which is attained at an age of 6–9 months with 250–380 kg of BW in Holstein bulls (Lunstra,
Ford, & Echternkamp, 1978). Therefore, Knight, Cosgrove, Death, et al. (1999) and Knight, Cosgrove, Lambert, et al. (1999) have proposed post-pubertal castration of bulls (13 months of
age), as a means to maintain the performance advantages of intact males (greater growth rate and feed efficiency) until 13 months, and the benefits of castration on meat quality characteristics afterwards