995: Sprawozdanie końcowe 

z grantu celowego nr 55547 92/C/569 pt.: 

„Intensyfikacja produkcji oraz poprawa jakości 

tusz jagnięcych owiec nizinnych hodowanych 

w Polsce Centralnej”, Komitet Badań Naukowych, 

Warszawa (maszynopis). 

NIŻNIKOWSKI R., RANT W., GLIŃSKI M., 

JAGIEŁŁO M., 1998: Sprawozdanie końcowe 

z grantu celowego nr 5 P06E 001 95C/2470 pt.: 

„Produkcja jagniąt rzeźnych w warunkach gospodarstwa 

rolniczego położonego na glebach 

lekkich”, Komitet Badań Naukowych, Warszawa 

(maszynopis). 

NIŻNIKOWSKI R., RANT W., JAGIEŁŁO M., 

GLIŃSKI M., 2001: Tempo wzrostu i wartość 

rzeźna jagniąt mieszańców rasy berrichon 

z wrzosówką i owcą żelaźnieńską. Pr. i Mater. 

Zoot. 58, 115–124. 




Instytut Zootechniki Kraków, 29–57.


PN-EN ISO 5508, 1996: Oleje i tłuszcze roślinne 

oraz zwierzęce. Analiza estrów metylowych 

kwasów tłuszczowych metodą chromatografii 

gazowej. 



Streszczenie: Wartość rzeźna jagniąt rasy mięsnej 

berrichon du cher w zależności od płci, pochodzących 

z hodowli krajowej. Badania przeprowadzono 

w 2008 roku, w stadzie należącym do Agencji 

Nieruchomości Rolnych, Spółki w Żydowie. 

Materiał badawczy składał się z jagniąt tryczków 

i maciorek. Jagnięta utrzymywano w masywnych 

budynkach oraz stosowano żywienie według norm 

przy wykorzystaniu pasz gospodarskich (zielonka, 

kiszonka, siano susz) i pasz treściwych własnej 

produkcji. Po osiągnięciu masy ciała 35 kg (dopuszczając 

wahania rzędu ±1,5 kg), przed ubojem 

wykonano na żywych zwierzętach pomiary ciała, 

a następnie poddano je ubojowi, określając: cechy 

ubojowe, subiektywną wartość tusz, pomiary tuszy, 

skład wyrębów półtuszy, skład tkankowy tuszy 

na podstawie dysekcji udźca, cechy fizyczne 

i chemiczne mięsa mld oraz profil kwasów tłuszczowych 

w mięsie. Na podstawie przeprowadzonych 

badań wykazano podobną wartość rzeźną 

i jakość tusz i mięsa u maciorek w porównaniu 

do tryczków, tendencję do przewagi maciorek nad 

tryczkami w zakresie subiektywnej oceny barwy 

i konsystencji tłuszczu, który okazał się biały 

i spoisty u płci żeńskiej. Generalnie ocena jakości 

tusz i wartości mięsnej u obu płci wskazała na ich 

przydatność do produkcji wysokowartościowych 

tusz z przeznaczeniem na rynek krajowy oraz na 

eksport. 








Poland 




Poland 





Poland




Level of reproduction performance and body conformation 

of Berrichon du Cher sheep bred in Poland 



1 


2 


Abstract: Level of reproduction performance and 

body conformation of Berrichon du Cher sheep 

bred in Poland. The research was conducted on 

600 ewes and 658 lambs of Berrichon du Cher. 

The aim of this research was to establish the effect 

of chosen factors and interactions on the reproduction 

level in ewes as well as on the body weight at 

56 day of lambs’ age and the muscularity examined 

by the USG method. Basing on the obtained 

results, the necessity of further improvement of 

reproduction traits has been approved. Moreover, 

the lower fatness of lambs may be achieved by the 

broader usage of the French-origin merino rams in 

the crossing schemes. 

Key words: sheep, Berrichon du Cher, reproduction, 

body weight, muscularity. 

INTRODUCTION 

The Berrichon du Cher is the sheep breed 

of the French origin, which has been 

well adapted to the climate conditions in 

Poland and it is often used in multi-breed 

crosses with the maternal sheep breeds of 

Poland in the aim to improve the slaughter 

quality of meat lambs (Jagiełło, 2001; 

Niżnikowski, 1995; Niżnikowski et al., 

1998; 2001). The breeding program for 

Polish Berrichon du Cher flocks was 

established in 18 March 2004 and being 

realized in the companies of Polish Property 

Agency (Niżnikowski, Oprządek, 

2004). Therefore, four rams of Berrichon 

du Cher has been imported from France 

to loosen the level of inbreeding in the 

Polish flocks. Once the rams were used 

in crosses, the question was to check the 

reproduction performance of ewes and 

the muscularity of lambs measured by the 

USG method at 56 day of lambs’ age. The 

obtained results were showed in tables 

with the proper and accurate comment. 


Reproduction performance. The research 

was conducted in the 2006–2008 

on the biggest flock of Berrichon du 

Cherr sheep, which was the property of 

the Company of Polish Property Agency 

in Żydowo, the wielkopolskie voivodeship. 

The material was the flock of 600 

ewes at the age of 1–11 years. Both 

groups, ewes and lambs, were from the 

litter size of 1–2 heads. The animals were 

maintained indoors and were fed due to 

the norms (Osikowski et al., 1993). The 

mating season was during the summer 

months. The data concerning the litter 

size and rearing of lambs were collected


due to the breeding documentations. The 

reproduction traits were calculated due 

to the method proposed by Petersson 

and Danell (1985). In case of the rearing 

indicator of lambs the statistical model 

contained the effects of year, number of 

the parity, type of birth as well as the sex 

and ram origin, as well as double-factors 

interactions. Due to the litter size, the 

effects of type of birth and sex as well as 

the interaction between these factors were 

excluded from the statistical model. The 

statistical calculations were done due to 

the method of least square means in the 

SPSS v.12.0 software (ANON., 2004) 

and the effects of factors were estimated 

by the F-test. The comparisons for the 

effects of litter size and sex on examined 

traits were done due to the Duncan test 

(Ruszczyc, 1981). 

Analysis of body conformation. The 

research was carried out on the female 

and male lambs (n = 658) in 2008. The 

body weights of lambs at 56 day of age 

were collected in both sexes. Also the 

USG measurements (Honda 2000 device; 

ANON., 2001) were done on the mld 

muscle on live lambs of both sexes at 

56 day of age. The USG measurements 

allowed to establish the live parameters 

of muscularity: height, spread, round and 

acreage of “eye” of loin, as well as the fat 

over the “eye” of loin. The results were 

calculated due to the method described 

in the previous point with the statistical 

model concerning the effects of sex, 

type of lamb birth, the ram origin (either 

Polish or French) and qualification to 

the flock as well as the chosen second- 

-level interaction between chosen factors 

(ANON., 2004; Ruszczyc, 1981). 


The effects of chosen factors and interactions 

on reproduction traits of Berrichon 

du Cher was presented in Table 1. The 

TABLE 1. Effects of chosen factors and interactions on reproduction performance in Berrichon du Cher 

in Żydowo 

Traits 

Fertility Prolificacy Rearing of 

(heads) (heads/lambing) lambs (heads) 

birth type of lambs – – XX 

sex – – NS 

Effect of: number of lambing XX NS NS 

year of experiment XX NS XX 

ram origin – – NS 

birth type of lambs * sex – – NS 

year of experiment * birth type of lambs – – XX 

Interactions year of experiment * sex – – NS 

of: 

year of experiment * ram origin – – NS 

birth type of lambs * ram origin – – NS 

sex* ram origin – – NS 

n 600 543 658 

Statistics: 

X 0.88 1.14 0.92 

S 0.03 0.04 0.03 

Statistical significance at: XX – P ≤ 0.01; NS – non-significant

Level of reproduction performance and body conformation... 137 

analyzed factors affected the fertility 

indicator of ewes at P ≤ 0.01. The rearing 

of lambs was affected by the birth type, 

year of research and the interaction 

of (year of research × birth type). The 

prolificacy indicator was not affected by 

any of examined factors probably due to 

its relatively low value. This result might 

influence the levels of rearing indicator, 

which was at the quite high level, probably 

due to the low number of lambs 

which were reared by ewes. The fertility 

indicator was presented on the Figure 1. 

The value of this indicator increased 

up to the 8th lambing and afterwards it 

reached only lower values. Presented results 

indicated the necessity of breeding 

work in the aim to increase the average 

litter size in this flock and also due to 

the lower fertility, the ewes older than 8 

years should be excluded from the flock. 

These suggested practice may improve 

both fertility and prolificacy in this sheep 

breed. 

The birth type affected the rearing 

indicator of lambs at the P ≤ 0.01 (Tab. 2); 

better results of rearing were observed 

in the single-born lambs. This relation 

was also often observed in other sheep 

breeds (Jagiełło, 2001; Niżnikowski, 

1995; Niżnikowski et al., 1998), but the 

increase of income caused by the higher 

number of reared lambs is definitely 

higher than the costs of the lamb losses in 

the bigger litters. Therefore, the improvements 

of prolificacy of ewes and rearing 

Fertility (heads) 

1,1 

1 

0,9 

0,8 

0,7 

0,6 

0,5 

0,4 

0,3 

0,2 

0,1 

0 

1(N= 83) 2(N= 67) 3(N= 74) 4(N= 72) 5(N= 58) 6(N= 98) 7(N= 96) 8(N= 32) 9(N= 11) 10(N= 8) 11(N= 1) 

Number of lambing 

FIGURE 1. Effect of number of lambing on the fertility indicator in Berrichon du Cher ewes (heads) 

TABLE 2. Influence of the birth type of lambs on the rearing indicator in Berrichon du Cher ewes 

(heads) 

Type of birth 

Trait 

Singles 

Twins 

LSM 0.96 0.89 

SE 0.02 0.03 

Rearing of lambs (heads) 

* B A 

N 449 209 

* – Statistical significance at: A–B – P ≤ 0.01


conditions of lambs at the same time is 

worthy to consider to achieve the higher 

income of the sheep breeding. 

The effects of chosen factors and 

interaction on the body conformation 

(muscularity) and body weight of lambs 

were presented in Table 3. No statistically 

approved interactions were observed 

in these examined traits. The qualification 

to the flock affected statistically all 

examined traits at P ≤ 0.01. Moreover, the 

body weight at 56 day of age was affected 

by the sex of lambs as well as the ram 

origin affected the thickness of fat cover 

over loin eye in lambs, both at P ≤ 0.05. 

The differences in live body conformation 

traits and body weight at 56 day of 

age were presented in the Table 4 due 

to the sex of lambs and the ram origin. 

Higher values in all traits (P ≤ 0.05) were 

observed in male-lambs in opposite to the 

female lambs. Whereas the evaluation of 

the muscularity level of live lambs due 

to the ram origin expressed similar levels 

in almost all traits, excluding the thickness 

of fat cover over loin eye, which 

was statistically higher in lambs coming 

from the cross with the French rams 

(P ≤ 0.05). This observation indicated 

that the breeding work on the Berrichon 

du Cher in France was focused on the 

lower fatness of carcasses with maintaining 

the high meatiness standards at the 

same time. The lower fatness of lambs 

coming from the crosses of the Polish 

ewes of Berrichon du Cher and French 

rams of this breed indicated the validity 

of importing rams from France. 

The live body conformation measurements 

and body weight at 56 day of 

age due to the qualification to the flock 

were shown in Table 5. All examined 

traits appeared to be statistically higher 

(P ≤ 0.01) in lambs qualified to the flock, 

what proved the proper trend in the 

breeding work in this flock. Higher value 

TABLE 3. Effects of chosen factors and interactions on USG measurements of mld muscle and body 

weight of lambs at 56 day of age in in Berrichon du Cher (n = 162) 

Traits 

sex 

birth 

type of 

lambs 


ram 

origin 

qualification 

to the 

flock 

sex* 

birth 


lambs 

Interactions of 

sex* 

qualification 

to 

the flock 

birth type 

of lambs * 

ram origin 

Height of loin eye 

(mm) NS NS NS XX NS NS NS 16.55 0.41 

Spread of loin eye 


Fat cover over 

loin eye (mm) NS NS X XX NS NS NS 1.43 0.06 

Round of loin eye 


Loin eye area 

(cm 2 ) NS NS NS XX NS NS NS 6.54 0.21 

Body weight at 

56 day of age (kg) X NS NS XX NS NS NS 15.83 0.42 

Statistical significance at: X – P ≤ 0.05; XX – P ≤ 0.01; NS – non-significant 

x 

S


TABLE 4. Effects of sex and ram origin on USG measurements of mld muscle and body weight of lambs 

at 56 day of age in in Berrichon du Cher (n = 162) 

Sex 

Ram origin 

Traits 

male female 

lambs lambs 

French Polish 

Number (heads) 73 89 38 124 

Height of loin eye (mm) 

LSM 17.03 16.07 15.89 17.21 

SE 0.63 0.61 0.70 0.44 

Spread of loin eye (mm) 

LSM 49.61 50.66 49.32 50.94 

SE 1.81 1.75 2.02 1.27 

LSM 1.39 1.48 1.31 1.56 

Fat cover over loin eye (mm) SE 0.08 0.08 0.09 0.06 

* B A 

Round of loin eye (mm) 

LSM 122.06 123.67 120.56 125.18 

SE 4.39 4.24 4.91 3.08 

Loin eye area (cm 2 ) 

LSM 6.62 6.47 6.37 6.72 

SE 0.32 0.31 0.36 0.22 

LSM 16.93 14.73 15.16 16.51 

Body weight at 56 day of age (kg) SE 0.63 0.61 0.71 0.44 

* B A 

* – Statistical significance of differences at: a–b – P ≤ 0.05 

TABLE 5. Effects of qualification to the flock on USG measurements of mld muscle and body weight 

of lambs at 56 day of age in in Berrichon du Cher (n = 162) 

Traits Qualified to the flock Unqualified to the flock 

Number (heads) 50 112 

LSM 18.26 14.83 


SE 0.65 0.53 

* B A 

LSM 55.97 44.29 


SE 1.87 1.52 

* B A 

LSM 1.60 1.27 

Fat cover over loin eye (mm) 

SE 0.08 0.07 

* A B 

LSM 137.45 108.29 


SE 4.54 3.70 

* B A 

LSM 7.57 5.52 


SE 0.33 0.27 

* B A 

LSM 17.95 13.71 

Body weight at 56 day of age (kg) SE 0.66 0.53 

* B A 

* – Statistical significance at: A–B – P ≤ 0.01


of the thickness of the fat cover over loin 

eye in lambs qualified to the flock was 

probably caused by the better body development 

at this age and it was pictured 

by the higher body weight in contrary to 

the lambs non-qualified to the flock. 

Generally summing up, the presented 

results indicated the urgent need to 

provide the breeding work aiming the 

improvement of reproduction traits in 

the maternal flocks of Berrichon du Cher 

and usage of the French-imported rams 

of this breed to obtain the better slaughter 

lambs. These endeavors are extremely 

important, because the Berrichon du 

Cher is a paternal component in the multi- 

-breed crossing schemes to improve the 

meat performance of the meat cross-lambs 

(Jagiełło, 2001; Niżnikowski, 1995; 

Niżnikowski et al., 1998; 2001). 

CONCLUSIONS 

The obtained results led up to the following 

statements and conclusions: 

1. The year of experiment affected the 

fertility of ewes and rearing of lambs. 

The age of ewe affected also the fertility 

indicator, which reached the highest 

values up to the 8th lambing. Better 

results of rearing were observed in 

the single-born lambs in contrary to 

the twin-born lambs 

2. The prolificacy indicator was not affected 

by any of examined factors 

probably due to their relatively low 

values. 

3. The body weight at 56 day of age was 

affected by the sex of lambs and higher 

values were observed in male-lambs 

in opposite to the female lambs. The 

ram origin affected the thickness of fat 

over the “eye” of loin in lambs, which 

was lower in lambs coming from the 

cross with the French rams. The higher 

superiority of lambs qualified to 

the flock has been indicated in case 

of almost all body conformation traits 

and body weight at 56 day. 

4. Basing on the obtained results, the 

necessity of further improvement of 

reproduction traits has been approved. 

Moreover, the lower fatness of lambs 

may be achieved by the broader usage 

of the French-origin merino rams in 

the crossing schemes. 

REFERENCES 

ANON., 2001: HS-2000 – instrukcja użytkownika. 

Honda Electronics Co., LTD. 





















(maszynopis). 






NIŻNIKOWSKI R., OPRZĄDEK A., 2004: Program 

hodowli Owiec w Spółkach Agencji Nieruchomości 

Rolnych na lata 2004–2015. Agencja 

Nieruchomości Rolnych, Zespół Nadzoru



Hodowli, Warszawa, 1–51. 

OSIKOWSKI M., PORĘBSKA W., KORMAN K., 

1993: Normy żywienia owiec. Normy żywienia 

bydła i owiec systemem tradycyjnym. Instytut 

Zootechniki, Kraków, 29–57. 

PETERSSON C.J., DANELL O., 1985: Factors 

Influencing Lamb Survival in Four Swedish 

Sheep Breeds. Acta Agric. Scand., 35, 217–232. 

RUSZCZYC Z., 1981: Metodyka badań zootechnicznych. 

PWRiL, Warszawa. 

Streszczenie: Poziom cech rozrodu i umięśnienia 

u owiec rasy mięsnej berrichon du cher z hodowli 

krajowej. Badania przeprowadzono na 600 maciorkach 

i 658 jagniętach rasy berrichon du cher. 

Oceniono wpływ wybranych czynników i interakcji 

na cechy rozrodu matek oraz masy ciała w wieku 

56 dni i poziom umięśnienia jagniąt. Wykazano 

wpływ roku doświadczenia na wskaźniki płodności 

i odchowu jagniąt, oraz wieku matki na wskaźniki 

płodności, które okazały się najwyższe w trakcie 

pierwszych 8 wykotów w życiu, natomiast jagnięta 

z urodzeń pojedynczych odchowywane były w znacząco 

wyższym zakresie w porównaniu do jagniąt 

pochodzących z urodzeń bliźniaczych. W odniesieniu 

do wpływu badanych czynników na wskaźnik 

plenności stwierdzono barak ich istotnego oddziaływania, 

wynikający prawdopodobnie z niskiego 

ich poziomu w stadzie. Stwierdzono wpływ płci 

na masę ciała w wieku 56 dni, która okazała się 

wyższa u tryczków w porównaniu do maciorek; pochodzenia 

po tryku na poziom otłuszczenia jagniąt, 

które okazało się niższe u potomstwa uzyskanego 

po rozpłodnikach francuskich oraz zdecydowaną 

przewagę osobników wybranych do dalszej hodowli 

nad wybrakowanymi w zakresie większości 

analizowanych cech masy ciała i umięśnienia. Na 

podstawie przeprowadzonych badań stwierdzono 

konieczność doskonalenia cech rozrodu oraz zasadność 

szerszego wykorzystania w rozpłodzie tryków 

pochodzących z hodowli francuskiej, przekazujących 

korzystne założenia na potomstwo w zakresie 

niższego poziomu otłuszczenia tusz. 








Poland 




Poland




Comparison of reproduction level and body conformation 

of Suffolk and Charollais sheep bred in Poland 



1 


2 


Abstract: Comparison of reproduction level and 

body conformation of Suffolk and Charollais 

sheep bred in Poland. The research was carried 

out in 2008 on the sheep flock owned by the Company 

of Polish Property Agency in Żołędnica. The 

sheep flock consisted of 109 Charollais and 46 

Suffolk ewes with offspring (125 and 44 lambs, 

respectively). The reproduction performance of 

ewes as well as the body weight and muscularity 

of lambs at 56 day of age were investigated. The 

reproduction traits of both meat sheep breeds were 

at the low level, especially in the Suffolk breed. It 

is advised to conduct the selection towards the improvement 

of the frequency of twin litters, which 

should lead to the improvement of overall reproduction 

traits of both meat sheep breeds kept in 

Żołędnica. The results of live USG measurements 

of muscularity and fattiness on the mld muscle on 

lambs at 56 day of age were similar in both examined 

breeds. 

Key words: sheep, Suffolk, Charollais, reproduction, 

body weight, muscularity. 

INTRODUCTION 

The Suffolk and Charollais sheep are 

the meat breeds and they have been both 

existing in the Polish sheep population 

for many years, nevertheless the crash 

of the profitability in sheep production 

led to the limitation of estimation the 

production capabilities in all sheep breeds 

(Niżnikowski et al., 2006). The Company 

of Polish Property Agency in Żołędnica 

is the owner of these two sheep breeds’ 

flocks, still having the potential to initiate 

the production of slaughter lambs 

of good trade quality for the national 

market. Considering the huge importance 

of Charollais and Suffolk breeds to 

cross with the maternal national breeds 

(Niżnikowski et al., 1992), the aim of 

this study was to examine the reproduction 

traits and muscularity level of these 

two meat breeds, bred under the same 

environmental circumstances. 


The research was carried out on the sheep 

flocks of Suffolk and Charollais meat 

breeds in 2008. Both flocks were owned 

by of the Company of Polish Property 

Agency in Żołędnica, wielkopolskie 

voivodeship. The sheep of both breeds 

were at the age of 1 to 8 years, bred in 

Żołędnica in 2003–2008. Both ewes and 

lambs were born as singles, twins or triplets. 

The animals were bred in building 

during all year and were fed accordingly 

to the feeding norms for sheep (Osikowski


et al., 1993). The mating season took 

place in Autumn. The data considering 

the litter sizes as well as rearing of lambs 

were collected basing on the breeding 

books. The levels of reproduction traits 

were estimated due the method of Petersson 

and Danell (1985). In case of lambs’ 

rearing indicator, the following LSM 

model considering the effects of lambing 

number, type of birth, sex and breed as 

well as the chosen interaction was used. 

Accordingly to the litter size, the statistical 

model excluded the type of birth and 

sex as well as the interaction between 

them. The statistical calculations were 

prepared using the LSM method in SPSS 

software (v. 12.0; ANON., 2004), and the 

effects of chosen factors were estimated 

with F-test. The Duncan test was used to 

establish the differences between levels 

of breed, litter size and sex (Ruszczyc, 

1981). 

The analysis of body weight and muscularity 

level at age of 56 day of male and 

female lambs of Suffolk and Charollais 

was calculated basing on data collected 

from the breeding books completed in the 

Company in 2008. The measurements of 

mld muscle on live lambs were collected 

using the USG technique (Honda 2000; 

ANON., 2001) and they were as following: 

height, spread, round of the loin eye 

and loin eye area as well as the fat cover 

over the loin eye. The statistical calculations 

were done as it was described in 

previous paragraph (ANON., 2004) due 

to the LSM model considering the effects 

of: breed, type of birth and sex of lambs 

as well as chosen double-factor interactions. 

The Duncan test was used to estimate 

the effects of breed, litter size and 

sex on studied traits (Ruszczyc, 1981). 


The results of the research were presented 

in Tables 1–4. The effects of chosen factors 

and interactions on reproduction traits 

TABLE 1. Effect of chosen factors and interactions on reproduction performance of Charollais and 

Suffolk ewes 

Items 

Fertility Prolificacy Rearing of lambs 

(heads) (heads/lambing) (heads) 

breed NS X XX 

Effects 

type of birth – – XX 

sex – – NS 

lambing no XX NS NS 

breed * type of birth – – XX 

breed * sex – – NS 

Interactions 

breed * lambing no – – NS 

type of birth * sex – – NS 

type of birth * lambing no – – NS 

sex * lambing no – – NS 

N 154 135 169 

Statistics 

X 0.89 1.14 0.93 

S 0.05 0.07 0.23 

Statistical significance at: X – P ≤ 0.05; XX – P ≤ 0.01; NS – non-significant; “–“ – lack of data

Comparison of reproduction level and body conformation... 145 

were shown in Table 1. The average value 

of fertility indicator was typical for the 

imported meat sheep breeds in Poland, 

whereas the effects of majority of factors 

on studied traits was also representative 

(Niżnikowski et al., 2003; 2004; 2007). The 

results of ewes’ prolificacy and lambs’ 

rearing in Żołędnica should have been 

treated more principally. 

