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HerdingStarted by a grandfather in 1937, this Florida ranch now covers 50,000 acres, feeds local communities and...BreedsKasaragod Kullan set to be Keralam’s third indigenous cattle variety HistoryAncient cattle love affairs: East Asian cattle genomes reveal Tang-Song dynasty mixing and wild bovine introgression HealthState announces public comment period for proposed bovine tuberculosis testing areas ShowsNortheast 4-H Livestock Show celebrates 91 years of tradition ShowsAnnual Webster Parish 4-H Livestock Show set to begin next week BreedsA Leap Forward in Indigenous Breeding: ICAR–IVRI’s Breakthrough in Producing Sahiwal Calves through Advanced Reproductive Technologies BreedsBoyd Beef Cattle to Donate 2027 Angus Foundation Heifer Package BreedsU.P. State Fair dairy show highlights youth, dairy cattle and community BreedsHereford Cattle Society wins landmark court case over breed status HerdingStarted by a grandfather in 1937, this Florida ranch now covers 50,000 acres, feeds local communities and...BreedsKasaragod Kullan set to be Keralam’s third indigenous cattle variety HistoryAncient cattle love affairs: East Asian cattle genomes reveal Tang-Song dynasty mixing and wild bovine introgression HealthState announces public comment period for proposed bovine tuberculosis testing areas ShowsNortheast 4-H Livestock Show celebrates 91 years of tradition ShowsAnnual Webster Parish 4-H Livestock Show set to begin next week BreedsA Leap Forward in Indigenous Breeding: ICAR–IVRI’s Breakthrough in Producing Sahiwal Calves through Advanced Reproductive Technologies BreedsBoyd Beef Cattle to Donate 2027 Angus Foundation Heifer Package BreedsU.P. State Fair dairy show highlights youth, dairy cattle and community BreedsHereford Cattle Society wins landmark court case over breed status

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Heterosis

The extra performance of crossbred animals over the average of their parent breeds.

A tile drawn for this page, not a picture of Heterosis.

Also: hybrid vigour, hybrid vigor

Heterosis, or hybrid vigour, describes how crossbred animals often grow faster, breed more readily, live longer or resist disease better than the average of their two parent breeds. It is strongest in traits linked to fitness, such as fertility, calf survival and length of productive life, and weaker in traits such as carcass quality. The gain is greatest in the first cross and falls if crossbreds are mated together, unless new breeds are rotated in. Heterosis is larger when the parent breeds are less related, so crosses of zebu and taurine cattle show more of it than crosses of two European breeds. It is the main reason commercial beef herds crossbreed.

See also

Crossbreeding F1 hybrid Composite breed

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