Yearling adjustments for pelvic area of test station bulls

Yearling bulls (n = 3,071) located at 18 stations in Missouri, Nebraska, Virginia, and Wisconsin were measured for pelvic area, in addition to standard performance traits. Linear adjustments for age and weight were determined using covariate regression analyses. Only bulls that were 300 to 452 d of age, 325 to 640 kg, and were in consignments offering more than nine bulls per breed were included in the analyses. Because the subsets of Angus, Polled Hereford, and Simmental bulls had large numbers of observations (817, 271, and 449, respectively), individual adjustment coefficients were determined for each breed. Angus, Polled Hereford, and Simmental bulls had pelvic area adjustment regressions on age of .20, .32, and .20 cm2/d, respectively, and regressions on body weight of .15, .22, and .18 cm2/kg, respectively. Homogeneous linear responses of all breeds (11 breeds including Angus, Polled Hereford, and Simmental) were combined to form all-breed coefficients for age and weight adjustments, which were .21 cm2/d and .15 cm2/kg, respectively. Weight or age adjustments can be used to compare contemporaries for relative pelvic area differences, but both should not be used on the same bull. Although many factors contribute to dystocia, high priority should be given to identifying sires of replacement heifers of low to moderate birth weight genotype and above average pelvic area genotype.