ASSESSMENT OF THE GROWTH OF CROSSBRED BLACK-AND-WHITE AND BEEF BREED HEIFERS UNTIL THE AGE OF 450 DAYS

Body weight and conformation were estimated as well as daily gains and feed utilization by crossbred heifers obtained by crossing Black-and- White (BW) cows with bulls of beef-type breeds: Belgian Blue (BB), Cha rolaise (Ch) and Limousine (Lim). The experiments were carried out on 43 heifers kept tied in a barn with bedding, applying controlled, inte nsive group feeding in the period from day 180 to day 450 of life. At the age of 180 days BW x Ch heifers were the heaviest and were signifi cantly different (P less than or equal to 0.01) from the heifers of ot her groups. The higher daily weight gains and better feed utilization observed for BW x Lim and BW x BE heifers were comparable to those by Charolaise sires, but the differences between groups were not signific ant. In respect to the body features important in meat production, no group of heifers dominated significantly over the others. BW x Ch heif ers had a significantly (P less than or equal to 0.05) higher body mas s index than BW x BE heifers, and they had a lower index of leg height than BW x Lim heifers. BW x BE heifers were characterized by the most favourable bone index, significantly (P less than or equal to 0.01) l ower in comparison with BW x Ch heifers.