17 Heritability Estimate of Heart Score

Abstract Feedlot heart disease (FHD), also known as bovine congestive failure, affects feedlot cattle at low to moderate elevations. This can cause death and preliminary research suggests unfavorable influences on performance carcass quality in those individuals reaching their harvest endpoint. The severity of FHD for an individual animal be determined by a scoring system that ranges from 1 5 corresponding the increasing degree failure with score normal larger scores indicative increased malformations. Heart (HS) are collected animals harvest. Previous indicated differences exist between sires progeny’s propensity developing HS 3, 4 5. As result these sire differences, objective this study was estimate heritability obtained group fattened cattle. scores, numbers (Grade 1: 290 ; Grade 2: 728; 3: 340; 4: 64; 5: 0) pedigree, pen information were 1,422 animals. pedigree used evaluation consisted 89 unique sires. No dam available scored Heritability estimated using mixed effect model statistical software package ASReml 3.0. Fixed effects included scorer, sex, kill age. Sex not found significant model. Individual sole random effect. Scorer (P < 0.05) age 0.1) influence variability score, although detected tendency = 0.07). 0.27 ± 0.10. genetic variation 0.15 phenotypic 0.40. These results suggest, is moderately heritable has potential respond selection.