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Nogalski Z, Piwczyński D. Association of length of pregnancy with other reproductive traits in dairy cattle. Asian-Australas J Anim Sci. 2012;25(1):22-7doi: 10.5713/ajas.2011.11084.
Nogalski, Z., & Piwczyński, D. (2012). Association of length of pregnancy with other reproductive traits in dairy cattle. Asian-Australasian journal of animal sciences, 25(1), 22-7. https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2011.11084
Nogalski, Zenon, and Piwczyński, Dariusz. "Association of length of pregnancy with other reproductive traits in dairy cattle." Asian-Australasian journal of animal sciences vol. 25,1 (2012): 22-7. doi: https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2011.11084
Nogalski Z, Piwczyński D. Association of length of pregnancy with other reproductive traits in dairy cattle. Asian-Australas J Anim Sci. 2012 Jan;25(1):22-7. doi: 10.5713/ajas.2011.11084. PMID: 25049473; PMCID: PMC4092919.
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Asian-Australas J Anim Sci. 2012 Jan;25(1):22-7. doi: 10.5713/ajas.2011.11084.

Association of length of pregnancy with other reproductive traits in dairy cattle.

Asian-Australasian journal of animal sciences

Zenon Nogalski, Dariusz Piwczyński

Affiliations

  1. University of Technology and Life Sciences, Department of Genetics and General Animal Breeding, ul. Ks. Kordeckiego 20, 85-225 Bydgoszcz, Poland .

PMID: 25049473 PMCID: PMC4092919 DOI: 10.5713/ajas.2011.11084

Abstract

The experiment involved observations of 2,514 Holstein-Friesian cows to determine the effects of environmental factors (cow's age, calving season, weight and sex of calves, housing system) and genetic factors on gestation length in dairy cattle and the correlation between gestation length and other reproductive traits (calving ease, stillbirth rates and placental expulsion). Genetic parameters were estimated based on the sires of calved cows (indirect effect) and the sires of live-born calves (direct effect). The following factors were found to contribute to prolonged gestation: increasing cow's age, male fetuses and growing fetus weight. Optimal gestation length was determined in the range of 275-277 days based on calving ease and stillbirth rates. The heritability of gestation length was estimated at 0.201-0.210 by the direct effect and 0.055-0.073 by the indirect effect. The resulting genetic correlations suggest that the efforts to optimize (prolong) gestation length could exert an adverse influence on the breeding value of bulls by increasing perinatal mortality and calving difficulty. The standard errors of the investigated parameters were relatively high, suggesting that any attempts to modify gestation length for the purpose of improving calving ease and reducing stillbirth rates should be introduced with great caution.

Keywords: Calving Ease; Genetic Correlations; Heritability; Holstein-Friesian Breed; Stillbirth Rates

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