Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-wq2xx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-16T05:48:34.369Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The incorporation of fertility indices in genetic improvement programmes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2018

J.E. Pryce  and
R.F. Veerkamp
J.E. Pryce
Affiliation:
Animal Biology Division, Scottish Agricultural College, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG, UK
R.F. Veerkamp
Affiliation:
ID-Lelystad, PO Box 65, 8200 AB Lelystad, The Netherlands
Get access

Abstract

In recent years there has been considerable genetic progress in milk production. Yet, increases in yield have been accompanied by an apparent lengthening of calving intervals, days open, days to first heat and a decline in conception rates, which appears to be both at the genetic and phenotypic level. Fertility has a high relative economic value compared to production traits such as protein, making it attractive to include in a breeding programme. To do this there needs to be genetic variance in fertility. Measures of fertility calculated from service dates have a small genetic compared to phenotypic variance, hence heritability estimates are small, typically less than 5%, although coefficients of genetic variance are comparable to those of production traits. Heritabilities of commencement of luteal activity determined using progesterone profiles are generally higher, and have been reported as being from 0.16 to 0.28, which could be because of a more precise quantification of genetic variance, as management influences such as delaying insemination and heat detection rates are excluded. However, it might not be the use of progesterone profiles alone, as days to first heat observed by farm staff has a heritability of 0.15. The most efficient way to breed for improved fertility is to construct a selection index using the genetic and phenotypic parameter estimates of all traits of interest in addition to their respective economic values. Index traits for fertility could include measures such as calving interval, days open, days to first service, or days to first heat but there may also be alternative measures. Examples include traits related to energy balance, such as live weight and condition score (change), both of which have higher heritabilities than fertility measures and have genetic correlations of sufficient magnitude to make genetic progress by using them feasible. To redress the balance between fertility and production, some countries already publish genetic evaluations of fertility including: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, The Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

Type
Invited Papers
Information
BSAP Occasional Publication , Volume 26 , Issue 1: Fertility in the High Producing Dairy Cow , January 2001 , pp. 237 - 249
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bagnato, A. and Oltenacu, P.A. 1993. Genetic studies of fertility traits and production in different parities in Italian Friesian cattle. Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 110: 126–134.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boichard, D. 1990. Estimation of the economic value of conception rate in dairy cattle. Livestock Production Science 24: 187–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boichard, D., Barbat, A. and Briend, M. 1997. Genetic evaluation for fertility in French dairy cattle. INTERBULL Bulletin 18. Proceedings International Workshop on Genetic Improvement of Functional Traits: Fertility and reproduction, Grub, Germany, November 1997. Google Scholar
Boichard, D. and Manfredi, E. 1994. Genetic analysis of conception rate in French Holstein cattle. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica 44: 138–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beam, S.W. and Butler, W.R. 1999. Energy balance effects on follicular development and first ovulation in post-partum cows. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility. Suppl. 54. (in press)Google Scholar
Brascamp, E.W. 1984. Selection indices with constraints. Animal Breeding Abstracts 52: 645–654.Google Scholar
