Live weight gains of brahman beef entire males compared with steers implanted with compudose.

Abstract

Live weight gains (LWG) of 58 Brahman steers and 66 entire males raised under similar conditions in the Markham Valley, a hot dry area of Papua New Guinea were compared. The steers were implanted with Compudose 400>® containing synthetic oestradiol 17a and the measurement period was 120d starting from 112d after weaning. LWG of steers was found to be slightly lower than for entire males but the difference was not significant. This result, together with the costs and risks of castration necessitates careful consideration of the practice of raising steers rather than entire males under certain conditions in Papua New Guinea.