Read Background Information on the Belgium Blue Mound of Beef, Myostatin, and Mustations

For the blue bull native to India, see Nilgai.

Brood of beef cattle

The Belgian Bluish (French: 'Blanc-Bleu Belge', Dutch: 'Belgisch Witblauw') is a breed of beef cattle from Belgium.^[1] It may as well be known as the Race de la Moyenne et Haute Belgique ,^{[2] : 95} or dikbil (literally 'fatty buttocks' in Dutch). Alternative names for this breed include Belgian Blueish-White; Belgian White and Blue Pied; Belgian White Blue; Blue; and Blue Belgian.^[3] The Belgian Blue's extremely lean, hyper-sculpted, ultra-muscular physique is termed "double-muscling". The double-muscling phenotype is a heritable condition resulting in an increased number of muscle fibers (hyperplasia), instead of the (normal) enlargement of individual muscle fibers (hypertrophy).^[4]

This particular trait is shared with another brood of cattle known every bit Piedmontese. Both of these breeds have an increased ability to catechumen feed into lean muscle, which causes these particular breeds' meat to take a reduced fatty content and reduced tenderness.^[five] The Belgian Blueish is named later its typically blue-grey mottled hair color; withal, its actual color tin vary from white to black.

History [edit]

The breed originated in central and upper Belgium in the 19th century, from crossing local breeds with a Shorthorn breed of cattle from the United Kingdom.^{[half dozen] : 256} Charolais cattle possibly were cantankerous-bred, as well.^{[6] : 256} Belgian Blue cattle were first used every bit a dairy and beef breed. The modern beefiness breed was adult in the 1950s past Professor Hanset, working at an bogus insemination centre in Liège Province. The breed's characteristic gene mutation was maintained through linebreeding to the point where the condition was a stock-still belongings in the Belgian Blueish brood.^[5] In 1978, Belgian Blue cattle were introduced to the United States by Nick Tutt, a farmer from central Canada who immigrated to West Texas and showed the cattle to universities in the region.^{[ clarification needed ]}

Breed characteristics [edit]

The Belgian Blue has a natural mutation in the myostatin gene which codes for the protein, myostatin ("myo" meaning muscle and "statin" meaning end).^[5] Myostatin is a poly peptide that inhibits musculus development. This mutation likewise interferes with fat deposition, resulting in very lean meat.^[5] The truncated myostatin gene is unable to function in its normal capacity, resulting in accelerated lean musculus growth. Muscle growth is due primarily to physiological changes in the creature's musculus cells (fibers) from hypertrophy to a hyperplasia way of growth. This item blazon of growth is seen early in the fetus of a pregnant dam, which results in a calf that is built-in with two times the number of muscle fibers at birth than a calf with no myostatin factor mutation.^[5] In addition, a newborn double-muscled calf's nascence weight is significantly greater than that of a normal calf.^[4]

Belgian Blue cattle have improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) due to lower feed intake compared to weight proceeds^[4] due to an altered composition of body weight gain which includes increased poly peptide and decreased fat deposition.^[4] The Belgian Blue's bone construction is the aforementioned as normal cattle, albeit holding a greater amount of musculus, which causes them to take a greater meat to bone ratio. These cattle have a muscle yield around 20% more on average than cattle without the genetic myostatin mutation.^[five] Because of this breed's increased musculus yield, a diet containing higher protein is required to recoup for the altered mode of weight gain.^[4] During finishing, this breed requires loftier-free energy (full-bodied) feeds, and will non yield the same results if put on a loftier-fiber diet.^[4]

The value of the double-muscling breed is due to their superior carcass characteristics. Yet, with decreased fatty content is decreased marbling of meat, which ways the meat tenderness is reduced. Conversely, the Belgian Bluish'southward meat tenderness has been argued to be merely equally tender because a large number of smaller muscle fibers are present.^{[ citation needed ]}

Breed problems [edit]

Double-muscled cows can experience dystocia (a difficult birth), even when bred to normal beef bulls or dairy bulls, because of a narrower birth canal.^{[six] : 256} In addition to the dam's reduced pelvic dimensions, the dogie'south birth weight and width are increased, making parturition harder.^[v] The neonatal calf is and then big that Caesarean sections are routinely scheduled for breeders.^{[6] : 256 [vii]} The bull'due south testicular weight and semen quantity and quality accept been observed as reduced. This tin can be contributed perhaps to the increased corporeality of connective tissue in Blue bulls' testicles,^[8] however this is less of an outcome when compared to the dam'southward difficulties in calving.^[4]

Economical efficiency [edit]

The economics of breeding and raising Belgian Blueish cattle are inconclusive because of complications experienced during parturition and metabolic demand for more full-bodied feeds. The breed'due south increased need to have Caesarean sections when calving means increased cost and added work, and can become a welfare issue.^{[ citation needed ]} However, the carcass value of double-muscled animals may be enhanced due to increased dressing yield, lean carcass content, and upgrading of some cuts leading to a higher proportion of higher valued cuts.^[iv] The slower charge per unit of fat degradation causes slaughtering to be delayed in near cases, which ways an increase in maintenance costs in those animals. Belgian Blue cattle require more skilled management and do non thrive in harsh environments.^[4] For these reasons and others, the breed'due south overall production efficiency in an economic sense is still unclear.

References [edit]

1. ^ Blanc-Bleu Belge/Belgium. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed November 2016.
2. ^ Valerie Porter (ed.), Ian Lauder Mason (2002). Stonemason's Globe Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types and Varieties (5th edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 085199430X.
3. ^ Oklahoma State University breed profile Archived Oct eleven, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ ^{a b c d due east f g h i} De Smet, S (2004). "Double-Muscled Animals". In Jensen, Werner Klinth (ed.). Encyclopedia of Meat Sciences. Vol. Encyclopedia of Meat Sciences. Oxford: Elsevier. pp. 396–402. doi:10.1016/B0-12-464970-X/00260-9. hdl:1854/LU-294762. ISBN9780124649705.
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f k} Kambadur, R.; Sharma, Thousand.; Smith, T. P. 50.; Bass, J. J. (September 1997). "Mutations in myostatin (GDF8) in double-muscled belgian blue and piedmontese cattle". Genome Enquiry. 7 (ix): 910–916. doi:ten.1101/gr.7.nine.910. PMID 9314496.
6. ^ ^{a b c d} Cheville, Norman F. (1999). Introduction to veterinarian pathology. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN978-0-8138-2496-three.
7. ^ Educational Vet Video. "Video of Cow Caesarean Department". VetPulse TV in Exercise. YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-11-23. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
8. ^ Hoflack, G.; Van den Broeck, W.; Maes, D.; Van Damme, K.; Opsomer, G.; Duchateau, L.; de Kruif, A.; Rodriguez-Martinez, H.; Van Soom, A. (1 Feb 2008). "Testicular dysfunction is responsible for low sperm quality in Belgian Blue bulls". Theriogenology. 69 (iii): 323–332. doi:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2007.09.034. PMID 18023470.

External links [edit]

• Media related to Belgian Blue cattle at Wikimedia Eatables
• The Belgian Blue Herdbook

pasleytheake.blogspot.com

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_Blue

Share this post