420328

Genetic Parameters of Female Fertility and First Lactation Production Traits of Friesian Dairy Cattle in Egypt

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Last updated: 09 Apr 2025

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Abstract

This study aimed to estimate genetic parameters for fertility traits in Friesian heifers and traits associated with their first lactation. Data from animals that calved between 1979 and 2013 at Saka and El-Karada stations were analyzed using a multi-trait linear animal model.The heritabilities (h²) of fertility traits in both heifers and cows were generally low. For virgin heifers, the heritabilities of age-related traits (AFB, ASB, and AFC) were slightly higher (0.152, 0.161, and 0.163, respectively) compared to other fertility traits such as NSC0, CR0, and SP0 (0.027, 0.019, and 0.022, respectively). In cows, heritability estimates for NSC1 and SP1 (0.044 and 0.035, respectively) were higher than those for heifers. Genetic correlations among traits were notably high, including correlations between NSC0 and CR0 (-0.903) and SP0 (0.951), and between AFB, ASB, and AFC (0.994–0.997) in heifers. Similarly, strong correlations were observed among cow traits, such as NSC1 with SP1 (0.925) and DO1 (0.980), CR1 with SP1 (-0.994) and DO1 (-0.918), and SP1 with DO1 (0.976). These results suggest that fertility traits in both heifers and cows can be included in genetic selection. Notably, selecting heifers based on age-related traits (AFB, ASB, and AFC) may encourage earlier maturation in cows.

DOI

10.21608/jappmu.2025.327536.1132

Keywords

Friesian, female fertility, genetic parameters, first lactation

Authors

First Name

S.

Last Name

Zahed

MiddleName

M.

Affiliation

Animal Production Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Nadi El-Said, Dokki, Giza, Egypt.

Email

smza56@hotmail.com

City

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Orcid

0009-0009-9037-2898

First Name

Anas

Last Name

Badr

MiddleName

A. A.

Affiliation

Animal Production Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Nadi El-Said, Dokki, Giza, Egypt.

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Orcid

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Volume

16

Article Issue

3

Related Issue

54839

Issue Date

2025-03-01

Receive Date

2025-04-03

Publish Date

2025-03-01

Page Start

33

Page End

39

Print ISSN

2090-3642

Online ISSN

2090-3723

Link

https://jappmu.journals.ekb.eg/article_420328.html

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http://journals.ekb.eg?_action=service&article_code=420328

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Original Article

Type Code

876

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Journal of Animal and Poultry Production

Publication Link

https://jappmu.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Genetic Parameters of Female Fertility and First Lactation Production Traits of Friesian Dairy Cattle in Egypt

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Article

Created At

09 Apr 2025