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Some Effects of Pregnancy on Body Weight and Paunch Girth¹

University of Illinois, Urbana

ABSTRACT

Weight of the uterus and its content was determined by Swett et al. (6) from over 100 cows slaughtered at varying stages of pregnancy. The best-fitting curve for growth of the fetus was log₁₀ weight (kg) = -8.596486 + 4.152249 log₁₀ days pregnant, after 150. The curve describing the collective increase in weight of fetal membranes, amniotic fluid, and empty uterus was log₁₀ weight (kg) = -2.793861 + 1.728121 log₁₀ days pregnant, after 150. Adjustment of the body weight of a pregnant cow for these extraneous factors can amount to almost 15% of the observed values. Gross increases in paunch girth associated with pregnancy in cattle 24 to 48 months of age varied from .075 to .080 cm per day, after 150 days pregnant. It was estimated from changes in nonpregnant cows that true paunch growth varied from .020 to .030 cm per day, between 24 and 48 months, under favorable conditions. The average net increase in paunch girth due to pregnancy alone, after 150 days, was from .047 to .057 cm per day. Adjustments of paunch girth for pregnancy generally were of minor concern, and amounted to a maximum of approximately 5% of the observed values.

¹ Some of the data for this study came from a cooperative project between the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station and the Dairy Cattle Research Branch AHRD, ARS, USDA. The project is a contributing project to the North Central Regional Project NC-2, The Improvement of Dairy Cattle Through Breeding.

² Present address: Regional Swine Breeding Laboratory, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

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