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Short communication: Born to be a loser cow?
H B H Jørgensen1, L D Pedersen, M K Sørensen
1Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Aarhus, PO Box 50, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark. hanne.h.jorgensen@agrsci.dk
Journal of Dairy Science
|August 21, 2010
Summary
Danish Holstein "loser cows" show low health and production. This study found these traits are heritable, suggesting breeding for more robust cows is possible.
Area of Science:
- Animal Science
- Genetics
- Veterinary Medicine
Background:
- A growing concern exists in Denmark regarding
- loser cows
- which exhibit diminished health and production status. Previous research estimated their prevalence at 3.2% in Danish Holstein herds.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate genetic and phenotypic parameters for the loser cow state.
- To analyze underlying traits including lameness, hock lesions, cutaneous lesions, and hair coat condition.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of records from 6,098 cows using an animal model.
- Inclusion of fixed effects (herd, season, location, age at first calving, lactation stage, parity) and random effects (additive genetic, permanent environment).
Main Results:
- Heritability for the loser cow score was 0.08; for underlying traits, it ranged from 0.05 to 0.12.
- Genetic correlations between loser cow traits ranged from 0.04 to 0.68; phenotypic correlations ranged from 0.09 to 0.21.
- Significant genetic and phenotypic correlations between the loser cow score and its underlying traits (0.25–0.89 and 0.20–0.85, respectively) support the loser cow concept.
Conclusions:
- The traits comprising the loser cow score are easily assessed and exhibit genetic variation.
- These traits are suitable for inclusion in breeding indices to develop more robust cows.
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