Body development, ingestive behaviour, and physiological responses of Nelore and Crossbred heifers

This study evaluated the body development, ingestive behaviour, and physiological responses of Nelore and Crossbred (Nelore × Angus/Senepol) heifers. A total of 20 heifers, approximately 12 months old, were distributed in a randomized block design and categorized into two genotypes: Nelore - 11 heifers; Crossbred (F1 Nelore × Angus/Senepol) - 9 heifers. Nelore heifers exhibited greater withers height, hip height, rump length, and substernal height, whereas Crossbred heifers had higher chest depth and average daily gain values (P < 0.05). In addition, Nelore heifers spent more time feeding and standing idle, while Crossbred heifers spent more time drinking water (P < 0.05). Nelore heifers showed (P < 0.001) higher sweating rate. The superior productive performance of the crossbred heifers, along with the similarity in respiratory and heart rates between the genotypes, highlights that the crossbreeding of Nelore and Angus/Senepol cattle is an effective strategy to boost cattle production in tropical climate regions.