Body condition score of Nelore cows and its relation with mature size and gestation length

The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic variability of body condition score (BCS) in Nelore cows, and analyze its genetic correlations with mature weight (MW), mature height (MH) and gestation length (GL), in order to obtain information supporting the possible use of this score in br...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Livestock science 2015-05, Vol.175, p.10-17
Main Authors: Silveira, D.D., Souza, F.R.P., Brauner, C.C., Ayres, D.R., Silveira, F.A., Dionello, N.J.L., Boligon, A.A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bayesian inference
Beef cattle
Genetic correlation
Heritability
Mature height
Mature weight
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic variability of body condition score (BCS) in Nelore cows, and analyze its genetic correlations with mature weight (MW), mature height (MH) and gestation length (GL), in order to obtain information supporting the possible use of this score in breeding programs. The BCS was recorded on pregnancy diagnosis and ranged from 1 (very thin) to 5 (extremely fat). Adjusted means for MW, MH and GL according to the BCS classes were obtained using an univariate mixed model for each trait. Bayesian Inference using Gibbs Sampling was applied to estimate (co)variances components and genetic and phenotypic correlations, in two-trait analyses, considering a threshold animal model for BCS and a linear animal model for the other traits. Adjusted means for MW, MH and GL showed significant variation (p
ISSN:1871-1413
1878-0490
DOI:10.1016/j.livsci.2015.02.013