As it was shown in Table 2, the higher 

level of studied traits was observed in 

Charollais than in Suffolk. Analysis of 

reproduction traits considering the lambing 

number (age of ewe) indicated the 

increasing trend up to the 4th lambing, 

which was also compatible to the results 

and general tendencies reported by other 

authors (Niżnikowski et al., 2003; 2004; 

2007). This tendency was statistically 

approved (p ≤ 0.05 and p ≤ 0.01) in case 

of the fertility indicator of ewes. 

The statistically significant (p ≤ 0.01) 

higher values of rearing lambs was 

observed in singles and triplets comparing 

to twins (Tab. 4). The supremacy of 

triplets over the twins might be explained 

by some unexpected incidents, such like 

the greater attention of service, which 

increase the chance of their survivability. 

Due to the perspective of breeding of 

particular sheep breed, this tendency is 

expected (Niżnikowski et al., 2003; 2004; 

2007). 

The results expressed higher level of 

reproduction traits in Charollais than in 

Suffolk, which situation is quite typical 

for the Polish sheep breeding. However, 

the selection work should be put more in 

the aim of improvement of the frequency 

of twins born and increase of fertility, 

which should lead to the improvement of 

overall reproduction performance. 

The analysis of the body weight and 

muscularity level at age of 56 day of 

Charollais and Suffolk gave compatible 

results to the other observed on other 

animals’ material (Niżnikowski et al., 

1992ab) and no statistical effects of 

chosen factors (excluding only one interaction) 

on body weight and USG measurements 

was observed (Tab. 5). Similar 

comparison between breeds and sexes did 

not expressed any statistically approved 

differences (Tab. 6). These observation 

indicated that these flocks are consisted 

of the high value breeding material in 

both investigated sheep breeds. 

TABLE 2. Effect of breed on reproduction performance of Charollais and Suffolk ewes 

Items 

Breed 

Statistical 

Charollais Suffolk significance 

LSM 0.96 0.82 

Fertility (heads) 

SE 0.06 0.06 

N 109 45 

LSM 1.28 1.00 * 

Prolificacy (heads/lambing) SE 0.10 0.10 

N 96 39 

LSM 1.00 0.84 ** 

Rearing of lambs (heads) SE 0.04 0.03 

N 125 44 

Statistical significance at: * – p ≤ 0.05; ** – p ≤ 0.01


TABLE 3. Effect of lambing number on reproduction performance of Charollais and Suffolk ewes 

Lambing no 

1(A) 

2(B) 

3(C) 

4(D) 

5(E) 

6(F) 

7(G) 

8(H) 

Indicators of 

fertility (heads) prolificacy (heads/lambing) rearing of lambs (heads) 

LSM 1.00 1.14 1.00 

SE 0.31 0.44 0.12 

N 1 1 1 

LSM 1.00 1.14 1.00 

SE 0.10 0.15 0.04 

* E, F, G 

N 10 10 10 

LSM 1.00 1.44 0.85 

SE 0.10 0.15 0.05 

* E, F, G 

N 10 10 13 

LSM 0.96 1.30 0.90 

SE 0.05 0.07 0.03 

* E, F, G 

N 56 56 78 

LSM 0.72 1.06 1.00 

SE 0.05 0.10 0.02 

* B, C, D 

N 50 40 48 

LSM 0.60 0.86 1.00 

SE 0.11 0.19 0.05 

* B, C, D, H 

N 9 6 6 

LSM 0.68 1.23 0.92 

SE 0.09 0.16 0.09 

* B, C, D 

N 14 8 9 

LSM 0.97 0.93 1.00 

SE 0.15 0.22 0.07 

* F 

N 4 4 4 

* – Statistical significance at: a,..., h – p ≤ 0.05; A,..., H – p ≤ 0.01 

TABLE 4. Effect of type of birth on rearing indicator due to the litter size of Charollais and Suffolk 

lambs 

Litter size 

Trait 

singles (A) twins (B) triplets (C) 

LSM 1.00 0.80 1.00 

SE 0.02 0.04 0.08 

Rearing of lambs (heads) 

* B A, c B 

N 102 64 3 

* – Statistical significance at: a, b, c – p ≤ 0.05; A, B, C – p ≤ 0.01

Comparison of reproduction level and body conformation... 147 

TABLE 5. Effects of chosen factors and interactions on USG measurements of mld muscle as well as 

the body weight at 56 day of age in Charolais (n = 14) and Suffolk (n = 23) lambs 

Traits 

sex 

Effect of Interactions Statistics 

type 

of 

birth 

breed 

sex * 


birth 

sex * 

breed 


birth * 

breed 

Height of loin eye (mm) NS NS NS NS NS NS 10.69 0.68 

Spread of loin eye (mm) NS NS NS NS NS NS 31.38 1.26 

Fat cover over loin eye (mm) NS NS NS NS NS NS 0.74 0.09 

Round of loin eye (mm) NS NS NS NS NS NS 76.75 3.01 

Loin eye area (cm 2 ) NS NS NS NS NS NS 3.89 0.36 

Body weight at 56 day of age (kg) NS NS NS NS NS X 13.20 0.78 

Statistical significance at: X – P ≤ 0.05; NS – non-significant 

x 

S 

TABLE 6. Effect of sex and breed on USG measurements of mld muscle as well as the body weight at 

56 day of age in Charolais and Suffolk lambs 

Items 

Sex 

Breed 

male female Charolais Suffolk 

Number (heads) 12 25 14 23 


LSM 11.25 10.13 9.80 11.58 

SE 1.32 0.54 0.77 0.98 


LSM 32.29 30.47 30.36 32.40 

SE 2.46 0.99 1.44 1.83 

Fat cover over loin eye (mm) 

LSM 0.71 0.77 0.76 0.72 

SE 0.17 0.70 0.10 0.13 


LSM 79.75 73.76 73.52 79.98 

SE 5.88 2.38 3.46 4.38 


LSM 4.14 3.65 3.53 4.26 

SE 0.70 0.28 0.41 0.52 

Body weight at 56 day of age (kg) 

LSM 13.43 12.98 13.04 13.37 

SE 1.52 0.62 0.90 1.13 

CONCLUSIONS 

The low reproduction parameters were 

observed in all examined sheep breeds, 

especially in Suffolk breed. Therefore 

it is advised to start the selection work 

towards the improvement of twins 

frequency in both breeds, which should 

lead to the improvement of overall reproduction 

traits of Suffolk and Charollais 

flocks in Żołędnica. 

Similar levels of live muscularity and 

fattiness measurements as well as of 

the body weight at age of 56 day were 

observed. 

The results indicated the further direction 

of the breeding work in flocks of 

meat sheep breeds owned by the Company 

of Agriculture Property in Żołędnica 

in the aim of improvement of the reproduction 

traits (especially Suffolk) and 

muscularity level.


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Honda Electronics Co., LTD. 

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base version 12.0 for Windows. SPSS inc. 

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WAK W., RANT W., TRZYBIŃSKA D., 

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i wartość rzeźna jagniąt z krzyżowania towarowego 

owiec typu corriedale z trykami ras plennych 

i mięsnych. Rocz. Nauk. Zoot., Monogr. 

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NIŻNIKOWSKI R., JANIKOWSKI W.T., RANT 

W., TRZYBIŃSKA D., NOWAK W., 1992b: 

Przydatność do tuczu półintensywnego i wartość 

rzeźna jagniąt z krzyżowania towarowego 

owiec typu corriedale z trykami mięsnymi: ile 

de france i suffolk. Rocz. Nauk. Zoot., Monogr. 

i Rozpr., 31, 91–105. 

NIŻNIKOWSKI R., NIERADKO M., WOŹNIA- 

KOWSKA A., POPIELARCZYK D., 2003: 

Poziom cech rozrodu u ras matecznych owiec 

utrzymywanych na Podlasiu. Annales Universitatis 

Mariae Curie-Skłodowska, Sectio EE, 

Vol. XXI, N1, 17, 129–134. 

NIŻNIKOWSKI R., CZARNIAK B., BRUDKA 

G., 2004: Porównanie poziomu cech rozrodu 

owiec rasy wrzosówka i odmiany żelaźnieńskiej 

utrzymywanych w Doświadczalnej Fermie 

Owiec i Kóz SGGW w Żelaznej. Zesz. 

Nauk. PTZ, 72 (3), 51–58. 

NIŻNIKOWSKI R., STRZELEC E., POPIELAR- 

CZYK D., 2006: Economics and profitability 

of sheep and goat production under new support 

regimes and market conditions in Central 

and Eastern Europe. Small Ruminant Research, 

62, 3, 159–165. 

NIŻNIKOWSKI R., RANT W., POPIELARCZYK 

D., STRZELEC E., CZARNIAK B., 2007: 

Wpływ wybranych czynników na cechy rozrodu 

i masy ciała polskich owiec nizinnych odmiany 

żelaźnieńskiej. Roczniki Naukowe PTZ, 

t. 3, (2), 79–87. 




Zootechniki Kraków, 29–57. 

PETERSSON C.J., DANELL O., 1985: Factors Influencing 

Lamb Survival in Four Swedish Sheep 

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Streszczenie: Porównanie poziomów cech rozrodu 

i umięśnienia u owiec ras mięsnych suffolk i charollais 

z hodowli krajowej. Badania przeprowadzono 

w Spółce ANR w Żołędnicy w 2008 roku 

na materiale 109 maciorek rasy charollais oraz 46 

suffolk oraz na jagniętach tych ras odpowiednio 

125 i 44 sztuki. Ocenie poddano cechy rozrodu 

maciorek oraz masy ciała i umięśnienia mierzonego 

u jagniąt w wieku 56 dni. W zakresie cech 

rozrodu owiec ocenianych ras mięsnych wykazano 

niskie wskaźniki w szczególności w odniesieniu do 

rasy suffolk. Wskazane jest prowadzenie zabiegów 

selekcyjnych zmierzających do zwiększania częstotliwości 

rodzenia miotów bliźniaczych, które 

prowadzić powinny do poprawy wskaźników rozpłodu 

u owiec wszystkich ras mięsnych utrzymywanych 

w Żołędnicy. Pod względem oceny przyżyciowej 

umięśnienia i otłuszczenia, jak też i masy 

ciała w wieku 56 dni, wskazano podobny poziom 

badanych cech u obu ocenianych ras mięsnych. 

Przeprowadzone badania wskazały na potrzebę dalszego 

doskonalenia ras mięsnych utrzymywanych 

w Spółce ANR w kierunku poprawy cech rozrodu 

(szczególnie u rasy suffolk) i stopnia umięśnienia. 








Poland 




Poland




Effect of rams of meat sheep breeds used in crossing schemes with 

Polish Merino ewes on slaughter value and meat quality of lambs 



1 


2 


3 


Abstract: Effect of rams of meat sheep breeds 

used in crossing schemes with Polish Merino ewes 

on slaughter value and meat quality of lambs. The 

research was carried out in 2008 on the sheep 

flock in Żydowo (APA). The experimental material 

consisted of 49 ram-lambs of three genotype 

groups: the Polish Merino (MP) and its F 1 crosses 

with rams of Charolaise and Berrichon du Cher. 

The lambs were maintained in the massive buildings 

and they were fed accordingly to the norms 

using the farm feed (fodder, silage, hay, dehydrated 

forage) as well as the self-made concentrates. 

When the lambs achieved the slaughter weight of 

35 kg (±1.5 kg), the body measurements at live 

animals were collected and then the slaughter 

characteristics and carcass quality were investigated 

on slaughtered lambs. The single crossing 

of Polish Merino ewes with rams of typical meat 

sheep breeds (Charolaise and Berrichon du Cher) 

led to the improvement of trade quality of carcasses 

accordingly to the EUROP classification 

as well as the improvement of meat quality from 

the F 1 crosses, which fully justifies their further 

breeding and improvement to fulfill the existing 

national sheep breeding needs. 

Key words: sheep, Polish Merino, single crossing, 

carcass quality, meat value. 

INTRODUCTION 

The Charolaise and Berrichon du Cher 

sheep breeds are very often use as the paternal 

component in multi-breed crossing 

schemes with national Polish maternal 

sheep breeds in the aim to improve the 

slaughter quality of F 1 lambs (Jagiełło, 

2001; Niżnikowski, 1995; Niżnikowski et 

al., 1998; 2001). Nowadays, the production 

of slaughter lambs is conducted mainly 

to cover the needs for export abroad, but 

it is well known, that the stimulation of 

the national Polish market may bring the 

financial income in the sheep production 

independent to the international conditions. 

Therefore, it may be assumed that 

the popularity of lamb meat is going to 

increase, so the production of good-quality 

lamb carcasses basing on the national 

sheep population should be considered. 

Due to this fact, the evaluation of carcass 

quality of slaughter lambs of Polish 

Merino and crosses with meat breeds and 

fattened till 35 kg, has been studied basing 

on the EUROP classification as well as 

the slaughter value and meat quality. 

Obtained results were shown in tables 

and proper comment was given. 


The research was carried out in 2008 on 

the sheep flock in Żydowo (APA). The


experimental material consisted of 49 

ram-lambs of three genotype groups: 

Polish Merino (MP) and its F 1 crosses 

with rams of Charolaise and Berrichon 

du Cher. The lambs were maintained 

in massive buildings and they were fed 

accordingly to the norms using the farm 

feed (fodder, silage, hay, dehydrated 

forage) as well as the self-made concentrates. 

When the lambs achieved the 


body measurements at live animals were 

collected regarding: length and round of 





carcasses were chilled in 4°C throughout 


estimated: 




et al., 1963). 






(very cohesive, cohesive, tender, 

very tender) and fat colour (white or 

coloured). 











neck, middle neck, rib back, loin, 

leg, breast and the valuable cuts 

(leg, rib back, loin and tenderloin). 

V. Tissue composition of leg: lean, bone 

and fat (Nawara et al., 1963). 



value as well as the water, protein, 

fat and dry matter content (AOAC, 

1990). 








5508 (1996). 



for Windows v. 12.0 (ANON., 2004) 

estimating the effects of: genotype, type of 

birth, month of slaughter and the interaction: 

genotype × type of birth. Moreover, 

the correction factor in the regression 

model of body weight at slaughter was 

also applied. While the effect of sex on 



factor levels were checked out with 

F-test (Ruszczyc, 1981). The traits mentioned 

in the II point are shown in Table. 


The evaluation of effects of chosen factors 

on body and carcass measurements 

as well as the slaughter value of rams 

were gathered in Table 1. The particular 

effect of genotype was observed in traits 

of body measurements, whereas the type 

of birth affected only the traits of carcass 

weight and fat cover over the loin eye 

(values of both traits were higher in

Effect of rams of meat sheep breeds used in crossing schemes... 151 

TABLE 1. Effects of chosen factors on live body and carcass measurements (n = 49) 


Interaction 

Items 

body month of genotype * X S 

genotype 

type slaughter type of birth 


Height in withers NS NS NS NS 56.31 0.70 

Length of body X NS XX NS 62.06 0.32 

Spread of chest X NS X NS 20.27 0.19 

Depth of chest NS NS NS NS 26.45 0.39 

Length of foreshank XX NS NS NS 10.84 0.09 

Round of foreshank XX NS NS NS 8.44 0.06 

Length of head XX NS NS X 19.06 0.16 

Spread of head NS NS NS NS 10.69 0.11 


Days of fattening NS NS NS NS 157.70 6.10 

Slaughter yield (%) NS NS – NS 42.30 0.34 

Pelt (kg) NS NS XX NS 3.07 0.06 

Carcass (kg) NS X XX NS 15.75 0.12 


Spread of hock joint (cm) NS NS NS NS 3.51 0.02 

Depth of leg (cm) NS NS X NS 23.23 0.38 

Length of leg (cm) NS NS NS NS 22.66 0.20 

Round of leg (cm) NS NS XX NS 38.53 0.28 

Index of leg (%) NS NS – NS 170.77 2.26 

Spread of the loin eye (cm) NS NS NS NS 5.31 0.08 

Height of the loin eye (cm) NS NS XX NS 3.18 0.08 

Loin eye area (cm 2 ) NS NS XX NS 15.55 0.31 

Fat cover over loin eye (mm) NS X XX NS 1.40 0.11 


TABLE .Effect of birth tye of lambs on chosen slauhter and meat uality traits (n = 49) 

Type of birth 

Statistical 

Items 

singles 

twins 

significance 

20 29 

LSM SE LSM SE 


Carcass (kg) 15.48 0.18 16.02* 0.15 


Fat cover over the loin eye (mm) 1.13 0.17 1.67 0.15 * 

Carcass cuts 

Breast (kg) 1.23 0.03 1.29 0.03 * 

Breast (%) 15.94 0.30 16.15 0.26 * 


pH 24 5.53 0.02 5.60* 0.02 

Statistical significance at: * – p ≤ 0.05


twins than in singles – Tab. 2). Similar 

pattern of differences was observed in 

case of half-carcass weight and breast 

weight as well as the pH-value after 24 

hours of cooling. The estimation of other 

variation sources was observed as it was 

expected (Jagiełło, 2001). 

The body measurements of live lambs 

are presented in Table 3. Significantly 

longest body length was observed in 

crosses with Charolaise and also the 

spread of chest was the smallest comparing 

to the other lamb groups. Moreover, 

the lamb-crosses with the meat rams 

expressed shorter heads and shorter 

foreshanks comparing to the pure Polish 

Merino lambs, whereas the round of foreshank 

was the smallest in lamb-crosses 

with Berrichon du Cher lambs. Overall 

characteristic of body measurements of 

TABLE 3. Effect of genotype on live body and carcass measurements as well as on the slaughter value 

of ram-lambs (n = 49) 

Genotype 

Polish Merino 

Polish 

Polish 

Items 

Merino*Berrichon Merino*Charolais 

(A) 

du Cher (B) 

(C) 

n = 20 n = 16 n = 13 

LSM SE LSM SE LSM SE 


Height in withers 56.82 1.15 54.92 1.20 57.19 1.33 

Length of body 61.00 C 0.53 61.72 c 0.55 63.46 A,b 0.61 

Length of foreshank 11.39 B,C 0.14 10.57 A 0.15 10.56 A 0.16 

Round of foreshank 8.70 B 0.10 8.13 c,A 0.11 8.50 b 0.12 

Length of head 20.04 B,C 0.27 18.44 A 0.28 18.71 A 0.31 

Spread of head 10.80 0.17 10.47 0.18 10.80 0.20 

Spread of chest 20.91 C 0.32 20.50 c 0.33 19.39 A,b 0.37 

Depth of chest 27.05 0.63 25.61 0.67 26.67 0.73 


Days of fattening 155.53 10.00 169.27 10.49 148.28 11.57 

Pelt (kg) 3.08 0.10 3.04 0.10 3.08 0.11 

Carcass (kg) 15.45 0.19 15.97 0.20 15.82 0.22 

Slaughter yield (%) 41.82 0.54 42.67 0.57 42.42 0.63 


Spread of hock joint (cm) 3.56 0.03 3.47 0.04 3.50 0.04 

Depth of leg (cm) 23.10 0.62 23.37 0.65 23.21 0.72 

Length of leg (cm) 22.99 0.33 22.99 0.35 22.00 0.39 

Round of leg (cm) 38.05 0.47 39.13 0.49 38.40 0.54 

Index of leg (%) 168.05 3.59 169.71 3.86 174.55 4.26 

Spread of the loin eye (cm) 15.68 0.51 15.19 0.54 15.78 0.59 

Height of the loin eye (cm) 5.23 0.13 5.19 0.14 5.49 0.15 

Loin eye area (cm 2 ) 3.17 0.12 3.32 0.13 3.07 0.14 

Fat cover over loin eye (mm) 1.32 0.18 1.45 0.19 1.43 0.21 

Statistical significance at: a,..., c – p ≤ 0.05; A,..., C – p ≤ 0.01


live lamb-crosses guides to the general 

observation, that the single crossing of 

Polish Merino ewes with rams of meat 

breeds causes changes in body structure 

of lamb-crosses: shorter legs and shorter 

heads, longer body and thinner chest, 

when the Charolaise rams were used, as 

well as causes thinner limbs when the 

Berrichon du Cher rams were used in 

crossing. Therefore, the diversification 

of body structure was reported. Such significant 

differences were not observed 

in case of slaughter value and carcass 

measurement of lambs. 

The subjective evaluation of the carcass 

was presented in Table 4. The results 

indicated the better quality of crosses 

with Berrichon du Cher comparing to 

the other groups, especially in crosses 

with Charolaise rams, which presented 

the worst results being approved by the 

body measurements of live animals (Tab. 

3). Due to the fat classification, the best 

scores (the 2nd and 3rd classes are preferable 

at the EU market) were obtained 

by the crosses with Charolaise rams and 

the worst – by pure Polish Merino lambs. 

In cases of both fat colour and consistency, 

TABLE 4. Subjective evaluation of carcass quality due to the EUROP classification (n = 49) 

Items 

Polish 

Merino 

Genotype 

(%) (heads) 

Polish Merino Polish Polish Polish Merino 

*Berrichon Merino * Merino *Berrichon 

du Cher Charolais 

du Cher 

(B) 

(C) (A) (B) 

Polish 

Merino 

*Charolais 

(C) 

(A) 

EUROP class (categories) 

E 40 50 46.15 8 8 6 

U 55 50 46.15 11 8 6 

R 5 0 7.70 1 0 1 

O 0 0 0 0 0 0 

P 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Fat class (categories) 

1 10 6.25 0 2 1 0 

2 50 26.67 23.08 10 4 3 

3 40 68.75 76.92 8 11 10 

4 0 0 0 0 0 0 

5 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Fat colour 

Coloured 80 75 69.23 16 12 9 

White 20 25 30.77 4 4 4 

Fat consistency 

Very Cohesive 40 18.75 30.77 8 3 4 

Cohesive 60 81.25 69.33 12 13 9 

Tender 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Very Tender 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Number of heads 20 16 13


all examined carcasses were classified to 

the most desired classes of carcass quality. 

Generally, considering the trade demands, 

the carcasses of the best meatiness were 

of the lamb-crosses with Berrichon du 

Cher rams, whereas the carcasses of the 

most desired fat classifications were of 

the all examined genotypes, especially of 

lamb-crosses with Charolaise. 

