Effects of foster dams can be included in genetic evaluations using animal models with maternal effects in several ways. The alternatives discussed involve minor changes in computing strategies from strategies used with reduced animal models that predict breeding values for direct and maternal effects. The easiest alternative is to assign foster dams to groups by breed and time period and add e...

Effects of foster dams can be included in genetic evaluations using animal models with maternal effects in several ways. The alternatives discussed involve minor changes in computing strategies from strategies used with reduced animal models that predict breeding values for direct and maternal effects. The easiest alternative is to assign foster dams to groups by breed and time period and add e...

Variances and covariances for birth weight, gain from birth to weaning (ADG), and 205-d weight were obtained from a sire-dam model and a sire-maternal grandsire model for a herd of Angus and a herd of Hereford cattle. Estimates of direct additive genetic variance (sigma 2A), maternal additive genetic variance (sigma 2M), covariance between direct and maternal additive genetic effects (sigma AM)...

Covariance components and genetic parameters of weekly live body weight from hatching to six weeks of age and age of sexual maturation were estimated in a laying type Japanese quail line. The univariate and bivariate animal model analysis included hatching group and sex as fixed effects. Each trait was analysed with animal as random effect to fit the additive direct effect. Additional random ef...

Perinatal calf mortality affects profitability of beef cattle production systems, hence, it would eventually be beneficial to include this trait in a breeding goal. The objectives of this study were to estimate the environmental effects and heritabilities of and genetic correlations among birth weight (BW), calving ease (CE) and calf survival (CS) in Charolais cattle, in the Czech Republic. The...

The Jamunapari goats are reared as dairy animals in semi-arid conditions, therefore it is necessary to evaluate the genetic potential for the genetic improvement of milk production traits. The data comprised of 2217 phenotypic records for milk yield at 90 days (MY90) and 140 days (MY140), total milk yield (TMY) and lactation length (LL) obtained from the progeny of 173 sires and 446 dams during...

Estimates of (co)variance components and genetic parameters were obtained for birth, 205-d, and 365-d weight for Nelore cattle in Brazil, using single and multiple-trait animal models. Data were from the Brazilian Zebu Breeders Association (ABCZ). Records of 27,549 calves sired by 587 bulls and raised on pasture in 57 herds were analyzed by restricted maximum likelihood fitting an animal model ...

The objective of this study was to estimate (co)variance functions using random regression models on Legendre polynomials for the analysis of repeated measures of BW from birth to adult age. A total of 82,064 records from 8,145 females were analyzed. Different models were compared. The models included additive direct and maternal effects, and animal and maternal permanent environmental effects ...

Correlated effects of selection for components of litter size on growth and backfat thickness were estimated using data from 3 pig lines derived from the same base population of Large White. Two lines were selected for 6 generations on either high ovulation rate at puberty (OR) or high prenatal survival corrected for ovulation rate in the first 2 parities (PS). The third line was an unselected ...