Brotherstone, S., Veerkamp, R.F. and Hill, W.G. 1998. Predicting breeding values for herd life of Holstein Friesian dairy cattle from lifespan and type. Animal Science 67: 405–412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butler, W.R. and Smith, R.D. 1989. Interrelationships between energy balance and post-parum reproductive function in dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science. 72: 767–783.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cameron, N.D. 1997. Selection indices and prediction of genetic merit in Animal Breeding CAB International.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campos, M.S., Wilcox, C.J., Beceril, C.M. and Diz, A. 1994. Genetic parameters for yield and reproductive traits of Holstein and Jersey cattle in Florida Journal of Dairy Science 77: 867–873.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Darwash, A.O., Lamming, G.E. and Woolliams, J.A. 1997. Estimation of genetic variation in the interval from calving to postpartum ovulation of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 80: 1227–1234.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
De Jong, G. 1995. Sire breeding values for daughters’ fertility in the Netherlands. Proceedings of the Open Session of the Interbull Annual Meeting, Sept 7-8, 1995, Prague, Czech Republic.Google Scholar
Dematawewa, C.M.B. and Berger, P.J. 1998. Genetic and phenotypic parameters for 305-day yield, fertility and survival in Holsteins. Journal of Dairy Science. 81: 2700–2709.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Elo, K.T., Vilkki, J., de Koning, D.J. Velmala, R.J. and Maki-Tanila, A.V. 1999. A quantitative trait locus for live weight maps to bovine Chromosome 23. Mammalian Genome 10: 831–835.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Groen, A.F., Steine, T. Colleau, J.J., Pedersen, J., Pribyl, J., Reinsch, N. 1997. Economic values in dairy cattle breeding, with special reference to functional traits. Report of an EAAP working group Livestock Production Science, 49: 1–21 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grohn, Y.T., HertI, J.A. and Harman, J.L. 1994. Effect of early lactation milk yield on reproductive disorders in dairy cows. American Journal of Veterinary Research, 55: 1521–1528.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grosshans, T., Xu, Z.Z., Burton, L.J., Johnson, D.L. and Macmillan, K.L. 1997. Performance and genetic parameters of fertility of seasonal dairy cows in New Zealand. Livestock Production Science. 51: 41–51 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayes, J.F., Cue, R.I. and Monardes, H.G. 1992. Estimates of repeatability of reproductive traits in Canadian Holsteins. Journal of Dairy Science 75: 1701–1706.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, W.G., Visscher, P.M. and Brotherstone, S. 1998. Black spots in the application of genetic theories to dairy cattle breeding. INTERBULL Bulletin 19. Proceedings Intermediate report workshop on Genetic Improvement ofFunctional Traits in cattle (GIFT), Warsaw, Poland, 1998.Google Scholar
Hodel, F., Moll., J. and Kuenzi, N. 1995. Analysis of fertility in Swiss Simmental cattle - Genetic and environmental effects on female fertility. Livestock Production Science 41: 95–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoekstra, J., van der Lugt, A.W., van der Werf, J.H.J. and Ouweltjes, W. 1994. Genetic and phenotypic parameters for milk production and fertility traits in upgraded dairy cattle. Livestock Production Science 40: 225–232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jansen, J. 1985. Genetic aspects of fertility in dairy cattle based on an analysis of AI data - a review with emphasis on areas for further research. Livestock Production Science 12: 1–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, H.E., White, L.M.S. and Brotherstone, S. 1999. Genetic evaluation of Holstein Friesian sires for daughter condition score changes using a random regression model. Animal Science 68: 467–476.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelm, S.C., Freeman, A.E. and Kelly, D.H. 1997. Realized versus expected gains in milk and fat production of Holstein cattle, considering the effects of days open. Journal of Dairy Science. 80: 1786–1794.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lindhe, B. and Philipsson, J. 1998. Genetic correlations between production with disease resistance and fertility in dairy cattle and consequences for total merit selection. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A, Animal Science: 48: 216–221.Google Scholar
Moore, R.K., Kennedy, B.W., Schaeffer, L.R. and Moxley, J.E. 1992. Relationships between age and body weight at calving, feed intake, production, days open and selection indexes in Ayshires and Holsteins. Journal of Dairy Science 75: 294–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oltenacu, P.A. Frick, A. and Lindhe, B. 1991. Relationship of fertility to milk yield in Swedish cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 74: 264–268.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pasman, E. and Reinhardt, F. 1997. Genetic evaluation for NR90 of Holstein cattle in Germany. INTERBULL Bulletin 18. Proceedings International Workshop on Genetic Improvement of Functional Traits: Fertility and Reproduction, Grub, Germany, November 1997.Google Scholar