In case of carcass cuts composition 

and tissue characteristic of leg no statistical 

differences were observed between 

the genetic groups of lambs (Tabs 5 and 

6). Some differences were statistically 

TABLE 5. Effects of chosen factors and interactions on carcass cuts composition and tissue characteristic 

of leg (n = 49) 

Effect 

Interaction 

Items 

type month of genotype * X S 

genotype 

of birth slaughter type of birth 

Half-carcass (kg) NS NS XX NS 7.83 0.06 


Kidney with fat (kg) NS NS XX X 0.18 0.01 

Kidney with fat (%) NS NS NS 2.28 0.09 

Foreshank (kg) NS NS XX NS 0.28 0.00 

Foreshank (%) NS NS NS 3.58 0.05 

Hideshank (kg) NS NS XX NS 0.34 0.00 

Hideshank (%) NS NS NS 4.36 0.06 

Neck (kg) NS NS X NS 0.59 0.01 

Neck (%) NS NS NS 7.54 0.17 

Middle neck (kg) NS NS XX NS 0.50 0.01 

Middle neck (%) NS NS NS 6.42 0.12 

Shoulder (kg) NS NS XX NS 1.33 0.02 

Shoulder (%) NS NS NS 16.96 0.15 

Breast (kg) NS X XX NS 1.26 0.02 

Breast (%) NS X NS 16.04 0.20 

Rib back (kg) NS NS XX NS 0.60 0.01 

Rib back (%) NS NS NS 7.67 0.13 

Loin (kg) NS NS XX NS 0.51 0.01 

Loin (%) NS NS NS 6.48 0.12 

Tenderloin (kg) NS NS XX NS 0.15 0.00 

Tenderloin (%) NS NS NS 1.88 0.05 

Leg (kg) NS NS XX NS 2.13 0.02 

Leg (%) NS NS NS 27.19 0.19 

Valuable cuts (kg) NS NS XX NS 3.24 0.03 

Valuable cuts (kg) NS NS NS 41.34 0.25 


Lean (kg) NS NS XX NS 1.59 0.02 

Lean (%) NS NS NS 75.02 0.53 

Fat (kg) NS NS XX NS 0.25 0.01 

Fat (%) NS NS NS 11.59 0.33 

Bone (kg) NS NS XX NS 0.26 0.00 

Bone (%) NS NS NS 12.48 0.19 



TABLE 6. Effect of genotype on cuts composition and tissue composition of leg in ram-lambs (n = 49) 

Genotype 

Polish Merino Polish Merino*Berrichon 

Polish 

Items 

du Cher 

Merino*Charolais 

(A) 

(B) 

(C) 

n = 20 n = 16 n = 13 


Half-carcass (kg) 7.70 0.10 7.91 0.11 7.88 0.12 


Kidney with fat (kg) 0.16 0.01 0.20 0.01 0.18 0.01 

Kidney with fat (%) 2.18 0.14 2.49 0.15 2.17 0.16 

Foreshank (kg) 0.28 0.01 0.28 0.01 0.28 0.01 

Foreshank (%) 3.64 0.08 3.53 0.09 3.57 0.10 

Hideshank (kg) 0.34 0.01 0.34 0.01 0.34 0.01 

Hideshank (%) 0.34 0.01 0.34 0.01 0.34 0.01 

Neck (kg) 0.57 0.02 0.60 0.02 0.59 0.03 

Neck (%) 7.39 0.27 7.63 0.29 7.61 0.32 

Middle neck (kg) 0.49 0.02 0.52 0.02 0.51 0.02 

Middle neck (%) 6.34 0.19 6.50 0.20 6.42 0.22 

Shoulder (kg) 1.33 0.03 1.34 0.03 1.31 0.03 

Shoulder (%) 17.29 0.24 16.94 0.26 16.63 0.29 

Breast (kg) 1.21 0.03 1.32 0.03 1.25 0.04 

Breast (%) 15.78 0.31 16.59 0.34 15.75 0.37 

Rib back (kg) 0.57 0.02 0.63 0.02 0.60 0.03 

Rib back (%) 7.42 0.21 7.95 0.23 7.64 0.25 

Loin (kg) 0.51 0.02 0.50 0.02 0.51 0.02 

Loin (%) 6.64 0.19 6.32 0.20 6.47 0.22 

Tenderloin (kg) 0.15 0.01 0.15 0.01 0.14 0.01 

Tenderloin (%) 1.97 0.08 1.89 0.09 1.78 0.10 

Leg (kg) 2.09 0.03 2.14 0.04 2.15 0.04 

Leg (%) 27.10 0.30 27.11 0.32 27.37 0.35 

Valuable cuts (kg) 3.18 0.06 3.27 0.06 3.26 0.07 

Valuable cuts (kg) 41.15 0.40 41.38 0.43 41.47 0.48 


Lean (kg) 1.57 0.03 1.60 0.03 1.61 0.03 

Lean (%) 75.01 0.84 74.95 0.91 75.11 1.00 

Fat (kg) 0.24 0.01 0.25 0.01 0.25 0.01 

Fat (%) 11.69 0.52 11.57 0.56 11.52 0.62 

Bone (kg) 0.26 0.01 0.26 0.01 0.27 0.01 

Bone (%) 12.39 0.31 12.27 0.33 12.79 0.36 

approved due to the traits of mld muscle 

quality (Tabs 7 and 8), especially due to 

the fatty acids profile. The lower content 

of C 16:0 and higher contents of C 18:1c9 , 

CLA, C 20:5n3 , MUFA-CIS and PUFAn6 

were observed in lamb-crosses with meat 

rams comparing to the Polish Merino 

lambs, what indicates the significant


TABLE 7. Effect of chosen factors on physical and chemical characteristics of mld muscle (n = 49) 

Items 


Interaction 

genotype type of birth genotype*sex 

X S 

Physical characteristics of mld muscle 

pH 24 NS X NS 5.56 0.02 

Water holding capacity (cm 2 ) NS NS mld NS 28.89 1.66 

Chemical characteristics of muscle (%) 

Dry matter NS NS NS 24.51 0.18 

Crude protein NS NS NS 21.06 0.09 

Fat NS NS NS 3.12 0.17 


C10:0 NS NS NS 0.19 0.01 

C12:0 NS NS NS 0.29 0.03 

C14:0 NS NS NS 3.60 0.21 

C14:1 NS NS NS 0.22 0.02 

C15:0 NS NS NS 0.48 0.03 

C15:1 NS NS NS 0.24 0.01 

C16:0 X NS NS 24.74 0.30 

C16:1 X NS NS 1.80 0.05 

C17:0 NS NS NS 1.17 0.02 

C17:1 NS NS NS 0.70 0.02 

C18:0 NS NS NS 17.64 0.39 

C18:1c9 X NS NS 36.61 0.57 

C18:2n6 X NS NS 2.96 0.11 

C18:3n3 NS NS NS 0.17 0.01 

C18:3n3 NS NS NS 0.29 0.01 

CLA X NS NS 0.40 0.01 

C20:1 NS NS NS 0.18 0.02 

C20:3n3 NS NS NS 0.15 0.01 

C20:4n6 X NS NS 0.51 0.03 

C20:5n3 NS NS NS 0.11 0.02 

C22:5n3 NS NS NS 0.19 0.03 

C22:6n3 NS NS NS 0.04 0.00 

SFA NS NS NS 48.12 0.36 

MUFA-CIS XX NS NS 42.27 0.60 

MUFA-TRANS NS NS NS 1.70 0.20 

PUFAn3 NS NS NS 0.48 0.04 

PUFAn6 X NS NS 0.51 0.03 


improvement of meat quality of both 

groups of lamb-crosses comparing to the 

Polish Merino. This statement leads to 

general conclusion, that the single crossing 

of Polish Merino with rams of 

Berrichon du Cher and Charolaise, separately, 

indicates the improvement of 

meat quality in lamb-crosses, which is 

expressed by the more favorable fatty 

acids profile.


TABLE 8. Effect of genotype on physical and chemical characteristics of mld muscle in ram-lambs 

(n = 49) 

Genotype 

Polish Merino 

Polish Merino 

Polish 

Items 

*Berrichon du Cher Merino*Charolais 

(A) 

(B) 

(C) 

n = 20 n = 16 n = 13 



pH 24 5.57 0.03 5.60 0.03 5.52 0.03 

Water holding capacity 

(cm 2 ) 27.59 2.63 31.54 2.83 27.53 3.12 


Dry matter 24.66 0.28 24.45 0.30 24.42 0.33 

Crude protein 21.06 0.15 21.17 0.16 20.97 0.18 

Fat 3.21 0.27 3.22 0.29 2.94 0.32 


C10:0 0.19 0.02 0.19 0.02 0.21 0.02 

C12:0 0.25 0.05 0.28 0.05 0.34 0.06 

C14:0 3.78 0.33 3.27 0.36 3.76 0.39 

C14:1 0.26 0.03 0.17 0.03 0.22 0.03 

C15:0 0.51 0.05 0.43 0.06 0.50 0.06 

C15:1 0.23 0.02 0.22 0.02 0.27 0.02 

C16:0 25.95 b,C 0,48 24.36 a 0.51 23.92 A 0,56 

C16:1 1.66 c 0.08 1.78 0.08 1.97 a 0.09 

C17:0 1.20 0.03 1.15 0.03 1.16 0.03 

C17:1 0.66 0.04 0.67 0.04 0.77 0.05 

C18:0 17.88 0.62 17.80 0.66 17.26 0.73 

C18:1c9 34.41 b,c 0,91 37.74 a 0,98 37.68 a 1,08 

C18:2n6 2.57 c 0.17 3.01 0.18 3.30 a 0.20 

C18:3n3-t 0.17 0.01 0.16 0.01 0.17 0.01 

C18:3n3-c 0.26 0.02 0.31 0.02 0.31 0.02 

CLA 0.34 b,c 0,02 0.43 a 0.02 0.44 a 0,03 

C20:1 0.20 0.03 0.16 0.03 0.17 0.04 

C20:3n3 0.14 0.01 0.16 0.01 0.14 0.02 

C20:4n6 0.41 a 0.05 0.61 b 0.06 0.52 0.06 

C20:5n3 0.10 0.04 0.15 0.04 0.08 0.05 

C22:5n3 0.15 0.04 0.16 0.05 0.25 0.05 

C22:6n3 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 

SFA 49.76 0.57 47.47 0.62 47.15 0.68 

MUFA-CIS 39.52 B,C 0,95 43.52 A 1.02 43.76 A 1,13 

MUFA-TRANS 1.43 0.32 2.14 0.34 1.55 0.37 

PUFAn3 0.43 0.06 0.52 0.07 0.51 0.07 

PUFAn6 0.41 b 0.05 0.61 a 0.06 0.52 0.06 

Statistical significance at: a,..., c – p ≤ 0.05; A,..., C – p ≤ 0.01


CONCLUSIONS 

The overall characteristic of body measurements 

leads to the general statement, 

that the single crossing of Polish Merino 

ewes with rams of meat sheep breeds 

influence shorter legs and shorter heads, 

longer body and thinner chest, when the 

Charolaise rams were used, as well as 

causes thinner limbs when the Berrichon 

du Cher rams were used in crossing. 

Therefore, the diversification of body 

structure was reported. Such significant 

differences were not observed in case of 

slaughter value and carcass measurement 

of lambs. 

Generally, due to the carcass quality 

considering the trade demands, the carcasses 

of the best meatiness were of the 

lamb-crosses with Berrichon du Cher 

rams, whereas the carcasses of the most 

desired fat classifications were of the all 

examined genotypes, especially of lamb- 

-crosses with Charolaise. 

The single crossing of Polish Merino 

with rams of Berrichon du Cher and 

Charolaise, showed the improvement of 

meat quality in their lamb-crosses, which 

was expressed by the more advantageous 

profile of fatty acids. 

REFERENCES 



inc. USA. 




































(maszynopis). 









Instytut Zootechniki Kraków, 29–57. 

PN-EN ISO 5508: Oleje i tłuszcze roślinne oraz 

zwierzęce. Analiza estrów metylowych kwasów 

tłuszczowych metodą chromatografii gazowej, 

1996. 



Streszczenie: Wpływ krzyżowania owiec rasy merynos 

polski z trykami ras mięsnych na wartość 

rzeźną i mięsną ich potomstwa. Badania przeprowadzono 

w 2008 roku w stadzie w Żydowie. Materiał 

badawczy składał się z 49 jagniąt-tryczków 

pochodzących z następujących grup: merynos 

polski (MP.) oraz jego mieszańce F 1 po trykach


charolaise i berrichon du cher. Jagnięta utrzymywano 

w masywnych budynkach, żywienie stosowano 

według norm, przy wykorzystaniu pasz gospodarskich 

(zielonka, kiszonka, siano susz) i pasz 

treściwych własnej produkcji. Po osiągnięciu masy 

ciała 35 kg (dopuszczając wahania rzędu +1,5 kg), 

przed ubojem wykonano na żywych zwierzętach 

pomiary zoometryczne, a po uboju – pełną analizę 

rzeźną wraz z oceną jakości mięsa. Ogólna 

charakterystyka pomiarów zoometrycznych prowadzi 

do uogólnienia, że krzyżowanie towarowe 

rasy merynos polski z trykami ras mięsnych prowadzi 

do skrócenia długości nóg i głowy u mieszańców, 

wydłużenia ciała i zwężenia klatki piersiowej 

u mieszańców po trykach charolaise oraz 

zmniejszenia grubości kończyn u mieszańców po 

trykach rasy berrichon du cher, czyli zróżnicowania 

w zakresie budowy zwierząt. Natomiast nie 

wykazano różnic pomiędzy grupami w zakresie 

wartości rzeźnej i pomiarów tuszy. Pod względem 

jakości tusz najlepszym umięśnieniem ze 

względu na wymagania handlowe charakteryzowały 

się mieszańce po trykach berrichon du cher 

a najkorzystniejszą oceną w zakresie otłuszczenia 

wszystkie mieszańce po trykach ras mięsnych ze 

szczególnym podkreśleniem wysokiej wartości 

tusz uzyskanych po rasie charolaise. Krzyżowanie 

towarowe merynosa polskiego z trykami ras mięsnych 

berrichon du cher i charolaise prowadziło do 

poprawy wartości handlowej i jakości mięsa u ich 

potomstwa wyrażającego się korzystniejszym profilem 

kwasów tłuszczowych. 








Poland 




Poland 





Poland




Quality assessment of sheep and goat carcasses designed 

for national market 

ROMAN NIŻNIKOWSKI 1 , EWA STRZELEC 1 , KRZYSZTOF GŁOWACZ 1 , 

DOMINIK POPIELARCZYK 1 , BEATA KUCZYŃSKA 2 

1 


2 


Abstract: Quality assessment of sheep and goat 

carcasses designed for national market. The research 

was carried out on male lambs of Żelaźnieńska 

(n = 10) and Polish Heath Sheep (n = 10) breeds as 

well as on the male kids of the Boer goat (n = 9), 

which were fattened till the slaughter weight of 

35 kg. Growth development, slaughter value, 

carcass quality and tissue composition of leg as 

well as physical and chemical traits, including the 

fatty acids profile, of mld muscle were estimated. 

The results indicated that Żelaźnieńska lambs expressed 

the most desired values of all traits than 

the Boer kids. The carcasses of Polish Heath 

Sheep male lambs were slightly worse than the 

carcasses of Żelaźnieńska male lambs, whereas 

being much higher in this respect that the Boer 

male kids’ carcasses. The analysis of physical and 

chemical traits (including the fatty acids profile) 

of mld muscle indicated the total distinguishing 

characteristics of Polish Heath Sheep male rams 

than both Żelaźnieńska male lambs and the Boer 

goat male kids. Moreover, the physical and chemical 

characteristic of mld muscle in the Boer goat 

male kids was similar to the results obtained for 

the Żelaźnieńska male lambs. 

Key words: sheep, goats, extensive breeding, 

slaughter value, classification, carcass quality. 

INTRODUCTION 

The process of making the agriculture 

production more extensive as well as 

limited financing capability of farmers 

lead very often to stop the intensive production 

on some rural areas. The plants 

which raised on such abandoned areas 

may be used as the fodder and they may 

be pastured by small ruminants which 

are able to manage such extensive production 

conditions in the aim to obtain 

the slaughter lambs (Groberek et al., 

2003abc; Groberek, Niżnikowski, 2003). 

Several scientists (Antczak et al., 2002; 

Niżnikowski et al., 2002abcde) reported 

also about some aspects how to organize 

the sheep production under extensive 

farming and they limited their studies 

to the supplying of the national niche 

market. Due to the abovementioned facts, 

the attempt to estimate the quality of 

carcasses of male-lambs of Żelaźnieńska 

and Polish Heath Sheep breeds as well 

as the male kids of the Boer goats was 

undertaken, while the animals were bred 

under the extensive conditions. Moreover, 

the analysis of meat quality was also in 

the interest of the research. 


Analysis of growth development and live 

body weight at slaughter. The research 

was carried out on the Research Farm 

owned by the Division of Sheep and


Goat Breeding in 2007. The animals were 

chosen basing on the breeding books. 

The male lambs of Żelaźnieńska (n = 10) 

and Polish Heath Sheep (n = 10) breeds 

as well as male kids of the Boer goats 

(n = 9) were born in 2007 as singles, 

twins and quadruplets. The animals were 

bred in half-open light buildings and the 

feeding was adjusted to the norms (Osikowski 

et al., 1993). The feeding was 

based on self-produced fodders (fodder, 

silage, hay, dehydrated forage) as well as 

the self-made concentrates). The fallowing 

items were estimated: body weight 

at birth, body weight at age of 56 days, 

age at slaughter (fattening period), daily 

gains till 56 day of life and daily gain till 

the age at slaughter. 

Statistical calculations were done using 

the LSM analysis (ANON., 2004) in the 

SPSS software for Windows v. 12.0 estimating 

the effects of: genotype and type 

of birth and double-factor interaction: 

genotype × type of birth. Moreover, the 

correction factor in the regression model 

of body weight at slaughter was also 

applied. While the effect of genotype on 




(Ruszczyc, 1981). 

Analysis of slaughter value, carcass 

quality and meat quality of male lambs 

and kids. When the lambs achieved the 


lambs were slaughtered and the carcasses 

were chilled in 4°C throughout 24 hours. 

The following items were estimated: 

I. Slaughter traits: age at slaughter, gross 

dressing percentage, weight of carcass 

and weight of skin (Nawara et 

al., 1963). 






(very cohesive, cohesive, tender, 

very tender) and fat colour (white or 

coloured). 











neck, middle neck, rib back, loin, leg, 

breast and the valuable cuts (leg, rib 

back, loin and tenderloin). 

V. Tissue composition of leg: lean, bone 

and fat (Nawara et al., 1963). 



value as well as the water holding 

capacity, protein, fat and dry matter 

content (AOAC, 1990). 


fat of mld muscle. The fat 

extraction was prepared due to the 

Röse-Gottlieb method (AOAC, 

1990). Fatty acids profile composition 

was determined with the gas 

chromatography due to the norms 

PN-EN ISO 5508 (1996). 


using the LSM analysis in the SPSS 

software for Windows v. 12.0 (ANON., 

2004) estimating the effects of: genotype 

and type of birth and interaction: 

genotype × type of birth. Moreover, the 

correction factor in the regression model

Quality assessment of sheep and goat... 163 

of body weight at slaughter was also 

applied. While the effect of genotype on 




(Ruszczyc, 1981). The traits mentioned 

in the II point are shown in Table. 


The result due to the factors affecting the 

growth development were presented in 

Table 1. The genotype of animals affected 

all examined traits at the all statistically 

significant levels (p ≤ 0.01 and p ≤ 0.05). 

Moreover, the type of birth affected the 

age at slaughter as well as the daily gain 

till the slaughter. The descriptive analysis 

of these traits was shown in Table 2, 

which indicated that the Żelaźnieńska 

male lambs presented the shortest fattening 

period and the highest daily gain 

during this time than the Polish Heath 

Sheep male lambs. The male kids of 

Boer goats did not differ statistically in 

case of these traits from the male lambs 

TABLE 1. Effects of chosen factors and interaction on fattening parameters in sheep and goats (n = 29) 

Traits 


Iteraction 

genotype type of birth genotype*type of birth 

x S 

Days of fattening (kg) X X NS 243.58 6.13 

Weight at birth (kg) XX X X 3.74 0.16 

Daily gain till 56 day (kg) XX NS NS 0.23 0.02 

Weight at 56 day (kg) XX X X 13.51 0.87 

Live weight gain (g/day) X X NS 0.16 0.01 

Statistical significance at: X – P ≤ 0.05; XX – P ≤ 0.01; NS – not significant 

TABLE 2. Effect of species and breed on growth development parameters (n = 29) 

Traits 

Days of fattening (kg) 

Daily gain till 56 day 

(kg) 

Live weight gain 

(g/day) 

Weight at birth (kg) 

Weight at 56 day (kg) 

Species 

Boer Goat (A) Polish Heat Sheep (B) Żelaźnieńska Sheep (C) 

LSM 243.67 266.40 232.04 

SE 10.61 8.13 8.30 

* B B 

LSM 0.15 0.20 0.37 

SE 0.04 0.03 0.03 

* A B A,B 

LSM 0.16 0.14 0.16 

SE 0.01 0.01 0.01 

* b b 

LSM 2.88 2.92 5.40 

SE 0.02 0.19 0.19 

* A B A,B 

LSM 9.64 12.60 18.40 

SE 1.03 0.96 0.98 

* A,a a,C A,C 

*– Statistical significance of differences at: a, b, c – P < 0.05; A, B, C – P < 0.01


of both breeds and reached the place 

between them due to these results. The 

fact of high daily gain in Żelaźnieńska 

male lambs is worthy to notice, which 

was definitely higher (p ≤ 0.01) than the 

other groups. Such tendencies were also 

reported by Niżnikowski et al. (2002bd) 

in case of these sheep breeds. The most 

beneficial growth parameters were observed 

in Żelaźnieńska Sheep, the lowest 

– in Polish Heath Sheep and at the Boer 

goat placed between these two sheep 

breeds. 

The results of subjective estimation of 

carcass quality were presented in Table 3. 

The Żelaźnieńska Sheep were also better 

than the other groups of examined animals. 

All carcasses belonged to the categories 

from E to R, what means that they 

easily fulfill the requirements of the UE 

market. The carcasses of Polish Heath 

Sheep were estimated a little lower, 

because 2 of them obtained the O category 

(processing) and none of the carcasses 

belonged to the E category. The Boer 

goats obtained the worst results: only two 

carcasses were classified as R (trade), 

whereas the others were classified to the 

O and P categories (processing). 

The results due to the fat class of carcasses 

also indicated the Żelaźnieńska 

breed as the best among all examined 

groups (the best fat class of carcasses is 

2nd and then the 3rd). All male lambs 

of Żelaźnieńska breed were classified to 

the 2nd and 3rd classes. Similar results 

TABLE 3. Distribution of carcasses of male-lambs and male-kids (heads) due to the EUROP classification 

(n = 29) 

Items: 

Species 

EUROP class (categories) Boer Goat (A) Polish Heat Sheep (B) Żelaźnieńska Sheep (C) 

E 

U 

R 

O 

P 

0 

0 

3 

4 

2 

0 

5 

3 

2 

0 

1 

5 

4 

0 

0 

Fatness (categories) 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

5 

4 

0 

0 

0 

1 

6 

3 

0 

0 

0 

6 

4 

0 

0 

Colour of fat 

coloured 

white 

4 

5 

8 

2 

10 

0 

Fat consistency 

very cohesive 

cohensive 

soft 

very soft 

0 

2 

7 

0 

2 

8 

0 

0 

4 

6 

0 

0


were obtained in Polish Heath Sheep 

lambs (only one carcass was classified to 

the 1st class), whereas the worst results 

were presented again by the Boer goat 

male kids (five carcasses ere classified to 

the 1st class and the others – to the 2nd). 

These observations indicated that carcasses 

obtained from male lambs of both 

sheep breeds at slaughter weight of 35 kg 

were similar, whereas the Boer goat male 

kids’ carcasses expressed very low level 

of fat cover. The results of the estimation 

of fat colour differed due to the species. 

The fat cover on carcasses of male 

lambs were of the white colour, whereas 

in the male-kids the colour fat cover was 

observed in half of the group. Also, the 

consistency of fat appeared to be more 

cohesive in male lambs than in the male 

kids. The results of general classification 

of carcasses indicated higher value in 

male lambs (especially in Żelaźnieńska 

sheep) than in the male kids. The Polish 

Heath Sheep male lambs presented 

slightly lower values comparing to these 

obtained for Żelaźnieńska male lambs. 

The effects of examined factors and 

interaction on the carcass measurements, 

slaughter value and carcass quality of 

male lambs and male kids slaughtered 

at 35 kg of live body weight were presented 

in Table 4. The genotype affected 

most of examined traits. The effect of 

genotype on the slaughter value as well 

as on the carcass measurements was statistically 

significant (p ≤ 0.01) in case of: 

spread of hock joint, index of leg and fat 

cover over loin eye. Accordingly to the 

traits of carcass cuts and tissue composition 

the genotype affected the weight of 

foreshank (kg), weights of neck, middle 

neck and shoulder (kg, %), weight of 

loin, leg and valuable cuts (%). The type 

of birth affected only the weight of neck 

(%), whereas the interaction (genotype 

× type of birth) was observed due to 

weight of foreshank (kg, %), weights of 

neck, middle neck and valuable cuts (%) 

as well as the bone content in leg (%). 

