Superior performance of the Brahma cattle in terms of meat production and disease resistance in comparison with the indigenous cattle of Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: The Brahma is a breed of cattle which grows very rapidly and suitable for high quality meat production. The breed originating from native cattle dwelling at unfavorable climate of India has adapted with scarcity of food, external and internal parasitism, infectious diseases and weather extremities. There is very limited study on adaptation and performance of Brahma cattle particularly in the context of Bangladesh where meat production is a crying demand. In this study, we evaluated the comparative performance of Brahma and indigenous cattle in terms of body weight gain and disease resistance in Bangladesh. Methods: A total of 10 Brahma calves and 10 indigenous calves were monitored for a period of 18 months during June 2018 to November 2020. Body weight gain and occurrence of diseases in both breeds were recorded. Two-way repeated measure ANOVA with Bonferroni post-tests was performed to compare the growth of both Brahma and indigenous calves. Results: At birth, both Brahma (15.75±0.19 kg) and indigenous (17.55±0.35 kg) calves had overall similar body weight. However, the Brahma calves gained significantly higher body weight than the indigenous calves over the next months. For example, the Brahma calves had higher body weight at 6 months (85.5±2.50 kg vs 70.75±0.43 kg), 12 months (160.3 kg±5.667 vs 120.4±0.89 kg) and 18 months (237.5±4.58 kg vs 169.8±1.72 kg) than the indigenous calves. An average daily body weight gain was 410.6±7.7 g and 282±2.9 g for Brahma and indigenous calves, respectively. Analysis of the disease records also showed a decreased number of diseases in Brahma than the indigenous cattle. Conclusion: Our study indicated a better adaptation and growth of Brahma cattle in comparison to the indigenous breed. Therefore, the Brahma breed can be a very promising source to reduce the deficiency of animal proteins in Bangladesh.