Interrelationships of Erythrocyte Characters and Other Characters of British and Zebu Crossbred Beef Cattle

Abstract

The following red cell characters were studied in a herd of 217 calves repre-senting Brahman cross, Africander cross, Grade Brahman, and British (Hereford X Shorthorn) breeding, and in their dams: packed cell volume, haemoglobin level, red cell count, fragility, potassium and sodium concentrations, catalase activity, and haemoglobin type. There were distinct breed differences. In some characters, e.g. packed cell volume and potassium concentration, Africander cross were inter-mediate between Brahman cross and British, whereas in others, e.g. fragility and catalase activity, they were indistinguishable from British. Within breeds, the characters showed highly repeatable differences between animals and high herita-bilities.