The observed effect of genotype was 

similar to the results presented in other 

studies, whereas the lack of the effect 

of type of birth was incompatible to the 

results reported by other authors, and it 

may be connected with the specific environmental 

conditions in Żelazna in 2007 

(Niżnikowski et al., 2002bd). 

The estimation of differences between 

species and breeds due to the carcass 

measurements, slaughter value and carcass 

quality traits was presented in Table 

5. The Polish Heath Sheep male lambs 

indicated the smallest spread of hock joint 

comparing to both the Żelaźnieńska male 

lambs and Boer goat male kids, which 

did not presented differences within this 

trait. The opposite trend was observed 

in case of the loin eye area at the first 

time and it was not reported in previous 

studies (Niżnikowski et al., 2002bd) and 

needs to be examined further. The fat 

cover over loin eye was the smallest in 

the Boer goat male kids comparing to 

male lambs of both breeds and approved 

the lowest level of carcass fattiness (see 

Tab. 3). On the other hand, the worst 

value of the index of leg was observed 

in Boer goat male kids comparing to the 

male lambs of both breeds, which both 

presented similar results. Due to the carcass 

cuts’ composition, the lowest weight 

of foreshank (kg) was observed in Polish 

Heath Sheep male lambs comparing 

to the statistically higher values of this 

traits in Żelaźnieńska sheep (p ≤ 0.05) 

and non-significantly higher values in the


TABLE 4. Effects of chosen factors and interaction on carcass cuts composition and tissue characteristic 

of leg in male-lambs and male-kids (n = 29) 


Iteraction 

Traits 

genotype 

type 

of birth 

body weight 

at slaughter 

genotype* 


x S 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 


Weight of skin (kg) NS NS NS NS 3.53 0.32 

Weight of carcass (kg) NS NS XX NS 14.45 0.20 

Dressing percentage (%) NS NS NS NS 42.8 0.48 


Spread of hock joint (cm) XX NS NS NS 3.31 0.04 

Depth of leg (cm) NS NS X XX 20.74 0.36 

Length of leg (cm) NS NS NS NS 25.91 0.22 

Round of leg (cm) NS NS X NS 35.40 0.36 

Index of leg (%) X NS NS NS 137.47 1.93 

Loin eye area (cm 2 ) X NS NS NS 13.65 0.67 

Spread of loin eye area (cm) NS NS NS NS 5.25 0.09 

Height of loin eye area (cm) NS NS NS NS 2.94 0.08 

Fat over loin eye area (mm) X NS NS NS 0.58 0.05 


Half carcass (kg) NS NS XX NS 7.23 0.12 

Kidney with fat (kg) NS NS NS NS 0.13 0.01 

Kidney with fat (%) NS NS NS 1.75 0.11 

Foreshank (kg) XX NS NS X 0.27 0.01 

Foreshank (%) NS NS X 3.61 0.11 

Hideshank (kg) NS NS NS NS 0.30 0.02 

Hideshank (%) NS NS NS 4.20 0.19 

Neck (kg) XX NS XX NS 0.74 0.03 

Neck (%) X X X 10.32 0.30 

Middle neck (kg) XX NS NS NS 0.52 0.02 

Middle neck (%) XX NS X 7.23 0.20 

Shoulder (kg) XX NS NS NS 1.28 0.02 

Shoulder (%) XX NS NS 17.58 0.28 

Breast (kg) NS NS XX NS 1.16 0.03 

Breast (%) NS NS NS 16.20 0.33 

Rib back (kg) NS NS NS NS 0.54 0.01 

Rib back (%) NS NS NS 7.37 0.16 

Loin (kg) NS NS NS NS 0.44 0.02 

Loin (%) XX NS NS 6.02 0.17 

Tenderloin (kg) NS NS NS NS 0.11 0.01 

Tenderloin (%) NS NS NS 1.49 0.08 

Leg (kg) NS NS XX NS 1.80 0.04 

Leg (%) X NS NS 24.85 0.29 

Valuable cuts (kg) NS NS X NS 2.77 0.05 

Valuable cuts (kg) XX NS X 38.24 0.33



1 2 3 4 5 6 7 


Meat (kg) NS NS X NS 1.37 0.03 

Meat (%) NS NS NS 75.93 0.57 

Fat (kg) NS NS NS NS 0.19 0.01 

Fat (%) NS NS NS 10.90 0.53 

Bones (kg) NS NS XX XX 0.23 0.01 

Bones (%) NS NS NS 12.83 0.40 

Statistical significance at: X – P ≤ 0.05; XX – P ≤ 0.01; NS – not significant 

TABLE 5. Effect of species and breed on slaughter value traits and tissue composition of leg in small 

ruminants (n = 29) 

Traits 

Species 


1 2 3 4 5 


Weight of pelt (kg) 

LSM 3.34 4.18 3.48 

SE 0.53 0.49 0.66 

Weight of carcass (kg) 

LSM 14.97 14.66 13.57 

SE 0.33 0.30 0.42 


Spread of hock joint 

(cm) 

Depth of leg (cm) 

Length of leg (cm) 

Round of leg (cm) 

Index of leg (%) 


Spread of the loin eye 

(cm) 

Height of the loin eye 

(cm) 

Fat cover over loin eye 

(mm) 

LSM 3.32 3.01 3.43 

SE 0.06 0.06 0.08 

* A A,B B 

LSM 20.47 22.19 20.40 

SE 0.61 0.56 0.76 

LSM 26.59 25.73 24.98 

SE 0.37 0.34 0.46 

LSM 35.02 36.45 35.45 

SE 0.61 0.55 0.76 

LSM 131.19 140.01 145.62 

SE 3.34 2.56 2.61 

* A,a a A 

LSM 13.24 17.48 12.36 

SE 1.12 1.03 1.40 

* A A,b b 

LSM 5.44 5.26 4.96 

SE 0.15 0.14 0.19 

LSM 2.74 3.15 3.14 

SE 0.14 0.13 0.17 

LSM 0.39 0.76 0.79 

SE 0.09 0.08 0.12 

* A,a A a



1 2 3 4 5 


Weight of half carcass LSM 7.51 7.32 6.75 

(kg) 

SE 0.20 0.18 0.25 

Kidney with fat (kg) 

LSM 0.12 0.11 0.14 

SE 0.01 0.01 0.01 

Kidney with fat (%) 

LSM 1.62 1.58 2.04 

SE 0.19 0.14 0.14 

LSM 0.26 0.23 0.29 

Foreshank (kg) 

SE 0.01 0.01 0.01 

* b b 

Foreshank (%) 

LSM 3.58 3.46 3.74 

SE 0.18 0.14 0.14 

Hideshank ( kg) 

LSM 0.30 0.29 0.32 

SE 0.03 0.02 0.03 

Hideshank (%) 

LSM 3.95 3.94 4.71 

SE 0.33 0.26 0.26 

LSM 0.84 0.78 0.57 

Neck (kg) 

SE 0.04 0.04 0.06 

* A b A,b 

LSM 10.99 10.21 9.38 

Neck (%) 

SE 0.53 0.40 0.41 

* a a 

LSM 0.57 0.58 0.43 

Middle neck (kg) SE 0.03 0.03 0.04 

* A B A,B 

LSM 7.55 8.10 6.31 

Middle neck (%) 

SE 0.34 0.26 0.27 

* A B A,B 

LSM 1.38 1.18 1.19 

Shoulder (kg) 

SE 0.04 0.04 0.05 

* A,a A a 

LSM 18.62 16.65 16.49 

Shoulder (%) 

SE 0.48 0.37 0.37 

* A A A 

Breast (kg) 

LSM 1.23 1.22 1.01 

SE 0.05 0.05 0.07 

Breast (%) 

LSM 16.22 15.91 16.31 

SE 0.57 0.44 0.45 

Rib back (kg) 

LSM 0.54 0.53 0.53 

SE 0.02 0.02 0.03 

Rib back (%) 

LSM 7.29 7.36 7.50 

SE 0.28 0.22 0.22



1 2 3 4 5 

Loin (kg) 

LSM 0.40 0.46 0.49 

SE 0.03 0.03 0.04 

LSM 5.35 6.50 6.78 

Loin (%) 

SE 0.30 0.23 0.23 

* A A A 

Tenderloin (kg) 

LSM 0.11 0.11 0.10 

SE 0.01 0.01 0.01 

Tenderloin (%) 

LSM 1.52 1.42 1.49 

SE 0.13 0.10 0.10 

Leg (kg) 

LSM 1.80 1.89 1.74 

SE 0.07 0.06 0.08 

LSM 23.96 26.01 25.59 

Loin (kg) 

SE 0.50 0.38 0.39 

* A,a A a 

Valuable cuts (kg) 

LSM 2.74 2.88 2.76 

SE 0.09 0.08 0.12 

LSM 36.60 39.87 39.88 

Valuable cuts (kg) SE 0.57 0.43 0.44 

* A A A 

Results of leg dissection 

Meat (kg) 

LSM 1.36 1.46 1.32 

SE 0.05 0.05 0.07 

Meat (%) 

LSM 75.91 77.28 75.28 

SE 0.98 0.75 0.77 

Fat (kg) 

LSM 0.19 0.18 0.21 

SE 0.02 0.02 0.02 

Fat (%) 

LSM 10.39 9.48 12.38 

SE 0.91 0.70 0.71 

Bones (kg) 

LSM 0.23 0.24 0.21 

SE 0.01 0.01 0.02 

Bones (%) 

LSM 12.68 11.90 13.54 

SE 0.69 0.53 0.54 

*– Statistical significance of differences at: a, b, c – P < 0.05; A, B, C – P < 0.01 

Boer goat, the lowest values of weights 

of: neck (kg, %), middle neck (kg, %) and 

shoulder (kg, %) and the highest values 

of weight of: loin (%), leg (%) and valuable 

parts (%) in Żelaźnieńska male 

lambs comparing to the Boer goat male 

kids and in small range to the Polish 

Heath Sheep male lambs (weights of 

shoulder, loin and leg as well as valuable 

cuts). The results lead to the observation 

that the most favorable content of valuable 

cuts was observed in Żelaźnieńska 

male lambs comparing to the Boer goat 

male kids and the light edge over the 

Polish Heath Sheep male lambs, which 

presented the higher values of weights


of cuts of low value comparing to the 

Żelaźnieńska male lambs and definitely 

lower values than the Boer goat male 

kids. No statistically approved differences 

between groups of male lambs and 

kids were observed in case of the tissue 

composition of leg. 

The effects of chosen factors and interaction 

on the traits of physical and chemical 

composition of mld muscle were 

presented in Table 6. The genotype affected 

statistically (p ≤ 0.05) the fat content, 

whereas the type of birth affected the 

pH-24 value. No statistically significant 

interaction was observed in all traits. The 

differences between species and breeds of 

examined animals were shown in Table 

7. The fat content in mld muscle appeared 

to be at higher level in the Boer goat male 

kids than in the Polish Heath Sheep male 

lambs. The male lambs of Żelaźnieńska 

Sheep presented non-statistically significant 

fat content at the level in the middle 

between the other groups. 

TABLE 6. Effects of chosen factors and interaction on physical and chemical characteristic of mld 

muscle in sheep and goats (n = 29) 

Traits 


Iteraction 

genotype type of birth genotype*type of birth 

x S 


pH 24 NS X NS 5.60 0.02 

Water holding capacity (cm 2 ) NS NS NS 16.45 1.99 

Chemical composition of mld muscle ( %) 

Dry matter NS NS NS 25.92 0.48 

Protein NS NS NS 21.27 0.16 

Fat X NS NS 3.97 0.28 

Statistical significance of differences at: X – P ≤ 0.05; XX – P ≤ 0.01; NS – not significant 

TABLE 7. Effect of species and breeds on physical and chemical uality of mld muscle (n = 29) 

Traits 

Species 



LSM 5.64 5.57 5.54 

pH 24 

SE 0.03 0.02 0.02 

Water holding capacity LSM 12.91 17.61 21.19 

(cm 2 ) 

SE 3.44 2.63 2.69 

Chemical composition of mld muscle (%) 

Dry matter 

LSM 26.52 25.04 25.48 

SE 0.83 0.64 0.65 

Protein 

LSM 21.16 21.94 21.11 

SE 0.27 0.21 0.21 

LSM 4.55 2.79 3.68 

Fat 

SE 0.49 0.37 0.38 

* A A 

*– Statistical significance of differences at A, B, C – P ≤ 0.01


The effects of variation sources on the 

fatty acids profile in mld muscle were presented 

in Table 8. The genotype affected 

statistically (p ≤ 0.05 and p ≤ 0.01) the 

amounts of fallowing fatty acids: C12:0, 

C14:0, C16:1, C18:0, C18:2n6, CLA, 

C20:5n3 and C22:6n3, whereas the type 

of birth affected (p ≤ 0.01) the amounts 

of C14:0, C16:0, C18:0, SFA and the 

percentage of SFA. The effect of double- 

-factor interaction (genotype × type of 

birth) was observed on the level of C14:0, 

C16:0, C18:0, SFA and the percentage 

of SFA. The small amount of effects on 

the separate fatty acids was compatible 

to the results reported by other authors 

(Gruszecki et al., 2004). The differences 

between levels of fatty acids (Tab. 9) 

between the experimental groups lead to 

observation, that the Polish Heath Sheep 

TABLE 8. Effects of chosen factors and interaction on the fatty acids profile in mld muscle in sheep 

and goats (n = 29) 


Iteraction 

Traits 

genotype* x 

S 

genotype type of birth 


C10:0 NS NS NS 0.15 0.02 

C12:0 X NS NS 0.21 0.03 

C14:0 X XX XX 2.50 0.11 

C14:1 NS NS NS 0.28 0.03 

C15:0 NS NS NS 0.49 0.03 

C15:1 NS NS NS 0.18 0.02 

C16:0 NS NS XX 22.81 0.38 

C16:1 XX NS NS 1.94 0.08 

C17:0 NS NS NS 1.64 0.12 

C17:1 NS NS NS 1.14 0.10 

C18:0 X XX XX 18.34 0.56 

C18:1c9 NS NS NS 36.28 1.98 

C18:2n6 XX NS NS 2.53 0.23 

C18:3n3c NS NS NS 0.19 0.01 

C18:3n3t NS NS NS 0.26 0.02 

CLA X NS NS 0.25 0.02 

C20:1 NS NS NS 0.13 0.01 

C20:3n3 NS NS NS 0.11 0.01 

C20:4n6 NS NS NS 0.50 0.08 

C20:5n3 X NS NS 0.06 0.01 

C22:5n3 NS NS NS 0.18 0.07 

C22:6n3 X NS NS 0.04 0.00 

SFA NS XX XX 46.14 0.82 

MUFA-CIS NS NS NS 41.42 1.99 

MUFA-TRANS NS NS NS 1.51 0.11 

PUFA n3 NS NS NS 0.40 0.08 

PUFA n6 NS NS NS 0.50 0.08 

Differences at: X – P ≤ 0.05; XX – P ≤ 0.01; NS – not significant


TABLE 9. Effect of species and breeds on fatty acids profile of mld muscle in small ruminants 

(n = 29) 

Traits 

Species 


1 2 3 4 5 

C10:0 

LSM 0.17 0.12 0.12 

SE 0.03 0.02 0.03 

C12:0 

LSM 0.27 0.15 0.16 

SE 0.05 0.04 0.04 

C14:0 

LSM 2.70 2.32 2.30 

SE 0.19 0.15 0.15 

C14:1 

LSM 0.33 0.21 0.23 

SE 0.06 0.05 0.05 

C15:0 

LSM 0.54 0.46 0.42 

SE 0.06 0.05 0.05 

C15:1 

LSM 0.21 0.14 0.15 

SE 0.03 0.02 0.03 

C16:0 

LSM 22.67 22.03 23.40 

SE 0.65 0.50 0.51 

C16:1 

LSM 2.28 1.97 1.42 

SE 0.15 0.11 0.11 

C17:0 

LSM 1.67 1.62 1.60 

SE 0.21 0.16 0.16 

C17:1 

LSM 1.30 1.17 0.88 

SE 0.17 0.13 0.14 

LSM 17.97 14.46 20.85 

C18:0 

SE 0.96 0.74 0.75 

* A,a A,B a,B 

C18:1c9 

LSM 33.31 41.49 38.13 

SE 3.42 2.62 2.68 

LSM 2.01 4.40 2.36 

C18:2n6 

SE 0.39 0.30 0.31 

* A A,B B 

C18:3n3 - t 

LSM 0.17 0.19 0.22 

SE 0.02 0.01 0.01 

C18:3n3 - c 

LSM 0.22 0.27 0.32 

SE 0.03 0.02 0.02 

LSM 0.20 0.34 0.30 

CLA 

SE 0.04 0.03 0.03 

* a a 

C20:1 

LSM 0.12 0.15 0.14 

SE 0.01 0.01 0.01 

C20:3n3 

LSM 0.11 0.12 0.12 

SE 0.02 0.02 0.02



1 2 3 4 5 

C20:4n6 

LSM 0.43 0.73 0.48 

SE 0.15 0.11 0.11 

LSM 0.06 0.09 0.06 

C20:5n3 

SE 0.01 0.01 0.01 

* A A,B B 

C22:5n3 

LSM 0.16 0.39 0.13 

SE 0.12 0.10 0.10 

LSM 0.04 0.06 0.03 

C22:6n3 

SE 0.01 0.01 0.01 

* a a,B B 

SFA 

LSM 45.98 41.17 48.85 

SE 1.42 1.09 1.11 

MUFA-CIS 

LSM 38.28 48.49 42.59 

SE 3.45 2.64 2.69 

MUFA-TRANS 

LSM 1.68 1.50 1.26 

SE 0.19 0.14 0.15 

PUFA n3 

LSM 0.36 0.65 0.33 

SE 0.13 0.10 0.10 

PUFA n6 

LSM 0.43 0.73 0.48 

SE 0.15 0.11 0.11 

*– Statistical significance of differences at A, B, C – P < 0.01 

presents the distinctness to the other two 

groups, which both presented similar 

results. Definitely high levels of C18:2n6, 

CLA, C20:5n3 and C22:6n3 fatty acids 

were observed in meat of Polish Heath 

Sheep, whereas the lowest values were 

considered in case of C12:0, C14:0 and 

C18:0 fatty acids. This presented pattern 

of fatty acids composition in Polish 

Heath Sheep testified the breed distinction 

to the other experimental groups and also 

approved the differences within the overall 

fat content in meat (Tab. 7). The Polish 

Heath Sheep presented absolutely different 

level of meat quality traits comparing 

to the other groups, which testified the 

original extraordinary quality. Considering 

the national market demands, where 

the lamb meat is bearing in minds as the 

niche meat and the kid meat basically 

does not exist, it must be stated that the 

gained experimental carcasses fulfilled 

the consumers’ requirements easily, especially 

these of the connoisseur clients. 

Nevertheless the lamb and kid meat 

needs more efforts to promote it on the 

national market as well as the stable 

presence on the supermarkets shelves. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The results of the research on comparison 

slaughter weights, slaughter values, 

carcass measurements as well as the cuts 

composition and tissue characteristic of 

leg in male lambs and male goats guided 

to several conclusions: 

1. The highest daily gains and the shortest 

time to reach the slaughter weight was 

observed in male lambs of Żelaźnieńska


Sheep, comparing to male lambs of 

Polish Heath Sheep and Boer goat male 

kids. The Boer goat male kids placed 

between the male lambs of both breeds. 

2. The Żelaźnieńska male lambs expressed 

the highest results of general classification 

of carcasses due to EUROP 

requirements, whereas the Boer goat 

male kids obtained the worst classification. 

The Polish Heath Sheep male 

lambs presented slightly lower values 

comparing to these obtained for Żelaźnieńska 

male lambs and definitely 

higher than the Boer male kids. 

3. The Boer goat male kids’ carcasses expressed 

the lowest level of fat cover comparing 

to the results obtained for both 

groups of male lambs (Żelaźnieńska 

and Polish Heath Sheep), which were 

at similar level. 

4. The highest content of valuable 

cuts was observed in carcasses of 

Żelaźnieńska male lambs comparing 

to the Boer goat male kids. Due to this 

traits, the carcasses of Polish Heath 

Sheep male lambs were only slightly 

worse than these of Żelaźnieńska male 

lambs, being definetly better than the 

carcasses of the Boer goat male kids. 

5. The estimation of physical and chemical 

parameters (including the fatty acids 

profile) indicated the absolute distinctness 

of the mld muscle quality of 

the Polish Heath Sheep comparing to 

Żelaźnieńska male lambs and Boer goat 

male kids. The similar quality of meat 

traits was observed in Żelaźnieńska 

male lambs and Boer goat male kids. 

REFERENCES 




ANTCZAK A., ANTCZAK M., NIŻNIKOWSKI 

R., 2002: Poziom cech rozrodu owiec rasy 

wrzosówka utrzymywanych całorocznie bez pomieszczeń. 

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Seccio EE, XX, 16, 105–110 



GROBEREK J., NIŻNIKOWSKI R., 2003: 

Wykorzystanie odłogów jako bazy paszowej 

w chowie owiec. Ann. Warsaw Agricult. Univ. 

SGGW, Anim. Sci. 40, 33–44. 

GROBEREK J., WRÓBLEWSKA L., JAWOR- 

SKI B., NIŻNIKOWSKI R., PFEFFER E., 

2003a: Charakterystyka składu botanicznego 

porostu na gruncie odłogowanym, poddanym 

ekstensywnemu wypasowi owiec. Rocz. Nauk 

Zoot., 30, 1, 105–112. 

GROBEREK J., NIŻNIKOWSKI R., SOSIŃSKA 

K.A., MARCINIEC M., 2003b: Żerowanie 

polskich wrzosówek wypasanych na terenach 

odłogowanych w trakcie sezonu wegetacyjnego. 

Acta Agrophysica, 1 (3), 88, 441–446. 

GROBEREK J., NIŻNIKOWSKI R., MARCINIEC 

M., PFEFFER E., 2003c: Nutritive evaluation of 

pasture grass on a wasteland in free ranching enviroment. 

Ann. Warsaw Agricult. Univ. SGGW, 

Anim. Sci. 41, 25–29. AOAC, 1990: Association 

of Official Chemist. Food Composition 

Additives Natural Contaminants. 













NIŻNIKOWSKI R., ANTCZAK M., ANTCZAK 

A., 2002a: Level of body weight and daily 

gains of Polish Heat sheep kept outside a sheep 

house throught the year. Ann. Of Anim. Sc. 

Supl., 1, 113–116. 

NIŻNIKOWSKI R., ANTCZAK M., ANTCZAK 

A., 2002b: Level of body weight and daily gains 

of different breed and crossbred sheep kept outside 

a sheep house throught the vegetation period. 

Ann. Of. Anim. Sc. Suppl., 1, 125–128.


NIŻNIKOWSKI R., ANTCZAK A., ANTCZAK 

M., WOŹNIAKOWSKA A., 2002c: Ocena 

wskaźników plenności matek i odchowu jagniąt 

różnych ras utrzymywanych bez pomieszczeń 

na pastwisku w trakcie okresu wegetacyjnego. 

Zesz. Nauk. Przegl. Hod., 63, 37–42. 

NIŻNIKOWSKI R., MARCINIEC M., 

WOŹNIAKOWSKA A., 2002d: Comparison 

of level of reproduction traits and body weight 

at birth of Polish Heat hept indoors and in free 

ranching environment. Ann. Warsaw Agricult. 

Univ. SGGW, Anim. Sci. 39, 29–33. 

NIŻNIKOWSKI R., ANTCZAK A., ANTCZAK 

M., WOŹNIAKOWSKA A., 2002e: Influence of 

genotype, sex, and birth type on body weight and 

daily gains in lamb kept outdoor throughout 

vegetation period. Ann. Warsaw Agricult. Univ. 

SGGW, Anim. Sci. 39, 35–40. 




Instytut Zootechniki Kraków, 29–57. 

EN ISO 5508. 1996: Oleje I tłuszcze roślinne 

oraz zwierzęce. Analiza estrów metylowych 

kwasów tłuszczowych metodą chromatografii 

gazowej. 

RUSZCZYC Z., 1981: Metodyka badań zootechnicznych, 


Streszczenie: Ocena jakości tusz jagniąt i koźląt 

pozyskiwanych na potrzeby rynku krajowego. 

Badania przeprowadzono na tryczkach rasy żelaźnieńskiej 

(10 szt.) i wrzosówki (10 szt.) oraz koziołkach 

rasy burskiej (9 szt.) tuczonych do masy 

ciała 35 kg. Ocenie poddano cechy tempa wzrostu, 

wartości rzeźnej, jakości tusz i składu tkankowego 

udźców oraz cech fizykochemicznych (wraz 

z oceną profilu kwasów tłuszczowych) mięsa 

mld. Na podstawie przeprowadzonych prac eksperymentalnych 

stwierdzono najwyższe przyrosty 

dobowe i najkrótszą długość osiągania ubojowej 

masy ciała u tryczków żelaźnieńskich w porównaniu 

do tryczków wrzosówek i koziołków burskich. 

W tym zakresie koziołki burskie plasowały 

się pomiędzy grupami rasowymi tryczków. 

Ponadto tryczki żelaźnieńskie charakteryzowały 

się najwyższą oceną klasyfikowanych według 

EUROP tusz, w porównaniu do najgorszej oceny 

u koziołków burskich. Z kolei tryczki wrzosówki 

osiągały nieznacznie niższą ocenę w tym zakresie 

w porównaniu do tryczków żelaźnieńskich, 

znacznie przewyższając pod tym względem tusze 

koziołków burskich, charakteryzujących się najniższym 

poziomem otłuszczenia tusz w porównaniu 

do nie różniących się pod tym względem obu 

grup tryczków. Stwierdzono najwyższe udziały 

części cennych w tuszy u owiec żelaźnieńskich 

w porównaniu do koziołków burskich. W zakresie 

tych cech tusz wrzosówek nieznacznie ustępowały 

tryczkom żelaźnieńskim, znacznie przewyższając 

pod tym względem koziołki burskie. Z kolei ocena 

poziomu cech fizycznych i chemicznych (łącznie 

z profilem kwasów tłuszczowych) wskazała na 

całkowitą odrębność mięsa mld tryczków wrzosówek 

od tryczków żelaźnieńskich i koziołków burskich. 

Stwierdzono również, że koziołki burskie 

w tym zakresie charakteryzowały się podobnym 

poziomem cech jakościowych mięsa jaki uzyskano 

u tryczków żelaźnieńskich 




Krzysztof Głowacz, Dominik Popielarczyk 




Poland 





Poland




Level of milk performance of sheep and goat suckled 

by their offspring bred under the conditions of alternative 

production systems 

ROMAN NIŻNIKOWSKI, EWA STRZELEC, DOMINIK POPIELARCZYK, 

KRZYSZTOF GŁOWACZ, ROBERT LITYŃSKI, AGNIESZKA ROZBICKA- 

-WIECZOREK 


Abstract: Level of milk performance of sheep 

and goat suckled by their offspring bred under the 

conditions of alternative production systems. The 

research was carried out in 2007 on the Boer goat 

does and ewes of two sheep breeds of Polish Heath 

Sheep and Żelaźnieńska. The animals were at age 

of 2–3 years and they were suckled by the offspring 

born as singles or twins. During 12-weeks of lactation, 

the milk controlling was provided in every 

2-weeks. The milk from 3 hours secretion was obtained. 

The individual milk samples were analyzed 

due to the milk yield, chemical composition and 

somatic cell account. Moreover, at the same time 

of milking, the data concerning the body growth 

development of kids and lambs were collected. 

The results showed significant distinctness of Boer 

goats, Polish Heath Sheep and Żelaźnieńska sheep 

due to the all examined milking traits. The highest 

body weights till 84 day of life were observed in 

growing lambs of Żelaźnieńska sheep in contrary 

to Polish Heath Sheep lambs and Boer kids. The 

maternal abilities of does and ewes in case of the 

offspring rearing expressed the best results of daily 

gains at the late stage of lactation in Boer goats, then 

in Polish Heath Sheep and Żelaźnieńska sheep. 

Key words: sheep, goats, milk yield, growth development, 

lambs, kids. 

INTRODUCTION 

Making the production more extensive is 

the one of the planned stages of transforming 

the utility performance of sheep 

and goats which guides to increase the 

protection and maintaining of human 

environment, which is also included in 

the Rural Development Plan. One of the 

elements is the development of alternative 

ways of animal production, which 

basic thought is the rational use of small 

ruminant, especially sheep and goats. It 

is not surprising, that the Polish indigenous 

sheep and meat goat breeds focus 

more attention of farmers and scientists. 

Such changes in the utility performance 

of these species must have some effects 

on the milk production traits and the 

effect on the offspring rearing should be 

specially considered (Niżnikowski et al., 

1991; 1994; Nowak 1993; 1994; Nowak 

et al., 1993ab). 

Therefore, the aim of this research 

was to compare the milk performance of 

suckled ewes and does according to the 

growth development of lambs and kids 

under the extensive production conditions. 

Two sheep breeds (Polish Heath 

Sheep and Żelaźnieńska) as well as one 

goat breed (Boer goat) were examined 

due to their milk performance traits and


body growth development of offspring 

during lactation. 


The research was carried out in 2007 on 

the Boer goats (6 does), Żelaźnieńska and 

Polish Heath Sheep (15 and 15 ewes, 

respectively) at the Sheep and Goat 

Research Farm owned by the Warsaw 

University of Life Sciences. The does 

and ewes were at their 1 or 2 lactation and 

they were suckled by 1 or 2 offspring. The 

sheep and goats were fed accordingly to 

the proper feeding norms (Osikowski et 

al., 1993). The group of ewes and does 

were milked with the milking machine 

during 12-weeks lactation. The females 

were prepared for milking using the 

method proposed by Konstantinou (1973). 

The offspring was separated from mothers 

for 2 hours to stimulate their feeling 

of hunger and to rise the appetite. During 

this time, the kids and lambs were 

weighted and then joined again with does 

and ewes for another 30 minutes to empty 

the udders completely. Then, after the 

suckling time, the kids and lambs were 

again separated and the does and ewes 

were left for 3 hours. The milking started 

by the 3-hours break with the milking 

machine. Due to the different individual 

secretion lengths of females during the 

milking, the individual secretion lengths 

were calculated for 3-hours time. A portion 

of 5 i.u. of synthetic oxitocine was 

injected to every doe and ewe two minutes 

before the milking started to obtain 

the whole milk from udder. Individual 

milk samples were collected and used for 

analysis of chemical composition on the 

Milko-Scan machine (Foss). Moreover, 

the somatic cell account in 1 liter of milk 

was individually established on the 

Somacount 150 (Bentley) apparatus and 

then the logarithms of somatic cell accounts 

were calculated (Zarzycki et al., 

1983) and then were used in statistical 

calculations. 

The kids and lambs were weighted 

6 times: at birth and at age of 14, 28, 42, 

56, 70 and 84 days. Moreover, the all 

daily gains between consecutive periods 

of growing were also calculated. 

The results were calculated with the 

LSM method using the SPSS software (v. 

12, ANON., 2004). The milk traits were 

calculated due to the statistical model 

concerning the effects of: genotype, age, 

number of suckling offspring and week 

of lactation as well as the double-factor 

interaction: genotype × week of lactation. 

Due to the body weights and daily 

gains of kids, the effects of genotype, sex 

and type of birth as well as all possible 

double-factors interactions were estimated. 

Statistical differences between experimental 

groups were evaluated with the 

F-test (Ruszczyc, 1981). 


The evaluation of effects of chosen factors 

and interaction on analyzed milk traits 

was presented in Table 1. The genotype 

affected all traits statistically, as well as 

the age of females, excluding the contents 

of protein, lactose and non-fat dry matter. 

The week of lactation affected statistically 

(p ≤ 0.01) all traits excluding the 

non-fat dry matter content. The number 

of suckling offspring affected only the 

milk yield and fat content. The effect 

of interaction was statistically insignificant 

only in milk yield, non-fat dry matter content 

and somatic cell account. Presented

Level of milk performance of sheep and goat... 179 

effects’ evaluation was compatible to 

the results presented by other authors 

(Niżnikowski et al., 1991; 1994; Nowak, 

1993; 1994; Nowak et al., 1993ab). 

The effect of genotype on examined 

traits was presented in Table 2. The milk 

yield was the highest in the Boer goats, 

while the lowest was observed in the 

Polish Heath Sheep. The differences 

between the experimental groups were 

statistically significant. The most impressing 

fact was the significantly higher fat 

content in milk of Boer does (p ≤ 0.01) 

in comparison to the ovine milk, whereas 

the Polish Heath Sheep ewes presented 

better results than Żelaźnieńska ewes in 

this case. However, the highest protein 

content was observed in milk of Polish 

Heath Sheep, whereas the Boer goat presented 

the lowest values. Also the differences 

between the experimental groups 

were statistically verified (p ≤ 0.05 and 

p ≤ 0.01). The lactose content was at 

the lowest level in milk of Boer goats 

comparing to the ovine milk, whereas 

the milk of both sheep breeds did not 

differ between each other. Nevertheless, 

the dry matter content was the lowest in 

milk of Żelaźnieńska ewes comparing 

to the other experimental groups, while 

TABLE 1. The effects of chosen factors and interactions on milk traits in small ruminants (n = 36) 


Interaction of 

Traits 

number genotype * 

genotype 

lactation 

week of 

X SE 

age 

of suckling week 

offspring of lactation 

Milk yield (ml) XX XX XX X NS 268 14 

Chemical 

composition 

of milk (%) 

Fat XX XX XX XX X 6.48 0.20 

Protein XX NS XX NS XX 4.64 0.05 

Lactose XX NS XX NS XX 5.24 0.04 

Dry matter XX XX XX NS X 17.10 0.21 

Non-fat dry matter X NS NS NS NS 6.95 0.14 

Somatic cell account (log) XX NS XX NS NS 2.47 0.05 

Statistical significance at: XX – p < 0.01; X – p < 0.05; NS – non-significant 

TABLE 2. The effect of genotype on milk traits in small ruminants (n = 36) 

Boer goats (A) Polish Heath Sheep (B) Żelaźnieńska Sheep (C) 

Traits 


n = 6 n = 15 n = 15 

Milk yield (ml) 339 Bc 28 198 Ac 20 262 ab 25 

Chemical 

composition 

of milk (%) 

Fat 7.99 BC 0.40 6.35 AC 0.28 5.09 BC 0.36 

Protein 4.18 BC 0.10 5.19 AC 0.07 4.58 BC 0.09 

Lactose 4.87 BC 0.07 5.43 A 0.05 5.43 A 0.06 

Dry matter 17.55 C 0.42 17.92 C 0.30 15.91 AB 0.38 

Non-fat dry matter 6.48 B 0.28 7.42 A 0.19 6.97 0.25 

Somatic cell account (log) 2.72 Bc 0.09 2.21 Ac 0.07 2.45 ab 0.09 

Statistical significance of differences between groups at: a, b, c – p ≤ 0.05, A, B, C – p ≤ 0.01


they both presented similar results. Milk 

of Polish Heath Sheep presented significantly 

higher content of non-fat dry 

matter in comparison to the Boer goats’ 

milk. Due to the somatic cell account, the 

highest values were obtained in the milk 

of the Boer goats, the lowest in milk of 

Polish Heath Sheep, whereas the milk of 

Żelaźnieńska sheep was placed between 

them. The results presented in Table 2 

showed the huge distinctness between all 

experimental groups in cases of milk performance 

traits such as milk yield, chemical 

composition and somatic cell account, 

which were compatible to the results presented 

in other studies (Niżnikowski et al., 

1991; 1994; Nowak 1993, 1994; Nowak 

et al., 1993ab). Comparison of the milk 

performance results with the analysis of 

growth development of offspring should 

give the information about the maternal 

abilities of the examined breeds and species 

expressed in the offspring rearing 

indicators. 

The effects of chosen factors and 

interactions on the growth body development 

of the offspring were presented in 

Table 3. The genotype affected all traits 

of body weights in different age groups, 

whereas its effect on daily gains was 

only observed in periods of 14–28 and 

70–84 days of life. The sex of offspring 

did not affected any of examined traits, 

which was a quite surprising, because 

the female-offspring develops longer 

than male-offspring. The effect of type of 

birth was observed in all traits excluding 

the body weights at birth and at 14 day of 

age as well as the daily gains in periods 

of 0–14, 56–70 and 70–84 days. None of 

the interactions affected the examined 

growth development traits excluding 

TABLE 3. Effects of chosen factors and interactions on body weights and daily gains in lambs and kids 

(n = 42) 


Interactions 

Traits 

genotype 

sex type 


genotype 

* sex 

genotype * 


sex * type 


X SE 

Body weight (kg) at age of 

at birth XX NS NS NS NS NS 3.77 0.11 

14 days XX NS NS NS NS NS 4.96 0.15 

28 days XX NS X NS NS NS 9.02 1.22 

42 days XX NS XX NS NS NS 11.04 0.26 




Daily gains (g/day) in periods of 

0–14 days NS NS NS NS NS NS 172 17 

14–28 days XX NS XX NS NS NS 239 7 

28–42 days NS NS XX NS NS NS 183 12 

42–56 days NS NS X NS NS NS 200 10 

56–70 days NS NS NS NS NS NS 196 9 

70–84 days XX NS NS X NS NS 136 8 



only the significant (p ≤ 0.05) effect of 

genotype x sex interaction on the daily 

gain in period 70–84 days. 

The interesting outline of differences 

between the experimental groups in case 

of body growth development was presented 

in Table 4. The Żelaźnieńska lambs 

dominated over the other experimental 

groups in case of the all body weights 

in all age groups, whereas the Boer kids 

and Polish Heath Sheep presented similar 

results. Similar draft of differences 

was observed due to the daily gains in 

period of 14–28 days of age, whereas 

the fastest growers at the end of rearing 

(70–84 days of age) were the Boer kids, 

while the worst results presented lambs 

of Żelaźnieńska sheep. 

Naturally, the results of growth development 

of the offspring should be related 

to the body weights of adult animals and 

their growing offspring, which indicated 

to focus more attention on daily gains in 

kids and lambs, especially at the end of 

rearing period. All experimental groups 

presented high level of rearing predispositions 

during most of the rearing periods. 

Nevertheless, the analysis of the 

daily gains during the last rearing period 

indicated that the Boer does might be 

the best mothers due to their relatively 

higher milk yields, then the Polish Heath 

Sheep ewes and at the end – Żelaźnieńska 

ewes. This scientific hypothesis should 

be examined in further researches. The 

presented outline of the differences in the 

daily gains indicated the good usefulness 

of mothers from all experimental groups 

to rear the healthy offspring, which was 

also reported in other studies (Konstantinou, 

1973; Niżnikowski et al., 1994; 

Nowak, 1994). 

TABLE 4. Effect of genotype on body weights and daily gains in lambs and kids (n = 42) 

Boer goats (A) Polish Heath Sheep (B) Żelaźnieńska Sheep (C) 

Traits 


n = 6 n = 21 n = 15 

Body weight (kg) at age of 

at birth 3.36 C 0.26 2.90 C 0.14 5.05 AB 0.17 

14 days 4.52 C 0.35 4.47 C 0.18 5.88 AB 0.22 

28 days 7.88 C 0.52 7.95 C 0.28 11.22 AB 0.34 

42 days 9.73 C 0.61 9.87 C 0.32 13.52 AB 0.39 

56 days 12.51 C 0.81 12.62 C 0.43 16.37 AB 0.52 

70 days 14.37 C 0.78 13.91 C 0.41 17.72 AB 0.50 

84 days 16.71 0.87 15.46 C 0.46 18.73 B 0.56 

Daily gains (g/day) in periods of 

0–14 days 166 39 175 21 175 25 

14–28 days 198 C 16 204 C 9 314 AB 11 




70–84 days 138 bC 20 91 ac 10 59 Ab 13 

Statistical significance of differences between groups at: a, b, c – p ≤ 0.05, A, B, C – p ≤ 0.01


CONCLUSIONS 

The results were following to several 

conclusions: 

1. The significant distinctness of Boer 

goats, Polish Heath Sheep and Żelaźnieńska 

sheep was observed due to all 

milk traits (milk yield, chemical composition 

and somatic cell account). 

2. The highest body weights during 84-days 

rearing were observed in Żelaźnieńska 

lambs comparing to lambs of Polish 

Heath Sheep and kids of Boer goat. 

3. Considering the maternal abilities of 

ewes and does in case of rearing, the 

similar results were observed in all 

breeds and species, nevertheless the 

best results were presented by the Boer 

goat does and then by ewes of both 

sheep breeds, which should be also 

examined in further experiments. 

REFERENCES 




KONSTANTINOU A., 1973: Vergleichende 

Untersuchungen zur Methodik uber die Milchleistungserfassung 

bei Fleischschafen sowie 

uber die Zusammensetzung der Milch und die 

Auswirkungen der Milchleistung im Verlauf der 

Laktation auf die Wollfeinheit von Deutchen 

Schwarzkopfigen Fleischschafen und Finnkreuzungen. 

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der J. Liebig Universitat Giessen. 

NIŻNIKOWSKI R., RANT W., TYSZKA Z.J., 

JANIKOWSKI W.T., 1991: Wpływ różnych 

czynników na poziom cech użytkowości owiec 

wschodniofryzyjskich i typu corriedale w okresie 

12 tygodni laktacji. Rocz. Nauk. Zoot., 18, 


NIŻNIKOWSKI R., JANIKOWSKI W.T., TYSZ- 

KA Z.J., WILCZKOWSKA J., 1994: The influence 

of genotype and the number of suckling 

lambs on the milk traits of ewes. Ann. Warsaw. 

Agricult. Univ. SGGW, Anim. Sci. 30, 37–43. 

NOWAK W., 1993: Wstępne wyniki oceny mleczności 

owiec rasy wrzosówka karmiących jagnięta. 

Zesz. Nauk. PTZ, 11, 43–51. 

NOWAK W., 1994: Poziom wybranych cech 

produkcyjnych maciorek wrzosówki polskiej, 

ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem cech mleczności 

na przykładzie jednego ze stad objętych 

programem hodowli zachowawczej. Praca doktorska, 

Zakład Hodowli Owiec i Kóz SGGW, 

Warszawa. 

NOWAK W., NIŻNIKOWSKI R., RANT W., 

TYSZKA Z.J., JANIKOWSKI W.T., 1993a: 

The influence of factors connected with sheep 

udders on production traits evaluated during 

lactation. Part I: The cell elements in milk. Procedings 

of the 5th International Symposium on 

Machine Milking of Small Ruminants. 14–20 

May, 1993, Budapest, 3–11. 

NOWAK W., NIŻNIKOWSKI R., RANT W., 

TYSZKA Z.J., JANIKOWSKI W.T., 1993b: 

The influence of factors connected with sheep 

udders on production traits evaluated during 

lactation. Part II: The type and consistency of 

udder. Procedings of the 5th International Symposium 

on Machine Milking of Small Ruminants. 

14–20 May, 1993, Budapest, 12–21. 




Zootechniki Kraków, 29–57. 


zootechnicznych. PWRiL. Warszawa. 

ZARZYCKI J., TYSZKA Z.J., SKOLASIŃSKI 

W., 1983: Próba wyznaczenia granicy dla fizjologicznej 

zawartości elementów komórkowych 

w mleku owczym. Med. Wet., 39(12), 


Streszczenie: Poziom mleczności owiec i kóz karmiących 

potomstwo utrzymywanych w warunkach 

systemu produkcji alternatywnej. Badania wykonano 

na kozach burskich oraz matkach wrzosówkach 

i żelaźnieńskich, będących w wieku 2 do 

3 lat, oraz ich potomstwie pochodzącym z miotów 

pojedynczych i bliźniaczych. U kóz i maciorek 

wykonano przez okres 12 laktacji kontrole mleczności 

prowadzone z częstotliwością co 2 tygodnie, 

pozyskując mleko z okresu sekrecji trwającej 

przez 3 godziny. Oceniono ilość mleka, skład chemiczny 

oraz zawartość elementów komórkowych 

w mleku. W analogicznych okresach prowadzono


ważenia kontrolne jagniąt i koźląt w celu oceny 

rozwoju masy ciała i tempa przyrastania w tym 

czasie. Na podstawie przeprowadzonych badań 

wykazano odrębność kóz burskich, wrzosówek 

i owiec żelaźnieńskich w zakresie wszystkich 

cech mleczności. Stwierdzono najwyższe masy 

ciała u rosnących jagniąt rasy żelaźnieńskiej 

w porównaniu do jagniąt wrzosówek i koźląt burskich 

w trakcie odchowu do 84 dnia życia. Oceniając 

przydatność kóz i matek badanych ras do 

odchowu potomstwa na podstawie ich dobowych 

przyrostów, stwierdzić należy ich podobny zakres, 

ze wskazaniem na najlepsze wyniki w końcowym 

okresie laktacji u kóz burskich, następnie wrzosówek 

i owiec żelaźnieńskich. 






Poland




The influence of selected factors on Limousine and Charolaise 

beef calves vitality 

JAN SLÓSARZ, TOMASZ PRZYSUCHA, HENRYK GRODZKI, 

BEATA MAJCHRZAK 


Abstract: The infl uence of selected factors on 

Limousine and Charolaise beef calves vitality. 

Material for the study consisted of the results of 

individual performance of beef cattle for the period 

2000–2007 conducted by the Polish Association of 

Beef Cattle Breeders and Producers. Two French 

breeds of beef cattle – Charolaise and Limousine 

were taken into consideration. Calves vitality was 

assessed to the following scale: healthy, weak. 

Statistical analysis included the distribution of 

assessments viability of calves according to the 

following factors: breed, cow weight, the calving 

number, calf sex, calf weight at birth, calving season. 

There were found statistically significant differences 

(p ≤ 0.05) in the Charolaise and Limousine 

calves vitality. Worse vitality of Charolaise calves 

was probably due to the higher frequency of complicated 

deliveries, comparing to Limousine. With 

the increase of cow body weight before calving the 

percentage of calves with poor vitality decreased. 

The differences were statistically significant 

(p ≤ 0.05). Studies of the other authors confirm 

obtained results. It was found that along to the cow 

body weight at calving increase the percentage of 

calves with poor vitality decreased. The differences 

were statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05). Statistically 

highly significant (p ≤ 0.01) effect of calf 

sex on its vitality was stated. Much higher percentage 

of poor healthy calves was in the group of 

bull calves. There was no statistically significant 

effect of calf body weight at birth on its vitality, 

but the most healthy calves (vital energy) in the 

group had an average body weight at birth. There 

was no significant effect of calving season on the 

calves vitality. 

Key words: beef cattle, calves vitality. 

INTRODUCTION 

The connection of economic results with 

herd fertility rate is particularly visible in 

beef cattle farming, where relatively heavy, 

healthy, vital and well muscle-bound calf, 

born during delivery of a normal course, 

is the main product, and the role of the 

cow comes down to giving birth to the 

calf and rise it until the moment of the 

weaning. In herds using the commercial 

crossbreeding milk remains the main 

product, but the quality of borning crossbreds 

determines the final economic 

result. Thus a proper course of reproduction 

in the herds of purebred beef cattle 

or those using commercial crossing is 

a significant condition of profitability. 

Calves vitality (including stillbirths) directly 

influences the economic result. 

