Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T02:09:03.416Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A note on heritability estimates for growth traits in male and female Romanov sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

G. A. María
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, University of Nebraska, Lincoln and US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Station, Lincoln, NE 68583-0908, USA
K. G. Boldman
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, University of Nebraska, Lincoln and US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Station, Lincoln, NE 68583-0908, USA
L. D. van Vleck
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, University of Nebraska, Lincoln and US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Station, Lincoln, NE 68583-0908, USA
Get access

Abstract

A total of 1855 records were analysed using restricted maximum likelihood (REML) techniques to estimate heritabilities separately for males and females lambs on birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), 90-day weight (W90) and average daily gains birth to weaning (Cl) and weaning to 90 days (C2). An animal model including fixed effects of year × season, parity, litter size and rearing type; and random effects of direct genetic effect (h2D) and residual was applied. Estimates ofh2Dfor BWwere 048 (males) and 0·50 (females); for WW 0·35 (males) and 0·22 (females); for W90 0·21 (males) and 0·31 (females); for Cl 0·20 (males) and 0·25 (females); and for C2 0·18 (males) and 0·29 (females).

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1993

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

Agricultural Research Council. 1980. The nutrient requirements of ruminant livestock. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Slough.Google Scholar
Baker, R. L., Clarke, J. N. and Diprose, G. D. 1978. Genetic and phenotypic parameters in New Zealand Romney sheep. New Zealand journal of Agricultural Research 22: 921.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boldman, K. G. and Vleck, L. D. van. 1991. Derivative-free restricted maximum likelihood estimation in animal models with a sparse matrix solver. Journal of Dairy Science 74: 43374343.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boujenane, I. and Kerfal, M. 1990. Estimates of genetic and phenotypic parameters for growth traits of D'man lambs. Animal Production 51:173178.Google Scholar
Bouix, J., Bibe, B. and Lefebre, C. 1982. Genetic parameters of growth and carcass quality for meat-sheep in progeny testing station. Proceedings of the second world congress on genetics applied to livestock production, Madrid, vol. viii, pp. 732738.Google Scholar
Kyle, W. H. and Terrill, C. E. 1953. Heritabilities and repeatabilities of fleece and body traits of Rambouillet, Targhe and Columbia sheep born in 1951. Journal of Animal Science 12: 896 (abstr.).Google Scholar
Maria, G. A., Boldman, K. G. and Vleck, L. D. van. 1993. Estimates of variance due to direct and maternal effects for growth traits of Romanov sheep. Journal of Animal Science 71: 845849CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martin, T. G., Sales, D. I., Smith, C. and Nicholson, D. 1980. Phenotypic and genetic parameters for lamb weights in a synthetic line of sheep. Animal Production 30: 261269.Google Scholar
Mavrogenis, A. P., Louca, A. and Robison, O. W. 1980. Estimates of genetic parameters for pre-weaning and post-weaning growth traits of Chios lambs. Animal Production 30: 271276.Google Scholar
Meyer, K. 1989. Restricted maximum likelihood to estimate variance components for animal models with several random effects using a derivative-free algorithm. Genetics, Selection, Evolution 21: 317340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parrat, A. C., Nicoll, G. B., Alderton, M. J. 1989. Romney male female heritabilities and genetic correlations for weaning, autumn and spring body weights and hogget fleece weights. Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 49:191195.Google Scholar
Patterson, H. D. and Thompson, R. 1971. Recovery of inter-block information when block sizes are unequal. Biometrika 58: 545554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pattie, W. A. 1965. Selection for weaning weight in Merino sheep. Australian journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 5:353360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar