@article {10.3844/ajavsp.2026.21.02.020,
article_type = {journal},
title = {Postnatal Muscle Growth and Allometry in Anatomical Regions of Russian Black-Pied Heifers and their Crosses With Hereford and Charolais Under Intensive Rearing},
author = {Prokhorov, Ivan Petrovich and Shekhovtsev, Grigorii Sergeyevich and Shoshina, Yulia Vasilevna},
volume = {21},
number = {2},
year = {2026},
month = {Aug},
pages = {20-1},
doi = {10.3844/ajavsp.2026.21.02.020},
url = {https://thescipub.com/abstract/ajavsp.2026.21.02.020},
abstract = {Crossbreeding dairy cattle with specialized beef breeds is an effective strategy to increase beef production, yet data on muscle growth patterns in crossbred heifers remain limited. This study aimed to evaluate the growth intensity and redistribution of muscle mass in anatomical regions of carcasses in Russian Black-Pied heifers and their crosses with Hereford and Charolais breeds. A scientific experiment was conducted on three groups of heifers (n = 15 per group) from birth to 18 months of age: Group 1 (control) – Russian Black-Pied; Group 2 – ½ Hereford × ½ Russian Black-Pied; Group 3 – ½ Charolais × ½ Russian Black-Pied. Live weight was recorded monthly. Control slaughters were performed at birth, 6, 12, and 18 months. Layer-by-layer dissection of half-carcasses was performed to determine the absolute and relative muscle mass of anatomical regions. Growth coefficients and relative growth rates were calculated. Charolais crossbred heifers surpassed their maternal breed contemporaries in live weight by 9.0–12.5% (P},
journal = {American Journal of Animal and Veterinary Sciences},
publisher = {Science Publications}
}