Genetic Parameters for Fecal Egg Count and Body Weight in Katahdin Lambs

An abstract of a study by Ngere et al estimating genetic parameters for fecal egg count at weaning (WFEC) and postweaning (PWFEC), and weights at birth (BW), weaning (WW) and postweaning (PWW) in Katahdin lambs through investigation of direct additive, maternal additive, maternal permanent environme...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of animal science 2017-01, Vol.95, p.1
Main Authors: Ngere, L, Burke, J M, Notter, D R, Morgan, J, Miller, J E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Body weight
Breeding
Environmental effects
Environmental management
Genetics
Heritability
Maternal effects
Parameter estimation
Sheep
Weaning
Weight
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:An abstract of a study by Ngere et al estimating genetic parameters for fecal egg count at weaning (WFEC) and postweaning (PWFEC), and weights at birth (BW), weaning (WW) and postweaning (PWW) in Katahdin lambs through investigation of direct additive, maternal additive, maternal permanent environmental and maternal temporary environmental effects is presented. Preliminary analyses, with less restrictive management groupings, gave higher estimates of heritability for fecal egg count. Bi-variate analyses revealed very low genetic (-0.06 to 0.16) and phenotypic (-0.09 to 0.08) correlations between weights and fecal egg counts. Genetic and phenotypic correlations were, respectively, 0.80 and 0.31 for WWEC and PWWEC; 0.66 and 0.47 for BW and WW; 0.44 and 0.38 for BW and PWW; and 0.89 and 0.82 for WW and PWW. This study revealed an influence of maternal effects on body weights of Katahdin lambs; the inclusion of both permanent and temporary maternal environmental effects may lead to better estimates of breeding values and selection decisions.
ISSN:0021-8812
1525-3163
DOI:10.2527/ssasas2017.001