Morphological characterization of Sussex cattle at Huntersvlei farm, Free State Province, South Africa

Lubabalo Bila, Dikeledi Petunia Malatji and Thobela Louis Tyasi

PLOS ONE, 2023, vol. 18, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: Sussex cattle breed is characterized by their distinctive solid red coat colour and white tail switch. Sussex cattle are known for being easy to handle and manage, making them an ideal choice for cattle farmers. The phenotypic characterization of this cattle breed in South Africa is unknown. Hence, the objective of this study was to characterize the morphological structure, phenotypic and body indices traits of Sussex cattle in South Africa at Huntersvlei farm, Frere State province of South Africa. One hundred and one weaners (n = 101) between 6 and 8 months old (female = 57 and male = 44) and fifty yearlings between 12 and 15 months old (female = 15 and male = 35) were used in this study. Body weight at weaning, yearling and linear body measurements such as head length (HL), head width (HW), ear length (EL), ear width (EW), sternum height (SH), withers height (WH), heart girth (HG), hip height (HH), body length (BL), rump length (RL), and rump width (RW) were measured. Moreover, the animals were assessed for coat colour and horn presence. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were used to describe the Sussex cattle breed. The results indicated that male Sussex cattle had highly significant (p

Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0292088

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292088

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