Genetic and Phenotypic Parameters for 305-Day Yield, Fertility, and Survival in Holsteins

Abstract

A data file containing 122,715 lactation records of Holstein cows distributed across 11,374 herd-year-season groups was analyzed to obtain (co)variance estimates for yield, fertility and cow survival. Milk, fat, and protein yields were adjusted to 305 d. Days open was truncated to 305 d, and the number of services was truncated to 9. Survival of a cow during a full lactation (305 d) was recorded as 0 (died) or 1 (alive). Variance components for the six traits were estimated using a multiple-trait animal model and the REML procedure. The model included herd-year-season, parity (three groups), age (three groups nested within parity), sex of calf (1 = male, 2 = female), and dystocia score (1 = no problem,..., 5 = extreme difficulty) as fixed effects and animal and permanent environment as random effects. Heritabilities for milk, fat, and protein yields, days open, number of services and cow survival were 0.2, 0.18, 0.18, 0.04, 0.03, and 0.002, respectively. The corresponding repeatabilities were 0.42, 0.41, 0.41, 0.12, 0.08, and 0.009, respectively. Genetic and phenotypic correlations between yield traits were high and positive, and correlations between yields and reproduction traits were high and antagonistic. Phenotypic correlations between survival and yields were about 0.1, and their genetic counterparts were slightly negative. Thus, management practices seem to keep mortality rates of high producing cows lower even though those cows have lower genetic potential for survival than do the low producers. Fertility traits showed a slightly undesirable (e.g., 0.1 to 0.3) genetic relationship with survival, but phenotypic correlations were essentially 0. For heifers, yields increased significantly with age. For cows in other parities, the significant changes with age were reduced fertility and reduced survival.