Philipsson, J. 1981. Genetic aspects of female fertility in dairy cattle. Livestock Production Science 8: 307–319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pösö, J. and Mantysaari, E.A. 1996. Genetic relationships between reproductive disorders, operational days open and milk yield. Livestock Production Science 46: 41–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pryce, J.E. 1997. Genetics of health and fertility in dairy cattle. PhD thesis, University of Edinburgh. Google Scholar
Pryce, J.E., Veerkamp, R.F., Thompson, R. Hill, W.G. and Simm, G. 1997. Genetic aspects of common health disorders and measures of fertility in Holstein Friesian dairy cattle. Animal Science 65: 353–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pryce, J.E., Esslemont, R.J., Thompson, R., Veerkamp, R.F., Kossaibati, M.A. and Simm, G. 1998a. Estimation of genetic parameters using health, fertility and production data from a management recording system for dairy cattle. Animal Science 66: 577–584.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pryce, J.E., Veerkamp, R.F., Simm, G. 1998b. Expected correlated responses in health and fertility traits to selection on production in dairy cattle. Proceedings of the 6th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, Armidale, Australia, January 1998. Volume 23: 383–386.Google Scholar
Pryce, J.E. and Brotherstone, S. 1999. Estimation of lifespan breeding values in the UK and then- relationship with health and fertility traits. INTERBULL Bulletin 21. Proceedings International Workshop on Genetic Improvement ofFunctional Traits: Longevity, Paris, France, 1999.Google Scholar
Pryce, J.E., Coffey, M.P., Brotherstone, S. 1999a. The genetic relationship between calving interval, condition score and linear type and management traits in pedigree registered Holstein dairy cows. (submitted)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pryce, J.E., Nielsen, B.L., Veerkamp, R.F. and Simm, G. 1999b. Genotype and feeding system effects and interactions for health and fertility traits in dairy cattle. Livestock Production Science 57: 193–201 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Royal, M.D., Darwash, A.O. and Lamming, G.E. 1999 Trends in the fertility of dairy cows in the United Kingdom. Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science Annual Meeting, 1999. Paper 1.Google Scholar
Simm, G., Veerkamp, R.F. and Persaud, P. 1994. The economic performance of dairy cows of different predicted genetic merit for milk solids production. Animal Production 58: 313–320.Google Scholar
Stott, A.W., Veerkamp, R.F., Wassell, T.R. 1999. The economics of fertility in the dairy herd. Animal Science 68: 49–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swalve, H.H., Topf, C. and Langholtz, H.-J. 1992. Estimation of genetic parameters for differently recorded fertility data in dairy cattle. Journal ofAnimal Breeding and Genetics 109: 241 –251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Arendonk, J.A.M., Hovenier, R. and De Boer, W. 1989. Phenotypic and genetic association between fertility and production in dairy cows. Livestock Production Science 21: 1–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Veerkamp, R.F., 1998. Selection for economic efficiency of dairy cattle using information on live weight and feed intake: a review. Journal of Dairy Science 81: 1109–1119.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Veerkamp, R.F., and Brotherstone, S. 1997. Genetic correlations between linear type traits, food intake, liveweight and condition score in Holstein Friesian cattle. Animal Science, 64: 385–392.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Veerkamp, R.F., Oldenbroek, J.K., Van der Gaast, H.J. and Van der Werf, J.H.J 2000. Genetic correlation between days until start of luteal activity and milk yield, energy balance and live weights. Journal of Dairy Science. 83: 577–583 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Viikki, H.J., deKoning, D.J., Elo, K, Velmala, R, MakiTanila, A 1997. Multiple marker mapping of quantitative trait loci of Finnish dairy cattle by regression. Journal of Dairy Science, 80: 198–204 Google Scholar
Weller, J.I. and Ron, M. 1992. Genetic analysis of fertility traits in Israeli Holsteins by linear and threshold models. Journal of Dairy Science 75: 2541–2548.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed