Registration SP Borans

All Boran Stud cattle are registered with the SA Studbook acting as the Registering Authority

  • Studbook Proper Animals (SP) They are the progeny of SP Bulls and Cows or SP Bulls and Appendix C Cows
  • SP Have to pass an inspection before registration and are the purest Boran genetics within the breed

Registration Appendix Borans

When so called commercial or unrecorded females of a specific breed type are mated to fully registered Boran Bulls, the female progeny of that mating become eligible for recording in an appendix section.

  • Breeders must however always remember that upgrading serves a totally different purpose as apposed to breeding a composite breed.
  • When choosing breeds to develop a composite breed, breeds are chosen with an wide a diversity of genes as possible
  • When however choosing breeds for upgrading Borans it is important to choose breeds with as many Boran Production similarities as possible. This will enable breeders to breed SP Borans in less generations because of the greater similarities and less culls due to unacceptable traits
  • The progeny of an Appendix A cow and SP bull qualifies for Appendix B. Appendix B cows and SP Bulls breed Appendix C progeny. The Appendix C cows and SP Bulls finally produce SP offspring.
  • All Appendix animals must also pass inspection before registration.

Performance Testing

The Boran breed Society firmly believes that for further improvement of the Boran, Breeders must be motivated to do performance testing.

  • It is however vitally important to always remember what the unique traits of the Boran are and to use performance testing to further improve these traits that have made the Boran so popular and not to fall into the trap of selecting on performance figures that will. Just make the breed bigger and grow faster but negatively affecting the breeds efficiency of production.

  • All breeders should weigh their calves at weaning 6-7 months of age, their mothers must be weighed at the same time. By taking just these two weights the Boran Breeder has the following selection advantages:

    • A growth index for the calves is calculated, enabling you to select the fastest growers from mothers with sufficient milk.
    • A cow – calf efficiency index is calculated. This will make sure that breeders don’t just choose size and growth from to big and inefficient mothers.
    • Together with first calving dates and inter-calving periods the above weights and inter-calving periods the above weights can be used to calculate cow breeding values enabling the breeder to always select the most profitable females in his herd.

  • Testis circumference of bulls must be measured at 18-24 months enabling breeders to select for bulls that produce more semen.

Dangers of Performance Testing

Performance figures are there only to help a breeder or a buyer select the best animals within a specific heard not to compare Breeder A to Breeder B figures to see whose animals are the best. This will become possible in time with BLUP when enough data is available from herds with sufficient links between them.

To compare individuals on BLUP figures between herds with a BLUP accuracy of below 90% is also meaningless. The Boran Breed is thus unfortunately still many years away from accurately comparing individual animals to each other when they are from different herds.

  • Differences in climate, management feeding and farms are far too diverse to ever compare one breeder’s animals to that of another breeder. BLUP will eventually make this possible.

  • At present however performance testing is a powerful tool enabling Boran breeders to accurately select the most profitable animal in their own herd.

  • If every Boran Breeder make sure his is not just feeding or managing his herd better, but by means of performance testing is selecting for genetically superior animals, the entire Boran Breed will benefit.

  • Boran Stud breeders are encouraged to be brave enough to stress their stud animals to the same extent as commercial breeders allow their animals to be stressed. With no better feeding or management will allow the cream to rise to the top, for accurate selection by means of performance testing of the genetically more profitable animals.

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