In case of stillbirths or death in the first 

days of life, the breeder bears high, not 

compensated costs, among which yearly 

costs of living and feeding the cow are 

the most important, though not the only 

ones. Healthy, vital calves better utilize 

colostrum feeding period, earlier begin to 

take stable feedstuffs, and consequently

186 J. Slósarz et al. 

obtain better daily body gains in the 

rearing period as well as had better musculature 

in the moment of weaning. 

The aim of the study was to determine 

the influence of such factors as: breed, 

cow body weight, calf sex, calf body 

weight at birth and calving season on 

vitality of calves of French breeds – 

Limousine and Charolaise. 


Material for the study consisted of the 

results of individual performance of beef 

cattle for the period 2000–2007 conducted 

by the Polish Association of Beef Cattle 

Breeders and Producers. Two French 

breeds of beef cattle Charolaise and Limousine 

were taken into consideration. 

Calves vitality was assessed according 

to the following scale: (1) healthy, (2) 

weak, (3) stillborn or dead up to 24 hrs 

after birth, (4) dead or slaughter necessity 

up to 14 days after birth. As there 

were no accidents 3 and 4, only healthy 

and weak calves were considered in the 

statistical analysis. 

Statistical analysis included the distribution 

of assessments viability of calves 

according to the following factors: 

• breed: (1) Charolaise, (2) Limousine 

• cow body weight: (1) ≤ 600 kg, (2) 

601–700 kg, (3) > 700 kg 

• calving number: 1, 2, 3, ≥ 4 

• calf sex: (1) heifer, (2) bull 

• calf body weight at birth: (1) ≤ 35 kg, 

(2) 36–45 kg, (3) > 45 kg 

• calving season: (1) January – May, (2) 

June – December. 

For statistical analysis Pearson’s χ 2 

test, SPSS ver. 10.0 PL were used. 


The influence of breed on calves vitality 

was presented in Table 1. Statistically 

significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) in vitality 

of Charolaise and Limousine calves 

were observed. Jędrzejczyk et al. (2000) 

reported breed differences in mortality of 

calves of examined beef cattle breeds. 

Worse vitality of Charolaise calves was 

probably due to the higher frequency of 

complicated deliveries, comparing to 

Limousine. 

Stillbirths are directly connected with 

the delivery course, hence it is influenced 

by majority of the factors conditioning 

calving quality. According to many 

authors, calves mortality (even up to 

1 month after birth) is much higher if the 

calves were born in result of the delive- 

TABLE 1. The influence of breed on calves vitality 

Breed 


healthy weak total 

Charolaise 

N 4 628 292 4 920 

% 94.1 5.9 100 

Limousine 

N 7 798 411 8 209 

% 95.0 5.0 100 

Average 

N 12 426 703 13 129 

% 94.6 5.4 100 

Pearson’s χ 2 = 5.230, significance P ≤ 0.05

The infl uence of selected factors... 187 

ries, which course was assessed as difficult 

(Laster, Gregory, 1973; Meijering, 

1984). 

Table 2 shows the influence of cow 

body weight on calves vitality. With the 

increase of cow body weight before calving 

the percentage of calves with poor 

vitality decreased. The differences were 

statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05). 

Nogalski et al. (2000) noted, that 

mothers of dead calves were considerably 

lighter and in worse condition, and 

consequently they created worse conditions 

for foetus development as well as 

were poorly prepared for the delivery 

effort. 

The influence of cow body weight on 

delivery course, and consequently on 

calf vitality, is not explict. The majority 

of conducted experiments shows, that 

heavier cows have less delivery problems. 

Optimal cow body weight and 

measurements mainly depend on production 

system (Morris, Wilton, 1976; 

Morris, Wilton, 1977; Andersen, 1978; 

Dickerson, 1978; Fitzhugh, 1978; Notter 

et al., 1979). The benefits resulting from 

lower frequency of difficult deliveries 

in cows of large calibre and high body 

weight may be however equalized by 

higher costs of feeding. 

In Table 3 the influence of calving 

number on calves vitality was presented. 

The percentage of calves, which vitality 

was assessed as “weak” decreased along 

with calving number increase. The differences 

were statistically significant 

(p ≤ 0.05). Many experiments proved, 

that the age of cows and calving number 

bound up with it has highly significant 

influence on difficult deliveries frequency. 

Difficult calvings occur more frequently 

in primiparous cows than in multiparous 

ones (Philipsson, 1976b; Sieber 

et al., 1989; Nogalski, Klupczyński, 1999; 

Krzywda et al., 2002; Albera et al., 2004; 

Przysucha et al., 2005b; Przysucha et al., 

2006). The main reason of delivery difficulties 

in primiparous cows is insufficient 

area of reproductive duct, and especially 

its skeleton. Delivery problems also take 

place frequently in cows giving birth to 

the second calf. It is mainly connected 

with smaller body measurement and 

incomplete pelvis development (Berger, 

1994; Meyer et al., 2000). Counting from 

the third calving, cow’s age is not a factor 

significantly influencing delivery course, 

TABLE 2. The influence of cow body weight on calves vitality 

Cow body weight 



≤ 600 kg 

N 5 987 376 6 363 

% 94.1 5.9 100 

601–700 kg 

N 4 859 246 5 105 

% 95.2 4.8 100 

> 700 kg 

N 1525 79 1 604 

% 95.1 4.9 100 

Average 

N 12 371 701 13 072 

% 94.6 5.4 100 



which was confirmed by the performance 

results analysis of Polish population 

of beef cows (Przysucha et al., 2005a; 

Przysucha et al., 2005b). The percentage 

of difficult calvings both in cows of 

Charolaise breed, described as the breed 

with relatively big share of complicated 

deliveries (Przysucha et al., 2005c), and 

Limousine breed, well-known for delivery 

ease (Przysucha et al., 2005a), high- 

-significantly decreased from the third 

calving. 

Table 4 illustrates the influence of sex 

on calves vitality. Statistically highly 

significant (p ≤ 0.01) effect of calf sex 

on its vitality was stated. Much higher 

percentage of poor healthy calves was 

in the group of bull calves. A significant 

influence of calf sex on calving quality, 

and consequently on borning calves vitality, 

is well described and proven by the 

majority of authors. This factor directly 

influences delivery course, which means 

frequency of complicated calvings. 

Heifer calves are born easier than bull 

calves, which is connected with lower 

body weight (Brzozowski, 1985b; Bellows 

et al., 1990; Przysucha et al., 2005a; 

Przysucha et al., 2005b). According to 

Philipsson (1976b) borning bulls cause 

2.5 times bigger risk of delivery complications 

in comparison with heifers. 

TABLE 3. The influence of calving number on calves vitality 


Calving number 


N 3 068 195 3 263 

1 

% 94.0 6.0 100 

N 2 538 159 2 697 

2 

% 94.1 5.9 100 

N 2 118 127 2 245 

3 

% 94.3 5.7 100 

N 4 702 222 4 924 

≥ 4 

% 95.5 4.5 100 

N 12 426 703 13 129 

Average 

% 94.6 5.4 100 

Pearson’s χ 2 = 11.404, significance P ≤ 0.05 

TABLE 4. The influence of sex on calves vitality 


Sex 


N 6 151 167 6 318 

♀ 

% 97.4 2.6 100 

N 6 033 293 6 326 

♂ 

% 95.4 4.6 100 

N 12 184 460 12 644 

Average 

% 96.4 3.6 100 



Depending on authors, the differences 

in body weights of bulls and heifers 

amount from 1 kg up to 5 kg. It partially 

results from the fact, that pregnancies 

with a male foetus are usually longer by 

1–2 days. The analysis of sex influence 

on calving course in Polish population 

of Limousines (Przysucha et al., 2005a), 

Charolaises (Przysucha et al., 2005c), 

Anguses and Herefords (Przysucha et 

al., 2005b) confirmed highly significant 

influence of that factor. Wroński et al. 

(1996), describing the first Limousine 

herd in Poland, did not observe the above 

mentioned dependence. 

The influence of calf body weight at 

birth on calves vitality is presented in 

Table 5. There was no statistically significant 

effect of calf body weight at birth 

on its vitality, but the most healthy calves 

(vital energy) in the group had an average 

body weight at birth. 

Malinowski et al. (1983) observed, 

that high body weight of the borning calf 

together with improper foetus arrangement 

causes extended delivery time, which 

directly influences the newborn infant. 

Table 6 shows the influence of calving 

season on calves vitality. There was no 

significant effect of calving season on the 

investigated trait. In beef breeding herds 

the seasonal character of calvings has 

a great importance since the appropriate 

time of calving allows to obtain the best 

breeding material at the lowest expenses 

(maximal pasture utilization in the rearing 

TABLE 5. The influence of calf body weight on calves vitality 

Calf body weight at birth (kg) 



≤ 35 

N 5 392 113 5 505 

% 97.9 2.1 100 


N 6 304 124 6 428 

% 98.1 1.9 100 

> 45 

N 715 19 734 

% 97.4 2.6 100 

Average 

N 12 411 256 12 667 

% 98.0 2.0 100 

Pearson’s χ 2 = 1.496, not significant 

TABLE 6. The influence of calving season on calves vitality 

Calving season 



January – May 

N 7 353 422 7 775 

% 94.6 5.4 100 

June – December 

N 5 073 281 5 354 

% 94.8 5.2 100 

Average 

N 12 426 703 13 129 

% 94.6 5.4 100 

Pearson’s χ 2 = 0.201, not significant


period of calves). According to many 

authors (Choroszy et al., 2003; Dobicki, 

1995; Jasiorowski, Przysucha, 2004) service 

period and resulting from it calving time 

should not be longer than 2–3 months. 

In case of 24 hrs outdoor keeping beef 

cows should calve in winter (January, 

February, March in an optimal way). 

The calves born in that months, upon the 

intensive sucking period, are prepared to 

full utilization of the pasture (stomach 

development), grow fast, are healthy and 

well developed, and consequently their 

daily body gain is charged as little as 

possible. It should be emphasized, that 

in case of winter calvings the weaning 

moment meets the impoverished pasture 

in autumn, the consequence of which is 

the natural drying of the cows. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The analysis of the results obtained, confronted 

with other authors’ conclusions, 

permitted to recapitulate as follows: 

• There were found statistically significant 

differences (p ≤ 0.05) in the Charolaise 

and Limousine calves vitality. 

Worse vitality of Charolaise calves was 

probably due to the higher frequency 

of complicated deliveries, comparing 

to Limousine. 

• With the increase of cow body weight 

before calving the percentage of calves 

with poor vitality decreased. The differences 

were statistically significant 

(p ≤ 0.05). Studies of other authors 

confirm results obtained. 

• It was found that along to the cow 

body weight at calving increase the 

percentage of calves with poor vitality 

decreased. The differences were statistically 

significant (p ≤ 0.05). 

• Statistically highly significant (p ≤ 0.01) 

effect of calf sex on its vitality was 

stated. Much higher percentage of poor 

healthy calves was in the group of bull 

calves. 

• There was no statistically significant 

effect of calf body weight at birth on 

its vitality, but the most healthy calves 

(vital energy) in the group had an 

average body weight at birth. 

• There was no significant effect of 

calving season on the calves vitality. 

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J. Anim. Sci. 37, 1092–1102. 


MURAWSKI J., WRONA Z., ORLIK S., 



MEIJERING A., 1984: Dystocia and stillbirths in 

cattle – A review of causes, relations and implications. 

Livest. Prod. Sci., 11, 143. 


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in Holstein cattle in the United States. 


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of body size on the biological efficiency of 

cows: A review. Can. Anim. Sci. 56: 613–647. 


of body size on the economic efficiency of 

cows. A review. Anim. Breed. Abstr. 45, 39–153. 





NOGALSKI Z., KLUPCZYŃSKI J., MICIŃSKI 

J., 2000: Przebieg porodu, wielkość i żywotność 

cieląt w zależności od wymiarów ciała 

krów. Rocz. Nauk. Zoot., 27 (3), 43–57. 

NOTTER D.R., SANDERS J.O., DICKERSON 

G.E., 1979: Simulated efficiency of beef production 

for Midwestern cow-calf-feedlot management 

system. II. Mature body size. J. Anim. 

Sci. 49, 83–91. 


stillbirth and associated factors in 

Swedish cattle breeds. VI. Effects of crossbreeding. 


PRZYSUCHA T., GRODZKI H., 2006: Alternatywa 

dla krów mlecznych – bydło mięsne 

w sytuacji limitowanej produkcji mleka. Bydło 





rasy limousin. Medycyna Weterynaryjna 61 (9), 


PRZYSUCHA T., GRODZKI H., SLÓSARZ 

J., 2005b: Rodzaj porodów krów mięsnych 

ras brytyjskich w zależności od masy krowy, 

kolejności ocielenia oraz płci i masy cielęcia. 

Roczniki Naukowe PTZ, 1, 1, 145–150. 


WRÓBLEWSKA L., 2005c: Wpływ masy krowy, 

kolejności ocielenia oraz płci i masy cielęcia 

na rodzaj porodu krów rasy charolais. Rocz. 

Nauk. Zoot., z. 22/2, 597–600. 


1989: Effects of body measurements and weight 

on calf size and calving difficulty of Holsteins. 

J. Dairy Sci. 72, 9, 2402–2410. 

WROŃSKI M., KIJAK Z., MICIŃSKI J., 1996: 

Charakterystyka pierwszego w Polsce stada 

bydła mięsnego rasy Limousine. Zesz.Nauk. 

AR we Wrocławiu XII, 291, 193–203. 


żywotność cieląt mięsnych ras bydła limousine 

i charolaise. Materiałem do badań były wyniki 

oceny użytkowości bydła mięsnego za lata 

2000–2007, prowadzonej przez Polski Związek 

Hodowców i Producentów Bydła Mięsnego. Badaniami 

objęto dwie francuskie rasy bydła mięsnego 

charolaise i limousine. Oceniano żywotność 

rodzących się cieląt w następującej skali: zdrowe, 

słabe. Analiza statystyczna obejmowała rozkład 

ocen żywotności cieląt w zależności od następujących 

czynników: rasa, masa krowy, kolejność 

ocielenia, płeć cielęcia, masa cielęcia przy urodzeniu, 

sezon ocielenia. Stwierdzono statystycznie 

istotne różnice (p ≤ 0,05) w żywotności cieląt 

ras charolaise i limousine. Mniejsza żywotność 

cieląt rasy charolaise wynika prawdopodobnie 

z wyższej frekwencji występowania skomplikowanych 

porodów u tej rasy w porównaniu z rasą 

limousine. Wraz ze wzrostem masy ciała krowy 

przed ocieleniem malał odsetek cieląt o słabej 

żywotności. Różnice były statystycznie istotne 

((p ≤ 0,05). Badania innych autorów są zgodne 

z uzyskanymi wynikami. Stwierdzono, że wraz


ze wzrostem masy ciała krowy przed ocieleniem 

malał odsetek cieląt o słabej żywotności. Różnice 

były statystycznie istotne (p ≤ 0,05). Stwierdzono 

statystycznie wysoko istotny (p ≤ 0,01) wpływ 

płci cielęcia na jego żywotność w okresie odchowu. 

Znacznie wyższy odsetek cieląt słabo żywotnych 

odnotowano w grupie cieląt buhajków. 

Nie stwierdzono istotnego statystycznie wpływu 

masy cielęcia przy urodzeniu na jego żywotność, 

ale najwięcej cieląt zdrowych (witalnych) było 

w grupie o średniej masie ciała przy urodzeniu. 

Nie stwierdzono istotnego wpływu sezonu urodzenia 

na żywotność cieląt. 




02-786 Warszawa, ul. Ciszewskiego 8 

Poland 

e-mail: jan_slosarz@sggw.pl




Influence of cow body weight and condition score before calving 

on calving course of Charolaise cows 

JAN SLÓSARZ, TOMASZ PRZYSUCHA, HENRYK GRODZKI 


Abstract: Infl uence of cow body weight and condition 

score before calving on calving course of 

Charolaise cows. The aim of the research was to 

determine the influence of Charolaise cows body 

weight and condition score (BCS) before calving 

on calving course. 81 purebred Charolaise cows 

in Poland were the material of investigations. 

Body condition score was estimated using 9 point 

scale according to Richards (24) directly before 

planned calving day. The following levels were 

used: 1 – bad (notes 1, 2, 3), 2 – suitable (notes 4, 

5, 6, 7), 3 – more than enough (notes 8, 9). All the 

animals were weighted. The calving course was 

qualified to one of the following categories: N – 

easy, without any help, T – difficult, with farmer’s 

help or mechanical means use. The ratio of different 

calving course of Charolaise cows depending 

on their body weight and condition (BCS) 

just prior to calving was analysed. Correlation coefficient 

between calving course and Charolaise 

cows BCS was low (r = –0.19), but statistically 

significant. The highest ratio of difficult calvings 

was noticed for cows, which body weight not 

exceeded 500 kg (33.4%). Together with cow 

body weight increase the ratio of difficult calvings 

decreased. BCS notes 4, 5, 6, 7 were proved as the 

optimal (majority of calvings were examined as 

“suitable”). All of calvings from cows with 1, 2, 3 

notes had to be assisted. 

Key words: Charolaise, calving course, cow body 

weight, BCS. 

INTRODUCTION 

Problem of beef cow body weight and 

its condition (BCS) just before delivery 

has a direct impact on calving quality. 

The basic factors influencing calving 

course such as: cow age and connected 

with it calving number, calf body weight 

at birth, calf sex, cow pelvis structure 

are well known and described (Berger, 

1994; Berger et al., 1992; Brzozowski 

et al., 1994; Brzozowski et al., 1998; 

Johanson, Berger, 2003; McDermott 

et al., 1992; Meyer et al., 2000; Nix et 

al., 1998; Nogalski, 2003). There is not 

too much information on the influence 

of cow BCS just before calving on its 

course. Evaluation of beef cows’ BCS 

in the different physiological periods, 

depending mainly on nutritional level 

and system of housing, as well as the 

influence of BCS on calving quality in 

purebred beef cow population should be 

the aim of investigations. 

The goal of the study was to determine 

the influence of Charolaise cows 

body weight and BCS before calving on 

calving quality. 


81 purebred Charolaise cows at 4 farms, 

members of the Polish Association of 

Beef Cattle Breeders and Producers, 

were the material of investigations. Body 

condition score was estimated using 9

194 J. Slósarz, T. Przysucha, H. Grodzki 

point scale according to Richards et al. 

(1986) directly before planned calving 

day. The following levels were used: 

1 – bad (notes 1, 2, 3), 2 – suitable (notes 

4, 5, 6, 7), 3 – more than enough (notes 

8, 9). All the animals were weighted. 

The calving course was qualified to one 

of the following categories: N – easy, 

without any help, T – difficult, with 


The ratio of different calving course of 

Charolaise cows depending on their body 

weight and condition (BCS) just prior to 

calving was analyzed by χ 2 test using 

SPSS 12.0 software. The delivery course 

of Charolaise cows depending on BCS 

before Calving was determined using 

analysis of variance method. Correlation 

coefficient between calving course and 

Charolaise cows BCS before calving 

was calculated by Spearman method. 


The ratio of different calving categories 

depending on cow body weight before 

calving was presented in Table 1. Significant 

influence (P ≤ 0.01) of cow body 

weight on calving quality was noticed. 

Along with cow body weight increase the 

percentage of assisted deliveries (human 

help or mechanical means use) decreased. 

In the group of the lightest cows the share 

of difficult calving amounted to 33.4%, 

whereas in the group of the heaviest ones 

it was only 15.4%. The results obtained 

are similar to presented by other authors 

(Fitzhugh, 1978; Morris, Wilton, 1976; 

Notter et al., 1979), who proved, that 

the heavier cows have usually less problems 

with calvings. However, in other 

authors’ research the influence of cow 

body weight on delivery quality was not 

so evident (Andersen, 1978; Dickerson, 

1978; Morris, Wilton, 1977). 

According to those experiments the 

optimal cow body weight and measurements 

depend mainly on production 

system, and the benefits resulting from 

the lower frequency of difficult calvings 

in big calibre and higher weight cows 

could be equalize by the higher costs of 

their basic maintenance requirements. 

TABLE 1. Calving course type evaluation depending on cow body weight before calving 

Calving course type 

Cow body weight (kg) 

N/% 

N 

easy 

T 

difficult 

Total 

≤ 500 

N 8 4 12 

% 66.6 33.4 100.0 


N 12 4 16 

% 75.0 25.0 100.0 


N 18 6 24 

% 75.0 25.0 100.0 


N 12 4 16 

% 75.0 25.0 100.0 

> 800 

N 11 2 13 

% 84.6 15.4 100.0 

Total 

N 61 20 81 

% 75.3 24.7 100.0 

Significance of differences χ 2 = 0.45 P ≤ 0.01

Infl uence of cow body weight and condition score... 195 

Calving course type evaluation depending 

on cow condition before calving was 

presented in Table 2. Statistically significant 

(P ≤ 0.01) influence of BCS of 

Charolaise cows before Calving on the 

delivery quality was noticed. All of the 

cows with BCS before calving assessed 

as “bad” (notes 1, 2, 3) had problems at 

calving and required farmer’s help or 

mechanical means use. Similarly, the 

majority (71.4%) of cows with BCS notes 

8, 9 (“more than enough”) also required 


BCS notes 4, 5, 6, 7 were proved as the 

optimal (88.2%. of calvings were examined 

as “suitable”). 

Many authors (Meijering, 1984; 

Nogalski, 2004a; Przysucha et al., 2005; 

Weiher et al., 1992) emphasized the close 

association of cow BCS with its delivery 

quality. BCS evaluated as “more than 

enough” causes over-fattening of pelvic 

area and cow decreases the readiness to 

take delivery efforts, which results in difficult 

calving frequency increase (Nogalski 

,2004b; Ruciński, 1998). Pogorzelska 

and Szarek (2002) reported, that cows, 

and especially heifers, of “more than 

enough” BCS in round-delivery period 

usually had assisted or even difficult 

deliveries. It should be also noticed, that 

cows of different BCS before calving 

had the longer service period before the 

next pregnancy (Corah, 1989; Whitman 

et al., 1975). In spite of the appropriate 

protein and energy level in the feeding 

ration, providing of suitable minerals 

and vitamins is also very important for 

calving course. Their shortage could 

be one of the reasons of disorders and 

complications during delivery as well 

as higher mortality of newborn calves 

(Pogorzelska et al., 1998; Pogorzelska, 

Szarek, 2002). Periodic feedstuff shortages, 

improper ration balance (protein 

to energy ration) as well as metabolic 

diseases are the most common reasons 

of bad BCS of the cow, and in effect – 

difficult deliveries increase. The calving 

course of cows, and especially heifers, 

is negatively influenced not only by too 

good, but also by too poor condition 

(Nogalski, 2004b; Philipsson, 1976). 

Correlation coefficient between calving 

course and Charolaise cows BCS 

calculated in presented study was low 

(r = –0.19), but negatively significantly 

correlated with their condition score. 

TABLE 2. Calving course type evaluation depending on cow condition before calving 

Calving course type 

Cow condition before calving N/% 

N 

easy 

T 

difficult 

Total 

Bad 

N 0 7 7 

% 0.0 100.0 100.0 

Good 

N 59 8 67 

% 88.2 11.8 100.0 

Too good 

N 2 5 7 

% 28.6 71.4 100.0 

Total 

N 61 20 81 

% 75.3 24.7 100.0 

Significance of differences χ 2 = 50.24 P ≤ 0.01


CONCLUSIONS 

Summarizing, it should be stated, that 

the optimal BCS of cows before calving 

should be 5, 6 and 7 points (according to 

Richards et al. (1986) scale), when the 

majority of deliveries was assessed as 

easy. 

All of the cows with BCS before calving 

assessed as “bad” (notes 1, 2, 3) had problems 

at calving and required farmer’s help 

or mechanical means use. Similarly, the 

majority (71.4%) of cows with BCS notes 

8, 9 (“more than enough”) also required 


BCS notes 4, 5, 6, 7 were proved as the 

optimal (88.2%. of calvings were examined 

as “suitable”). 

Correlation coefficient between calving 

course and Charolaise cows BCS 

calculated in presented study was low 

(r = –0.19), but negatively significantly 

correlated with their condition score. 

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with special reference to growth and 

feed conversion in cattle. Anim. Prod., 27, 




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86, 3745–3755. 

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ALVES D.M., 1992: Patterns of stillbirth and 

dystocia in Ontario cow-calf herds. Canad. J. 

Vet. Res., 56, 47–55. 

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cattle – A review of causes, relations and implications. 

Livest. Prod. Sci., 11, 143. 


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in Holstein cattle in the United States. 

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cows: A review. Can. Anim. Sci., 56: 613–647. 


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of cows. A review. Anim. Breed. Abstr., 45, 


NIX J.M., SPITZER J.C., GRIMES L.W., 

PLYLER B.B., 1998: A retrospective analysis 

of factors contributing to calf mortality and 

dystocia in beef cattle. Theriogenology, 49, 


NOGALSKI Z., 2003: Relations between the course 

of parturition, body weights and measurements 

of Holstein-Friesian calves. Czech J. Anim. 

Sci., 48, 2, 51–59. 

NOGALSKI Z., 2004a: Tempo wzrostu jałówek 


porodu. Zesz. Nauk. Prz. Hod. 74, 165– 


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jakości porodu jałówek i krów czarno-białych. 

Rozpr. i Monogr., 101, UWM 

Olsztyn. 

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G.E., 1979: Simulated efficiency of beef pro-

Infl uence of cow body weight and condition score... 197 

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i rozwój importowanego z Francji 

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Wrocław, 336, 143–148. 





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P., ZDZIARSKI K., 2005: Wpływ wybranych 

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M.B., 1986: Effect of varying levels of postpartum 

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Streszczenie: Wpływ masy ciała i kondycji krów 

rasy charolaise przed ocieleniem na rodzaj porodu. 

Celem badań było określenie wpływu masy 

ciała i kondycji przed ocieleniem krów rasy charolaise, 

jednej z najbardziej popularnej rasy bydła 

mięsnego w Polsce, na rodzaj porodu. Badaniami 

objęto 81 czystorasowych krów rasy charolaise 

w Polsce. Kondycję w 9-punktowej skali 

Richardsa oceniano bezpośrednio przed planowanym 

terminem porodu. Przyjęto następujący 

system oceny: 1 – zła (noty 1, 2, 3), 2 – odpowiednia 

(noty 4, 5, 6, 7), 3 – zbyt dobra (noty 8, 

9). Wszystkie oceniane zwierzęta były dodatkowo 

ważone. Oceniano przebieg porodu badanych 

krów poprzez zakwalifikowanie go do jednej 

z następujących kategorii: N – łatwy, odbyty siłami 

natury, bez pomocy człowieka, T – trudny, 

z pomocą człowieka lub środków mechanicznych. 

Analizowano rozkłady ocen rodzaju porodu 

krów rasy charolaise w zależności od przedziału 

masy ciała i kondycji krowy przed ocieleniem. 

Współczynnik korelacji między oceną rodzaju 

porodu a kondycją krów rasy charolaise w okresie 

ocielenia był niski (r = –0,19), lecz statystycznie 

istotny. Najwięcej trudnych ocieleń zanotowano 

w grupie krów o masie ciała nie przekraczającej 

500 kg (33,4%). Wraz ze wzrostem masy ciała 

krowy malał odsetek porodów malał odsetek 

porodów wymagających pomocy człowieka lub 

użycia środków mechanicznych. Za optymalne 

oceny kondycji krów przed ocieleniem w 9-stopniowej 

skali Richardsa [24] należy uznać oceny 

5, 6 i 7 pkt., przy których znaczna większość porodów 

miała przebieg łatwy, a wszystkie krowy, 

których kondycję przed porodem oceniono na 1, 

2, 3 punkty miały problemy z ocieleniem i wymagały 

pomocy człowieka. 





Poland 





The influence of chosen factors on calving course in commercial 

crossing of black and white cows with blonde d’aquitaine bulls 

JAN SLÓSARZ, TOMASZ PRZYSUCHA, HENRYK GRODZKI 


Abstract: The infl uence of chosen factors on calving 

course in commercial crossing of black and 

white cows with blonde d’aquitaine bulls. The aim 

of presented study was to indicate the influence 

of chosen factors on calving course in commercial 

crossing of black and white cows with blonde 

d’aquitaine bulls. The calving number did not influenced 

the calving course, but the most difficult 

deliveries were noticed for the heifers and cows 

delivered the second calf. All the cows examined 

as “bad” and “suitable” according to the condition 

score were assisted during delivery. The influence 

of calf body weight at birth on calving course was 

not proved, but the most difficult calvings were 

observed when the birth weight was higher than 

40 kg. The obtained results show the extraordinary 

usefulness of blonde d’aquitaine for commercial 


Key words: commercial crossing, calving course, 

blonde d’aquitaine. 

INTRODUCTION 

At the production conditions of the majority 

of European countries, where milk 

production is the main goal, commercial 

crossing of dairy cows with specialized 

beef bulls is and would be the main way 

of improvement of quantity and quality 

of beef production. 

It especially concerns Poland, where 

the population of purebred beef cows 

amounts to only about 1 percent of the 

total cow population. In such case the 

commercial crossing of 20–30% of dairy 

cows with specialized beef bulls would 

be a great chance to produce good quality 

crossbred calves. 

Many authors dealing with beef production 

emphasize the importance of 

calving course influencing beef production 

profitability. Difficult deliveries 

cause the meaningful financial losses 

due to the high ratio of stillborn calves, 

higher labour needs, veterinary costs, 

worse reproduction indices etc. 

It was proved by many authors, that 

the problem of difficult calvings in the 

commercial crossing is comparable or 

even lower than that in purebred herds 

of Holstein cows, where the ratio of difficult 

deliveries amounts to about 15% in 

heifers and about 8–10% in older cows. 

The aim of presented study was to indicate 

the influence of chosen factors like 

cow age, calving number, cow BCS, calf 

sex and body weight at birth on calving 

course in commercial crossing of black 

and white cows with blonde d’aquitaine 

bulls. 

Blonde d’aquitaine breed as the paternal 

component in commercial crossing 

with dairy cows was described in Table 1 

(Grodzki (red.), 2009).


TABLE 1. Blonde d’aquitaine bulls in commercial crossing with dairy cows 


Crossbred coat colour 






Meat quality 


Remarks 

– high 



– from dark bronze to black 

– high (35–45 kg) 

– majority of self-calvings 

– if possible deliveries should be monitored 

– low percentage of stillbirths and early mortality 

– very good, high daily body weight gains, good feedstuff 

utilization, excellent muscularity, bulging, wide muscles 




– heifers and cows of smaller calibre could be used 

– rossbreds need some better husbandry conditions than the 



Data from “Cow calving course sheet” 

especially prepared by the field technicians 

from Mazovian Center for Breeding 

& Reproduction Co Ltd. (Mazowieckie 

Centrum Hodowli i Rozrodu Zwierząt 

Sp. z o.o.) in Łowicz constituted the material 

for investigation. They concerned 

105 deliveries of black and white cows 

serviced with blonde d’aquitaine bulls. 

The 105 deliveries were divided into the 

following groups: (1) easy, not assisted, 

(2) difficult, (3) very difficult, (4) cessarian 

section. 

Calving course dependences on: cow 

age, calving number (2, 3, 4, 5, ...), cow 

BCS (1 – too good, 2 – suitable, 3 – bad), 

calf sex (1 – heifer-calf, 2 – bull-calf), 

calf body weight at birth (kg) were 

assessed by Pearson χ 2 test using SPSS 

ver. 10.0 pl sofware. 



on calving number was showed. There 

was no statistically significant influence 

of calving number on delivery course, but 

more difficult calvings were observed in 

the group of heifers and young cows 

giving birth for the second time. 

Publications presented by many 

authors (Philipsson, 1976a; Philipsson, 

1976b; Sieber et al., 1989; Nogalski, 

Klupczyński, 1999; Krzywda et al., 2002; 

Albera et al., 2004; Przysucha et al., 

2005b; Przysucha et al., 2006) proved, 

that cow age and connected with it calving 

number highly influenced difficult 

calvings frequency. Difficult calving 

occurred much more often in primiparous 

cows than in multiparous ones. The 

main reason of delivery problems in 

primiparous cows is insufficient pelvic 

area (Wrona et al., 2001). Such problems 

also often take place in cows giving birth 

for the second time. It is connected with 

the smallest body measurements and 

not complete delivery of the sceleton of 

younger cows (Berger, 1994; Meyer et 

al., 2000). The most frequent reason of 

delivery problems in primiparous cows is

The infl uence of chosen factors on calving course... 201 

not sufficient development of the reproductive 

duct (Philipsson, 1976c; Nogalski, 

2004a; Nogalski, 2004c; Przysucha 

et al., 2005a; Przysucha et al., 2005b). 

Cows delivering for 4–5 time usually 

have slight problems during delivery. 

Breeders, who decided to start the reproductive 

use of beef breed heifers in the 

age of 15 month (the first delivery in the 

age of 2 years) must consider 3–4 time 

higher risk of difficult calving occurrence 

than in case of heifers calving in the age 

of 3 years. 


depending on cow BCS. All the cows, 

which BCS was described as “bad” (3) 

needed assistance during the delivery. 

According to Nogalski (2004b) too good 

BCS increase delivery difficult cases. 

Study provided by Pogorzelska and Szarek 

(2002) confirmed that tendention. 


on calf body weight at birth was 

shown. It was a surprise, that delivery 

course was not significantly influenced 

by calf body weight at birth, but the 

most deliveries needing assistance were 

when the calf body weight at birth was 

over 40 kg. Obtained results are confirmed 

by many authors (Colburn et al., 

1997; Pogorzelska et al., 1999; Stąporek, 

Ziemiński, 2000; Nogalski, 2002). 


depending on calf sex. Surprisingly statistically 

significant influence of that factor 

on delivery course was not observed. Calf 

TABLE 2. Calving course ratio depending on calving number 

Trait 

Calving number 

Average 

χ2 = 0.030, not significant 

1 and 2 

≥ 3 

N 


% easy difficult total 

N 19 2 21 

% 90.5 9.5 100.0 

N 77 7 84 

% 91.7 8.3 100.0 

N 96 9 105 

% 91.4 8.6 100.0 

TABLE 3. Calving course ratio depending on cow BCS 

Trait 

Cow BCS 

Average 

χ 2 = 67.893, P ≤ 0.01 

1 

2 

3 

N 



N 27 1 28 

% 96.4 3.6 100.0 

N 69 2 71 

% 97.2 2.8 100.0 

N 0 6 6 

% 0.0 100.0 100.0 

N 96 9 105 

% 91.4 8.6 100.0


TABLE 4. Calving course ratio depending on calf body weight at birth 

Trait 

Calf body weight 

at birth 

(kg) 

Average 

χ 2 = 2.405, not significant 

≤ 35 


> 40 

TABLE 5. Calving course ratio depending on calf sex 

Trait 

Calf sex 

Average 

χ 2 = 0.143, not significant 

♀ 

♂ 

N 



N 17 1 18 

% 94.4 5.6 100.0 

N 40 2 42 

% 95.2 4.8 100.0 

N 38 6 44 

% 86.4 13.6 100.0 

N 95 9 104 

% 91.3 8.7 100.0 

N 



N 47 5 52 

% 90.4 9.6 100.0 

N 49 4 53 

% 92.5 7.5 100.0 

N 96 9 105 

% 91.4 8.6 100.0 

sex is described among the few most 

important factors influencing delivery 

quality. Lower body weight at birth of 

heifer calves decrease cases of assisted 

calvings (Malinowski et al., 1983; Brzozowski, 

1985; Bellows et al., 1990; 

Przysucha et al., 2005a; Przysucha et al., 

2005b). 

CONCLUSIONS 

Summarizing it should be stated, that: 

1. The calving number did not influenced 

the calving course, but the most difficult 

deliveries were noticed for the 

heifers and cows delivered the second 

calf. 

2. All the cows examined in BCS scale as 

“bad” (3) and “suitable” (2) were assisted 

during delivery. 

3. The influence of calf body weight 

at birth on calving course was not 

proved, but the most difficult calvings 

were observed when the birth weight 

was higher than 40 kg. 

4. The obtained results show the extraordinary 

usefulness of blonde d’aquitaine 

for commercial crossing with the dairy 

cows. 

REFERENCES 

ALBERA A., CARNIER P., GROEN A.F., 2004: 

Definition of a breeding goal for the Piemontese 

breed: economic and biological values and 

their sensitivity to production circumstances. 

Livest. Prod. Sci. 89, 66–77. 





34, 941–954.

The infl uence of chosen factors on calving course... 203 





BRZOZOWSKI P., 1985: Wstępne obserwacje 


Wet. 3, 174–176. 

COLBURN J., DEUTSCHER H.G., NIELSEN 

K.M., ADAMS C.D., 1997: Effects of sire, dam 

traits, calf traits and environment on dystocia 

and subsequent reproduction of two-year-old 

heifers. J. Anim. Sci. 75, 1452–1460. 

GRODZKI H. (red.), 2009: Chów bydła mięsnego. 

Praca zbiorowa. Wielkopolskie Wydawnictwo 

Rolnicze, Poznań, 1–184. 




w Polsce. Rocz. Nauk. Zootech. Supl., 15, 209–212. 


MURAWSKI J., WRONA Z., ORLIK S., 




2000: Interactions among factors affecting 

stillbirth in Holstein cattle in the United States. 


NOGALSKI Z., 2002: Effect of selected factors 

on the course of parturition in holstein-fresian 

heifers. Journal of Polish Agricultural Universities, 

Animal Husbandry 5, 2 http://www. 

ejpau.media.pl/series/volume5/issue2/animal/ 

art-03.html 

NOGALSKI Z., 2004a: Wpływ wieku przy pierwszym 

wycieleniu na efektywność użytkowania 

krów rasy holsztyńsko-fryzyjskiej. Zesz. Nauk. 

Prz. Hod. 72, 1, 77–83. 

NOGALSKI Z., 2004b: Tempo wzrostu jałówek 


porodu. Zesz. Nauk. Prz. Hod. 74, 165–173. 

NOGALSKI Z., 2004c: Zootechniczne uwarunkowania 

jakości porodu jałówek i krów czarnobiałych. 

Rozpr. i Monogr. 101, UWM Olsztyn. 





PHILIPSSON J., 1976a: Studies on calving difficulty, 


cattle breeds. VI. Effects of crossbreeding. Acta 

Agric. Scand. 27, 58–64. 



cattle breeds. V. Effects of calving performance 

and stillbirth in Swedish Friesian heifers on productivity 

in the subsequent lactation. Acta Agric. 

Scand. 26, 230–234. 

PHILIPSSON J., 1976c: Studies on calving difficulty, 


cattle breeds. II. Effects on Non-genetic factors. 


POGORZELSKA J., KIJAK Z., TARCZYŃSKI 

R., 1999: Analiza użytkowania rozpłodowego 

i wyniki odchowu potomstwa rasy hereford 

importowanego z Danii. Zesz. Nauk. Prz. Hod. 










rasy limousin. Med. Wet. 61 (9), 1036–1038. 


NAŁĘCZ-TARWACKA T., 2006: Przebieg 

porodów krów włoskiej rasy Piemontese w zależności 

od masy krowy, kolejności i sezonu 

ocielenia oraz płci i masy cielęcia. Acta Sci. 

Pol. Zootech. 52, 87–94. 


2005b: Rodzaj porodów krów mięsnych ras brytyjskich 

w zależności od masy krowy, kolejności 

ocielenia oraz płci i masy cielęcia. Roczniki 

Naukowe PTZ, 1, 1, 145–150. 


1989: Effects of body measurements and 

weight on calf size and calving difficulty of 

Holsteins. J. Dairy Sci. 72, 9, 2402–2410. 

STĄPOREK K., ZIEMIŃSKI R., 2000: Hodowla 

bydła rasy limousine w zachodniej Polsce. 

Przegląd Hodowlany 7, 3–5. 

WRONA Z., KRZYŻANOWSKI J., KRAKOW- 

SKI L., ŹREBIEC G., 2001: Przebieg porodów 

u krzyżówek mięsnych bydła rasy polskiej 

czarno-białej i piemonckiej. Med. Wet. 57, 6, 



przebieg porodów w krzyżowaniu towarowym krów 

cb z buhajami rasy blonde d’aquitaine. Celem


prezentowanej pracy było określenie wpływu 

wybranych czynników, takich jak: wiek krowy, 

kolejność ocielenia, kondycja krowy, płeć cielęcia 

oraz masa cielęcia przy urodzeniu, na przebieg porodów 

w krzyżowaniu towarowym krów cb z buhajami 

rasy blonde d’aquitane. Nie stwierdzono 

statystycznie istotnego wpływu numeru ocielenia 

na przebieg porodu, ale więcej trudnych porodów 

było w grupie pierwiastek i krów cielących się 

po raz drugi. Wszystkie krowy, których kondycję 

oceniono jako „dostateczna” i „zła” wymagały 

pomocy przy porodzie. Nie stwierdzono istotnego 

wpływu masy ciała cielęcia przy urodzeniu na 

rodzaj porodu, ale najwięcej trudnych porodów, 

wymagających asysty hodowcy, zaobserwowano 

przy masie cielęcia przekraczającej 40 kg. Nie 

stwierdzono statystycznie istotnego wpływu badanego 

czynnika na rodzaj porodu. Uzyskane w prezentowanej 

pracy wyniki potwierdzają wybitną 

przydatność rasy blonde d’aquitane do krzyżowania 

towarowego z krowami mlecznymi. 





Poland 





The level of inbreeding in three subspecies of leopard 

(Panthera pardus) 

TOMASZ STERNICKI 1 , KATARZYNA GÓRAL 2 , WANDA OLECH 2 , 

TOMASZ SZWACZKOWSKI 1 

1 

Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding, University of Life Sciences Poznań 

2 


Abstract: The level of inbreeding in three subspecies 

of leopard (Panthera pardus). The estimation 

of inbreeding level is one of the most important 

task in captive breeding. The rising of inbreeding 

coefficient can caused reduction of traits value. It 

caused deterioration of trait connected with reproduction 

and immunity. The aim of this paper was 

to estimate the level of inbreeding coefficient and 

its changes in time within three leopard Panthera 

pardus captive populations: Panthera pardus japonensis, 

Panthera pardus saxicolor and Panthera 

pardus orientalis. All subspecies are included in 

European Endangered Species Programme (EEP). 

The material for analysis was pedigree data taken 

from the ISIS data base covered information about 

animals born between year 1915 and 2003. The 

inbreeding coefficient was calculated using additive 

matrix method. In the first years (until 1979) 

average inbreeding was on the high level reaching 

the 0.25. Specimens born in the last period (2001– 

–2003) have smaller inbreeding average on the 

level 0.043. The percentage of inbred specimens 

within subspecies was equal to: 13.1% (japonensis), 

24.7% (orientalis) and 28.6% (saxicolor). 

Key words: captive population, inbreeding coefficient. 

INTRODUCTION 

In almost every small size population any 

kind of selection, natural or artificial one, 

is connected with the risk of the raising 

homozygosity and, in consequence, the 

expression of lethal and semilethal alleles 

(Laikre et al., 1996). Genes identical by 

the origin are duplicates of given allele 

(Nowicki, 1985) from one or more 

common ancestors. For estimating genetic 

similarity caused by identical alleles 

between two individuals the relationship 

coefficient is used, but to measure the 

probability of homozygosity of one specimen 

the inbreed coefficient is applied. 

Genetic similarity is being measured 

with reference to the average level of the 

homozygosity in the population (Gibson, 

Van Arendonk, 1998). Calculating the 

inbreeding coefficient as probability of 

appearing identical alleles lets determine 

the level of rising homozygosity within 

the population. However this method 

approach is closely associated with the 

pedigree data accessibility and its accuracy. 

In case that probant’s parents are 

unknown, the inbreeding coefficient is 

assumed to be zero (Leroy et al., 2005). In 

some cases an average level of inbreeding 

can be estimated to all population. 

Three main approaches of estimating 

the rate of inbreeding are known: methods 

based on a pedigree data (Wright, 1922; 

Quaas, 1976), methods based on the 

effective population size (Wright, 1931)

206 T. Sternicki et al. 

and measurements of the genetic polymorphism 

on the molecular level (Zhu et 

al., 1996; Keller et al., 2001). 

However methods using pedigree data 

could be divided into two approaches. 

First of them is searching the pedigree 

backwards usually reduces the number of 

included generations and in consequence 

some common ancestor are not considered 

(Olech, 2003). The second using 

relatives additive matrix with lines and 

columns matching to individuals (Quaas, 

1976) is starting from the beginning of 

pedigree, and taking into account all 

relation within the population. Another 

approach is estimating the fragmentary 

inbreeding coefficient (Hedrick, 1987), 

understood as the probability that the 

individual is a homozygote in terms of 

the given set of alleles with reference 

to the selected ancestor. Calculating the 

fragmentary inbred rate it is being used 

in case of specimens, about which we 

have pedigree detailed information or 

when it is appearing more than one type 

inbreeding of population (e.g. on the 

lines). This method is being used in all 

large populations (Hedrick, 1987). 

In case of conservation breeding calculations 

being based on a relating additive 

matrix are wildly applicated (Boyce, 

1983; Olech, 2003). Key element in the 

protection of endangered populations is 

rational selection with special consideration 

to the inbred monitoring. Mating 

animals within closed population can 

lead to inbreeding depression (Frankham, 

1997; Meagher et al., 2000; Sternicki et al., 

2003). The aim of this paper was to estimate 

the level of inbreeding coefficient 

and its changes in time for three leopard 

Panthera pardus captive populations. 

Those populations represent subspecies: 

Panthera pardus japonensis (569 specimens), 

Panthera pardus saxicolor (528 

specimens) and Panthera pardus orientalis 

(490 specimens). Those populations 

are the most numerous and all participated 

in European Endangered Species Programme 

(EEP). Fourth leopard’ subspecies 

participating in EEP Panthera pardus 

kotiya was excluded from analyses due 

to incomplete pedigree data, above 23% 

(Sternicki, 2006). 


The material was pedigree data taken from 

the data ISIS base (International Species 

Information System) containing information 

about leopards born between year 

1915 and 2003 from 37 countries. Due 

to small number of observations per year 

and assumed changes of environmental 

conditions in time as well as management 

methods, three years periods were distinguished. 

For all individual the inbreeding 

coefficient was calculated using method 

presented by Quass (1976). Specimens 

with unknown parents were treated as 

non-inbred. 

Information about the analyzed populations 

is shown in Table 1. The largest 

number of specimens with unknown 

parents was in the first years of breeding 

before 1968 (above 54%) and the lowest 

was in the period 1989–1991 (12.56 %) 

and 2001–2003 (10.84%). 

In analyzed population 158 individuals 

with unknown parent were recorded. 

The most completed data was for the 

saxicolor subspecies (97.54%). The 

incompleteness of the information about 

ancestors in all population is c.a. 10%. 

This way the obtained information was 

note as a table. Every record contained

The level of inbreeding in three subspecies of leopard... 207 

TABLE 1. Population size and number of specimens with incomplete pedigree data 

Subspecies 

Number 

of specimens 

Number of specimens with 

unknown ancestors 

Percent of specimens with 

unknown ancestors 

Panthera pardus 

japonensis 569 83 14.59 


orientalis 490 62 12.65 


saxicolor 528 13 2.46 

the information about single specimen. 

