@conference {3672,
	title = {BRIEF COMMUNICATION: Days to calving and intercalving interval in beef and dairy-beef crossbred cows},
	booktitle = {Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	volume = {76},
	year = {2016},
	month = {07/2016},
	pages = {31-33},
	address = {Adelaide},
	abstract = {One important attribute of a beef-breeding cow is the
ability to wean a calf every year. Furthermore, an earlierborn
calf is likely to be heavier at weaning and its dam has
more opportunity to conceive again during the following
breeding season. In a spring-calving system under the
seasonal pastoral-grazing system in New Zealand, a 365-
day intercalving interval is desirable. A normal gestation
length is 280 days leaving 85 days for a cow to resume
oestrous cycles and conceive again to maintain the 365-
day calving interval. Literature estimates of the interval
between calving and the first oestrous cycle post-calving
are 53-82 days for mixed-aged beef-breeding cows and
81-95 days for first-lactation beef-breeding cows (Hickson
et al. 2012; Knight \& Nicoll 1978; Morris et al. 1978;
Smeaton et al. 1986), indicating that a 365-day calving
interval is difficult to maintain.},
	issn = {1176-5283},
	author = {Morris ST and Hickson RE and Martin NP and Kenyon PR}
}
