Effect of weight and body condition score from pregnant cows on the carcass characteristics of their progeny: Meta-analysis

The objective of the meta-analysis was to evaluate the effects of beef cows weight variation during the 2nd and / or 3rd trimester pregnancy on some parameters of the progeny carcass. The cow weight gain during this gestational period was calculated to standardize the treatments: moderate loss (ML= cows that lost 0 to 5 % of weight) and moderate gain (MG= cows that gained 0 to 5 % of weight). The effect size for all parameters was calculated as medium difference (MD) with a 95% confidence interval and heterogeneity determined using the Q test and the I-2 statistic. A random effects meta-analysis was performed for each indicator separately as the medium control and experimental groups. The cow's weight variation during the studied time variation did not influence the progeny carcass characteristics (P>0.05). Although, a trend towards greater hot carcass weight (P=0.15) and thickness of subcutaneous fat ( P=0.10) was observed in calves from MG cows in relation to calves from ML cows. However, the meta-analysis demonstrated that small variations in cow weight during the final half of pregnancy do not affect progeny carcass characteristics.