Genetic correlations between claw health and feet and leg conformation in Norwegian Red cows
- 1 July 2014
- journal article
- Published by American Dairy Science Association in Journal of Dairy Science
- Vol. 97 (7), 4522-4529
- https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2013-7837
Abstract
The aim of this study was to estimate genetic correlations between claw disorders and feet and leg conformation traits in Norwegian Red cows. A total of 188,928 cows with claw health status recorded at claw trimming from 2004 to September 2013 and 210,789 first-lactation cows with feet and leg conformation scores from 2001 to September 2013 were included in the analyses. Traits describing claw health were corkscrew claw, infectious claw disorders (dermatitis, heel horn erosion, and interdigital phlegmon), and laminitis-related claw disorders (sole ulcer, white line disorder, and hemorrhage of sole and white line). The feet and leg conformation traits were rear leg rear view (new and old definition), rear leg side view, foot angle, and hoof quality. Feet and leg conformation traits were scored linearly from 1 to 9, with optimum scores depending on the trait. Claw disorders were defined as binary (0/1) traits for each lactation. Threshold sire models were used to model claw disorders, whereas the feet and leg conformation traits were described by linear sire models. Three multivariate analyses were performed, each including the 5 feet and leg conformation traits and 1 of the 3 claw disorders at a time. Posterior means of heritability of liability of claw disorders ranged from 0.10 to 0.20 and heritabilities of feet and leg conformation traits ranged from 0.04 to 0.11. Posterior standard deviation of heritability was ≤0.01 for all traits. Genetic correlations between claw disorders and feet and leg conformation traits were all low or moderate, except between corkscrew claw and hoof quality (-0.86), which are supposed to measure the same trait. The genetic correlations between rear leg rear view (new) and infectious claw disorders (-0.20) and laminitis-related claw disorders (0.26), and between hoof quality and laminitis-related claw disorders (-0.33) were moderate. Eight of the 15 genetic correlations between claw disorders and feet and leg conformation traits had 0 included in the 95% highest posterior density interval. These results imply that selection for feet and leg conformation is not an efficient approach to genetically improve claw health in Norwegian Red cattle.Keywords
This publication has 13 references indexed in Scilit:
- Genetic analyses of claw health in Norwegian Red cowsJournal of Dairy Science, 2013
- Genetic background of claw disorders in the course of lactation and their relationships with type traitsJournal of Animal Breeding and Genetics, 2013
- Genetic parameters for hoof disorders and feet and leg conformation traits in Finnish Holstein cowsJournal of Dairy Science, 2013
- Cluster analysis on across-country genetic correlations for overall type traits and body condition score of Holstein bullsLivestock Science, 2013
- International genetic evaluation of Holstein bulls for overall type traits and body condition scoreJournal of Dairy Science, 2012
- Genetic parameters for claw health and feet and leg conformation traits in Finnish Ayrshire cowsJournal of Animal Breeding and Genetics, 2012
- Hygiene-related and feed-related hoof diseases show different patterns of genetic correlations to clinical mastitis and female fertilityJournal of Dairy Science, 2011
- Claw health index for Dutch dairy cattle based on claw trimming and conformation dataJournal of Dairy Science, 2010
- Housing system and herd size interactions in Norwegian dairy herds; associations with performance and disease incidenceActa Veterinaria Scandinavica, 2010
- Genetic parameters for claw and leg health, foot and leg conformation, and locomotion in Danish HolsteinsJournal of Dairy Science, 2009