Animals were sorted according the birth 

data and numbered. The collected data 

about every animal included the number 

of each animal, its father and mother, the 

sex (1 – male, 2 – female, 3 – specimens 

with the unknown sex). After making the 

mentioned editions and renumbering, the 

inbreeding coefficient was calculated 

using additive matrix (Henderson, 1988; 

Quass, 1979). The additive matrix is a 

table of size n × n (where n is a number of 

specimens) with possibility to calculate 

relation between all animals. Inbreeding 

coefficient is calculated on the basis 

diagonal elements (a ii ). 


In result a great differences of the 

inbreeding level was found as well as 

in proportion of inbred to non-inbred 

animals within every subspecies, periods 

of the birth and the sex (Figures 1–2, 

Tables 2–3). In analyzed period of time 

an increasing number of specimens was 

observed. From the total 1584 specimens, 

347 have non-zero inbred rate (ca 

22%). Table 2 shows the distribution of 

inbreeding coefficient within all populations. 

The most numerous group in Table 2 

(144 specimens) were animals with the 

TABLE 2. The distribution of inbreeding coefficient 

in all subspecies 

Value of inbreeding 

coefficient 

Number 


0 1240 

0.001–0.022 15 

0.023–0.040 20 

0.041–0.061 32 

0.062–0.081 40 

0.082–0.102 36 

0.103–0.240 39 

0.241–0.265 144 

0.266–0.375 21 

inbred value around 0.25. The highest 

level of inbreeding was 0.375 and in last 

group only 21 specimens were found. 

Almost half of inbred animals have 

coefficient below 10%. On Figure 1 the 

number of inbred and non-inbred animals 

in analyses periods is presented. On the 

beginning of leopard breeding in zoological 

gardens an increasing number of 

inbred specimens is noticed. It was caused 

(among others) with low level of animal 

exchange between zoological gardens, 

and in consequence the mating between 

related animals. Moreover it is correlating 

with more complete pedigree data. 

In the last periods a decrease of population 

size as well as number of inbred 

specimen were observed. The largest


180 

160 

number of specimens 

number of inbreed specimens 

140 

number of specimens 

120 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 


0,3 

0,25 

all population 

only inbreed animals 

inbreed coefficient 

0,2 

0,15 

0,1 

0,05 

0 

natal periods 

FIGURE 2. The average inbreeding level in years for analyzed population of the leopard 

TABLE 3. The size of the leopard’s population and the level of inbred divided into sex groups 

Number 


Percent of inbred 

specimens 

Inbred level 

Sex N N F N F [%] 

Male 705 130 18.44 

Female 733 190 25.92 

Unknown 149 27 18.12 

F N 

(sd) 

0.0283 

(0.0759) 

0.0442 

(0.0896) 

0.0311 

(0.0799) 

F F 

(sd) 

0.1537 

(0.1096) 

0.1704 

(0.0973) 

0.1714 

(0.1059) 

Explanations: N – number of all specimens. N F – number of inbred specimens. N F – percent of inbred 

specimens. F N – average inbred rate of all individuals. F F – average inbred rate of inbred specimens. 

on the level 0.043. This is probably result 

of well choice of pairs for breeding. In 

Table 3 there are presented detailed information 

about inbred level and number 

of animals divided into sexes. It is possible 

to notice that larger part of females 

(25.92%) than males (18.44) is inbred as 

well there is greater inbreeding level for 

females. The average inbreeding coefficient 

for all females equals to 0.0442 than 

for males is almost two times smaller 

0.0283. The same relation is for inbred 

animals (17.04% females and 15.37% 

males). 

In summary average inbred level 

within the leopard’s population was equal 

to 3.6% however mean value for inbred 

animals was high on the level 18.6%. On


Figure 3 the number of inbred specimens 

and total number of animals belonging to 

each subspecies were presented. 

The percentage of inbred specimens 

within subspecies was equal to: 13.1% 

(japonensis), 24.7% (orientalis) and 

28.6% (saxicolor). It is important to point 

that almost complete information about 

ancestors in this last group undoubtedly 

influenced for getting more accurate 

estimating the inbreed coefficient. The 

mean inbred values for each subspecies 

are presented in Table 4. For saxicolor 

subspecies the average inbred level was 

the highest and the percentage of inbred 

specimens was also the highest (28.6%) 

and the lowest incompleteness of pedigree 

(2.46%). Number of inbred specimens 

in this population is the highest 

compared with other subspecies. In this 

group the average inbred level was estimated 

as 0.05. 

The lowest inbred rate for inbred 

animals was found for the orientalis 

subspecies (0.11) and saxicolor (0.178). 

It could be pointed that low level was 

caused trough optimal choices of animals 

for matings. Population of orientalis 

leopard kept in zoological gardens is 

considerably larger than the wild living 

herds estimated on the level of only 

several dozen of specimens. 

The increase of inbreeding within 

free living population might be caused 

number of speciments 

600 

500 

400 

300 

200 

100 

number of all specimens 

number of inbreed specimens 

0 

japonensis orientalis saxicolor 

leopard's subspecies 

FIGURE 3. The number of inbred individuals in analyzed leopard’s subspecies 

TABLE 4. The level of inbred in analyzed leopard’s subspecies 

Subspecies N F [%] 


japonensis 


orientalis 


saxicolor 

13.10 

24.69 

28.60 

F N 

(sd) 

0.029 

(0.080) 

0.027 

(0.064) 

0.050 

(0.099) 

F F 

(sd) 

0.228 

(0.062) 

0.111 

(0.086) 

0.176 

(0.109) 

N X [%] 

14.59 

12.65 

Explanations: N F – percent of inbred specimens, F N – average inbred rate of all individuals, F F – average 

inbred rate of inbred specimens, N X – percentage of incomplete pedigree 

2.46


by natural barriers making free migrations 

impossible. Such studies about this 

relation were done by De Boere’ (1995) 

and Elridge’ et al. (1999) who found the 

high level of inbreeding among lizards 

living on separate islands or among elephant 

seals on chosen habitats. as well 

as kangaroos living in separated populations. 

The is lack of scientific information 

about the level of inbred in free 

living leopard population. But. it is 

obvious that in some isolated reserves high 

inbred level could be found (Miththapala 

et al., 1996). According to those authors 

among the leopard population living in 

Kosrov reserve the high inbreeding was 

noted and is increasing about 3% for 

every next generation. 

Generally results achieved at this work 

are corresponding with studies concerning 

other species held in zoological gardens. 

For the population of the Arabic 

oryx Oryx leucoryx average inbreed 

level was equal to 0.042. however for 

the Milu deer Elaphurus davidianus 

this coefficient is smaller (0.024–0.025) 

(Szablewski, 2003; Sternicki, 2002). 

Decrease of this coefficient was also 

recorded in these populations in time. It 

might be explained with implementation 

of breeding programs. 

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Streszczenie: Poziom inbredu u trzech podgatunków 

lamparta (Panthera pardus). Szacowanie 

poziomu inbredu jest bardzo ważną częścią hodowli 

populacji zwierząt utrzymywanych w niewoli. 

Wzrastający współczynnik inbredu objawia 

się jako depresja inbredowa. Jest odpowiedzialna 

za redukcję cech związanych z rozrodem i odpornością. 

Celem tych badań było oszacowanie 

poziomu inbredu i jego zmian w czasie wśród 

trzech podgatunków lamparta objętych programem 

EEP (Panthera pardus japonensis, Panthera 

pardus saxicolor, Panthera pardus orientalis). 

Materiał stanowiły dane rodowodowe dotyczące 

osobników urodzonych w latach 1915–2003, skatalogowane 

w bazie ISIS. Współczynnik inbredu 

oszacowano na podstawie macierzy spokrewnień 

addytywnych. W pierwszych analizowanych latach 

(do 1979 roku) średni współczynnik inbredu 

osiągał wysoką wartość 0,25. Osobniki urodzone 

w latach 2001–2003 charakteryzowały się znacznie 

niższą wartością parametru 0.043. Procent 

zwierząt zinbredowanych w obrębie każdego 

podgatunku wynosił 13,1% (japonensis), 24.7% 

(orientalis) and 28,6% (saxicolor). 



Tomasz Sternicki, Tomasz Szwaczkowski 

Katedra Genetyki i Podstaw Hodowli Zwierząt 

Wydział Biologii i Hodowli Zwierząt 

Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy w Poznaniu 

ul. Wołyńska 33, 60-635 Poznań 

Poland 

tuo@wp.pl 

Katarzyna Góral, Wanda Olech 




Poland




The influence of different oxygen and nitrogen concentrations 

on the speed of waking up after CO 2 anesthesia and on the time 

of starting egg-laying by the artificially inseminated queen bees 

IZABELA WOJCIECHOWSKA 1 , ZYGMUNT JASIŃSKI 2 , IRENA KUBICA 3 

1 

Division of Zoology, Department of Biology of the Animals Environment, Warsaw University of Life 

Sciences – SGGW 

2 

Bee Division, Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW 

3 

Department of Zoology, University of Technology and Life Sciences in Bydgoszcz 

Abstract: The infl uence of different oxygen and 

nitrogen concentrations on the speed of waking 

up after CO 2 anesthesia and on the time of starting 

egg-laying by the artifi cially inseminated 

queen bees. This work was carried out in the Bee 

Division of Warsaw University of Life Science in 

the 2006 bee season. The purpose of this research 

was to find factor that speeds up egg-laying by the 

artificially inseminated queen bees (Apis mellifera 

carnica L). In the research 82 queen bees were 

used which were inseminated with a single semen 

dose of 8 mm 3 . All queen bees were anaesthetized 

with CO 2 . Three groups where considered: 1) control 

– bees were waken up in the atmosphere, 2) 

– bees were waken up in the air which contained 

15% O 2 and 85% N 2 , 3) – bees were waken up 

from anesthesia in the air with 35% O 2 and 65% 

N 2 . Change of the O 2 content in air, which was 

used for waking up queen bees from anesthesia, 

caused faster waking up (on average about 8 minutes). 

However, the change of O 2 content in air 

didn’t cause significant changes in the time of 

egg-laying in comparison to control group. 

Key words: queen bee, insemination, egg-laying, 

oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide. 

INTRODUCTION 

People have long been trying to influence 

the parents’ selection in bees. First tests 

of queen bees and the drones matching 

were undertaken in XVIII century. 

In USA Watson (1927) executed first 

successful test insemination with a help 

of syringe stocked in glass needle, to 

which he took semen from a drone. 

From this first successful test of the bee 

artificial insemination began an effective 

period of improvement of queen bees 

artificial insemination. Animals’ artificial 

insemination contributed to obtainment 

in farming considerable progress. It is the 

only road of individual selection of paternal 

side and of the mother side in bees. 

We can obtain bees thoroughbred, create 

breeding lines and strengthen bees profitable 

features. 

The artificial insemination manipulation 

is not perfect. The late beginning of 

lying eggs by queens is a main defect of 

insemination in comparison to mothers 

naturally inseminated, which egg-laying 

begin in only several days after mating 

flight. Latencies periods at queens artificially 

inseminated are different and it 

can last from several to tens days. Extension 

of expected time of beginning lying

214 I. Wojciechowska, Z. Jasiński, I. Kubica 

eggs by inseminated queens is the cause 

of weakening the families and reduces 

their productivity. Queens inseminated 

are exchanged more often than mother 

naturally inseminated, which is the cause 

of large economic losses. 

For many years it has been searched 

effective method, which could help 

inseminated queens to undertake oviposition 

more quickly. According to Mackensen 

(1947) double queens anaesthetization 

with dioxide of carbon – 2 times for 10 

minutes each – precipitated oviposition. 

However after few years it turned out, 

that this intervention shortened their life. 

Jasiński et al. (2005) showed, that 

forcing queens to flight directly before 

intervention of artificial insemination 

accelerates lying eggs, but only for few 

days. 

Poland brought in investigation on 

artificial insemination improvement huge 

contribution. The biggest achievements 

in this field belong to investigations conducted 

in the Bee Division of Warsaw 

University of Life Science, and also in 

Research Institute of Pomology and 

Floriculture in Puławy. 

Investigation over accelerating factors 

undertaking egg-laying by artificially 

inseminated queens are still led. 

The examining influence of different 

concentrations of oxygen and nitrogen 

was the aim of investigations of present 

work on speed waking up bee queens 

after anaesthetization CO2 as well as 

on time of undertaking laying eggs by 

inseminated queens. 


This experiment was conducted on the 

honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica L.) in 

the Bee Division of Warsaw University 

of Life Science, in the 2006 bee season. 

Material: 

• 82 Carniolan queen bees which were 

sisters, 

• worker bees, 

• the semen of the drones of a different 

origin. 

The hives mating with three skewers 

were used. Two of the skewers were 

combined with foundation, one had 

comb drawn-out. Every hive mating was 

settled by workers bees (approx. 1000). 

Worker bees were derived from outside 

the Bee Division of Warsaw University 

of Life Science’s apiary. 1/3 volume of 

hive mating was chamber filled with 

candy honey-sugar. The queen cells had 

15 days when they were introduced, so 

before queen bees’ emergence. In order to 

prevent queen bees from natural insemination, 

the queen excluders were inserted 

in entrances of the hives mating. After 

settlement, the mating hives were placed 

in a basement – a special building, which 

was partly situated in the ground, purposed 

to wintering of bees. There was 

dark and temperature was 4–8ºC. The 

building was situated in the area of the 

Bee Division of Warsaw University of 

Life Sciences apiary. After 3 days the 

mating hives were removed from the 

basement, placed in apiary and sponge 

was removed in order to allow queen 

bees to fly. The mating hives were placed 

in hives which were situated on the 

stone slab in order to isolate them from 

the ground. Bees were fed with candy 

honey-sugar once per 2–3 days. Candy 

honey-sugar consisted of caster sugar 

and warmed honey in proportion 5:1. 

The artificial insemination was conducted 

a week after queen bees’ emergence in

The infl uence of different oxygen and nitrogen concentrations... 215 

queen cells. Semen from the drones was 

derived from outside the Bee Division 

of Warsaw University of Life Sciences. 

The artificial insemination was conducted 

with using of apparatus constructed 

by Zygmunt Jasiński. The semen was 

collected into a needle of a syringe. The 

single dose was 8 mm 3 of semen. The 

queen bees were placed into a transparent 

plastic pipe which was fixed to rack 

of apparatus. They were anaesthetized 

by CO 2 for 3–5 minutes. After the artificial 

insemination, anaesthetized queen 

bees were marked with fast-drying white 

paint on a dorsal side of a thorax. 

Afterwards queen bees were placed in 

a gas chamber which consisted of a jar 

with tight lid. Gases from the bottles 

were delivered through the small holes in 

a lid. In one bottle was oxygen, in other 

nitrogen. After starting a bottle, specific 

concentration of oxygen and nitrogen 

was adjusted by a reducer: 15% O 2 : 85% 

N 2 and 35% O 2 : 65% N 2 . Gases were 

mixed in specified proportions. 

After filling up a chamber, the flow 

of the gases was closed. An anaesthetized 

queen bee was laying until waking 

up from CO 2 anesthesia (to the moment 

when the queen bee made a first step). 

After waking up from CO 2 anesthesia, 

queen bees were placed in Zender’s 

cages and moved to a thin layer of candy 

honey-sugar in hives mating which was 

quickly eaten by worker bees and the 

queen bee was released from a cage. 

The next stage of this experiment was: 

everyday controlling and noting down 

time of starting of egg-laying and replenishing 

food in the hives mating. Bees 

in the mating hives were fed 3–4 times 

per week. 

RESULTS 

In order to investigate the influence of 

different concentration of oxygen and 

nitrogen during waking up after CO 2 

anesthesia, 3 groups of inseminated queen 

bees were established: 

1) control group – queen bees which 

were waking up from CO 2 anesthesia 

in the atmospheric air; 

2) queen bees which were waking up 

from CO 2 anesthesia in the air which 

consisted of 15% O 2 and 85% N 2 ; 

3) queen bees which were waking up 

from CO 2 anesthesia in the air which 

consisted of 35% O 2 and 65% N 2 . 

In the experiment examined: 

• time of waking up of queen bees from 

CO 2 anesthesia after the artificial insemination 

(Tab. 1); 

• number of days between the artificial 

insemination and egg-lying (Tab. 2). 

It was showed, that in queen bees from 

the control group waking up from CO 2 

anesthesia was in compartment of time 

from 7 to 17 minutes. 

It was also affirmed, that queen bees 

waking up in the air with 15% O 2 and 

85% of N 2 were waking up in time from 

2 to 20 minutes, however queen bees 

from the group in the air containing 35% 

O 2 and 65% N 2 were waking up in compartment 

from 1 to 6 minutes (Fig. 1). 

The change of content O 2 in the air gases 

mixture applied to waking up queen bees 

from anaesthetization with CO 2 , accelerated 

the time of waking up in comparison 

to queen bees from control group 

(Fig. 1). 

Majority of inseminated queen bees 

had begun the oviposition from 2 to 31 

days after artificial insemination. It concerns 

queen bees both from control group


TABLE 1. Time of waking up and number of 

queens after the queen bees anesthesia with CO 2 

Group 

Minutes 

Number 

of queens 

Control 7 2 

8 3 

11 1 

12 3 

13 5 

14 6 

15 5 

16 1 

17 1 

15% O 2 : 85% N 2 2 1 

2.5 1 

3 4 

4 9 

4.5 1 

5 8 

6 5 

8 1 

10 1 

20 1 

35% O 2 :65% N 2 1 1 

3 6 

4 6 

5 8 

6 1 

and queen bees waking up in artificial 

atmosphere as well, because the different 

proportions of oxygen is applied 

(Fig. 2). 

It was affirmed, that the oviposition in 

the control group took place on average 

after 11 days from the artificial insemination. 

It was showed, that queen waking up 

in air including 15% O 2 and 85% N 2 and 

also queen bees in 35% O 2 and 65% N 2 

begun oviposition earlier, after about 

10 days from artificial insemination 

TABLE 2. Number of days from insemination to 

oviposition in queen bees 

Group 

Number Number 

of days of queen 

Control 3 2 

4 1 

5 1 

6 3 

7 1 

8 5 

9 2 

10 1 

11 1 

12 1 

13 2 

14 1 

17 3 

27 1 

28 1 

32 1 

15% O 2 : 85% N 2 3 1 

4 1 

5 4 

6 4 

7 5 

8 1 

9 3 

10 1 

11 1 

12 2 

14 1 

15 4 

18 1 

19 2 

21 1 

24 1 

35% O 2 :65% N 2 4 1 

5 6 

6 6 

7 8 

8 1 

13 2 

15 1 

20 3 

30 1


Minutes 

Number of queens C+I+II 

FIGURE 1. Time of waking up after the queen anesthesia with CO 2 

Days 

Number of queens C+I+II 

FIGURE 2. Number of days from insemination to oviposition in queens awaken in different O 2 and N 2 

concentrations 

(Fig. 3). However statistical analysis did 

not confirm the essential influence of different 

composition of air on egg-laying 

by inseminated queen bees (Fig. 3). 

Data are means ±S.D. of three groups. 

For each groups and each kolumn, means 

with different letters are significantly 

different from one another (p < 0.05) 

as determined by variance analysis followed 

by F-Snedecor test (Tab. 3). 

Data are means ±S.D. of three groups. 

For each groups and each kolumn, means 

with different letters are not significantly 

different from one another (p < 0.05) 

as determined by variance analysis followed 

by F-Snedecor test (Tab. 4).


FIGURE 3. Average number of days between insemination and egg-laying of queens waken up by 

different O 2 and N 2 concentrations 

TABLE 3. Time of waking up after the queen anesthesia with CO 2 

Group No of queens Min-max Arithmetic mean Modal Median Variance 

Control 27 7–17 12.7 8,12,13,14,15 13 ±2.8 7.8 

15% O 2 :85 N 2 33 2–22 5.2 3,4,5,6 5 ±3.1 9.6 

35% O 2 :65 N 2 22 1–6 4.0 3,4,5 4 ±1.1 1.3 

TABLE 4. Number of days from insemination to oviposition 

Group No of queens Min-max Arithmetic mean Modal Median Variance 

Control 27 3–32 11.4 6,8,17 9 ±7.5 56.3 

15% O 2 : 85 N 2 33 3–24 10.3 5,6,7,15 9 ±5.5 30.2 

35% O 2 : 65 N 2 22 4–30 10.1 5,6,7,20 7 ±6.8 46.8 

CONCLUSIONS 

1. The reduction to 15% of the content 

of oxygen in the air which was used to 

waking up queen bees from CO 2 anesthesia 

caused significantly quicker waking 

up in the artificially inseminated queen 

bees. 

2. The increase to 35% of the content 

of oxygen in the air which was use to 


caused significantly quicker waking 

up in the artificially inseminated queen 

bees. 

3. The reduction to 15% of the content 



did not cause significantly quicker 

egg-laying of the artificially inseminated 

queen bees. 

4. The increase to 35% of the content 



did not cause significantly quicker 

egg-laying of the artificially inseminated 

queen bees. 

5. The change of the content of oxygen 

in the air which was used to waking up 

queen bees from CO 2 anesthesia, caused 

significantly quicker waking up in the 

artificially inseminated queen bees. 

However, it did not cause significantly


quicker egg-laying of the artificially 

inseminated queen bees. 

REFEENCES 

MACKENSEN O., 1947: Effect of carbon dioxide 

on initial oviposition of artificially inseminated 

and virgin Queen bees. J. Econ. Ent. 

40, 3, 344–349. 

JASIŃSKI Z., PRABUCKI J., WILDE J., WOYKE 

J., CHUDA-MICKIEWICZ B., SIUDA M., 

MADRAS B., SAMBORSKI J., BRATKOW- 

SKI J., JOJCZYK A., BĄK B., 2005: Badania 

nad czynnikami przyspieszającymi czerwienie 

sztucznie unasienionych matek pszczelich. 

Materiały z XLII Nauk. Konf. Pszczel., Puławy, 


WATSON L.R., 1927: Controlled mating of queen 

bees. Hamilton. 

Streszczenie: Wpływ różnych stężeń tlenu i azotu 

na szybkość wybudzania się po narkozie CO 2 oraz 

na czas rozpoczynania czerwienia matek inseminowanych. 

Niniejszą pracę wykonano w Pracowni 

Hodowli Owadów Użytkowych Szkoły 

Głównej Gospodarstwa Wiejskiego w Warszawie, 

w sezonie pszczelarskim 2006 roku. Celem badań 

pracy było znalezienie czynnika przyspieszającego 

podejmowanie czerwienia przez sztucznie 

unasieniane matki pszczele (Apis mellifera carnica 

L.). W doświadczeniu wykorzystano 82 matki 

pszczele inseminowane jednokrotną 8 mm 3 dawką 

nasienia. Podczas inseminacji wszystkie matki 

były usypiane CO 2 . Stworzono 3 grupy: 1) kontrolna 

– wybudzana z narkozy CO 2 w powietrzu 

atmosferycznym, 2) wybudzana z narkozy CO 2 

w powietrzu zawierającym 15% O 2 i 85% N 2 , 

3) wybudzana z narkozy CO 2 w powietrzu zawierającym 

35% O 2 i 65% N 2 . Zmiana zawartości O 2 

w powietrzu, które służyło do wybudzania matek 

z narkozy CO 2 , powodowało wysoko istotnie 

szybsze wybudzanie (średnio o 8 minut). Zmiana 

zawartości O 2 w powietrzu służącym do wybudzania 

matek z narkozy CO 2 nie spowodowała 

istotnego przyspieszenia czerwienia matek w porównaniu 

do grupy kontrolnej. 

MS. received October 14, 2010 


Izabela Wojciechowska 

Katedra Biologii Środowiska Zwierząt 



Poland 

Zygmunt Jasiński 

Pracownia Hodowli Owadów Użytkowych 


ul. Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warszawa 

Poland 

Irena Kubica 

Katedra Zoologii 

Wydział Hodowli i Biologii Zwierząt – UTP 

ul. Kordeckiego 20, 85-225 Bydgoszcz 

Poland

Annals of Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW. Animal ...

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