Hungarian Grey Cattle calves created by use of cryopreserved semen and the length of the generation interval thus formed
Abstract
The Hungarian Grey Cattle, an important historical breed of livestock, is now one of Hungary's national treasures. The breed's population reached a critically low level by the early 1960s, which is one of the determinants of its current diversity and a warning for its careful maintenance. To strengthen the rare bull lines, an initiation was accomplished by the Hortobágy Nature- and Gene Preservation Nonprofit Ltd. and Association of Hungarian Grey Cattle Breeders. During the breeding program, which lasted for three years (2020-2022), cryopreserved semen of the breeding bulls was used that born in the 1970s. Seventy-eight animals became pregnant from 150 synchronized heifers and delivered calves (2021-2023). Twelve young bulls completed own performance test and became qualified and licensed. The dam-offspring relationship resulted in significantly (p<0.001) fewer years (4.2) than the sire-offspring relationship (43.9). Next to the revitalization of rare sire lines, the genetic pool of the herd becomes renewed by this investigation. By comparing the individuals born from the applied procedure with those born from contemporary sires, any phenotypic changes occurring in the breed can be detected. Last but not least, the use of the reproductive material from time to time also serves to control the reliability of the sperm freezing technique.
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