Characteristics of body weight and measurement of Peranakan Ongole and Brahman cattle in the tropics

Abstract Peranakan Ongole (PO) and Brahman are beef cattle breeds that are well-adapted to the tropics. The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth traits of PO and Brahman, therefore, a total of 70 cows raised in Balai Pembibitan Ternak Unggul-Hijauan Pakan Ternak (BPTU-HPT) Sembawa were selected. Subsequently, body weight and length, withers and waist height, as well as chest girth were measured at birth, 105 and 205 days, 1, 1.5, and 2 years of age. Statistical analysis using an independent sample t-test was carried out to distinguish growth traits between PO and Brahman. The results revealed that they were significantly different (P<0.05). PO had a larger body size than Brahman, particularly in terms of the withers height at 105 days, 1 and 2 years, chest girth at a year, and waist height at 105 and 205 days, 1, 1.5, and 2 years. Conversely, Brahman showed better traits than PO in terms of body weight and withers height at birth, weaning and body weight at 2 years, and average daily gain (ADG) at 205 days, 1.5, and 2 years.