Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T03:05:41.365Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The inheritance of wool quantity and live weight in the French Angora rabbit

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2016

D. Allain ,
H. de Rochambeau ,
R. G. Thébault  and
J. L. Vrillon
D. Allain
Affiliation:
institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Centre de Toulouse, Station d’Amélioration Génétique des Animaux, BP 27, 31326 Castanet Tolosan, France
H. de Rochambeau
Affiliation:
institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Centre de Toulouse, Station d’Amélioration Génétique des Animaux, BP 27, 31326 Castanet Tolosan, France
R. G. Thébault
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Centre Poitou-Charentes, Unité Expérimentale Génétique Animale Phanères, Le Magneraud BP 52, 17700 Surgères, France
J. L. Vrillon
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Centre Poitou-Charentes, Unité Expérimentale Génétique Animale Phanères, Le Magneraud BP 52, 17700 Surgères, France
Get access

Abstract

More accurate definition of Angora rabbit breeding objectives has been investigated by considering multiple expression of different traits. Data on 9672 fleece harvests produced by 1343 Angora does which had at least one wool harvest were analysed in order to study genetic variability according to age. The animals of the French breed were defleeced and weighed at 8 and 21 weeks of age for the first and second time respectively. Thereafter, does were defleeced every 14 weeks and weighed 9 weeks before defleecing. Total fleece weight and live body weight were recorded at each harvest.

Direct heritability estimates of total fleece weight were similar accross ages and ranged from 0·31 to 0·42 . A significant maternal heritability was also observed at all ages of harvest. Maternal genetic estimates decreased with age from 0·44 at the first harvest to 0·10 for an adult harvest. Except for 8 weeks of age, genetic correlations between total fleece weight and live weight were generally not significantly different from zero. Genetic correlations of total fleece weight between the first and subsequent harvests were low (from 0·22 to 0·39) but genetic correlation estimates between consecutive harvests after the first were high, and ranged from 0·68 to 0·89 . The results suggest that the second harvest would be the first good predictor of breeding value for total fleece weight in the adult Angora rabbit.

Keywords

genetic parameterslive weightrabbitswool production
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Science , Volume 68 , Issue 3 , April 1999 , pp. 441 - 447
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1999

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

Caro, W., Magofke, J.C, Garda, X., Garcia, G., Carvajal, S., Gecele, P., Jadrijevic, D. and Bruna, G. 1984. [Environmental factor affecting fleece production in Angora rabbits.] Investigaciones del Departamento de Producion Animal 1981-1982, Universitad de Chile, pp. 200–206.Google Scholar
Garcia, F. X. and Magofke, J. C. 1982. [Genetic parameters for the production of fleeces and body weight in Angora rabbits.] Avances en Producción Animal 7: 81–90.Google Scholar
Gerstmayr, S., Haussmann, H. and Schlote, W. 1992. Estimation of variance components for filial and maternal effects in Turkish Angora goats. Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 109: 252–263.Google Scholar
Gerstmayr, S. and Horst, P. 1995. Estimates of performance traits in Turkish Angora goats. Small Ruminant Research 16: 141–157.Google Scholar
Groeneveld, E. 1996. REML VCE, a multivariate muti model restricted maximum likelihood (co)variance component estimation package. Version 3.2. User’s guide.Google Scholar
Magofke, J.C, Garcia, F. X. and Caro, T. 1982. [Environmental factors influencing Angora rabbit hair production.] Avances en Producción Animal 7: 113–121.Google Scholar
Mortimer, S. I. and Atkins, K. D. 1994. Direct additive and maternal genetic effects on wool production of Merino. Proceedings of the 5th world congress on genetics applied to livestock production, Guelph, vol. 18, pp. 103–106.Google Scholar
Rochambeau, H.de and Thébault, R. G. 1990. Genetics of the rabbit for wool production. Animal Breeding Abstracts 58: 3–15.Google Scholar
Rochambeau, H.de, Thébault, R. G. and Grun, J. 1991. Angora rabbit wool production: non-genetic factors affecting quantity and quality of wool. Animal Production 52: 383–393.Google Scholar
Rougeot, J. and Thébault, R. G. 1984. Le Lapin Angora, sa toison, son aévage. Les Editions du Point Vétérinaire, Maisons-Alfort, France.Google Scholar
Rougeot, J., Thébault, R. G. and Allain, D. 1984. The role of the compound hair follicle in adaptative pelage changes. Acta Zoologica Fennica 171: 19–21.Google Scholar
Swan, A. A. and Hickson, J. D. 1994. Maternal effects in Australian Merinos. Proceedings of the 5th world congress on genetics applied to livestock production, Guelph, vol. 18, pp. 143–146.Google Scholar
Taddeo, H. R., Allain, D., Mueller, J., Rochambeau, H.de and Manfredi, E. 1998. Angora goat production in Argentina. IL Genetic parameter estimates of production traits. Small Ruminant Research 28: 217–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thébault, R. G. and Rochambeau, H.de. 1988. Production data and demographic parameters of a French Angora rabbit strain. Proceedings of the 4th congress of the World Rabbit Science Association, Budapest, vol. 2, pp. 227–238.Google Scholar
Van Wyk, J.B., Erasmus, G. J. and Olivier, J. J. 1994. Variance component estimates and response to selection on BLUP of breeding values in Merino sheep. Proceedings of the 5th world congress on genetics applied to livestock production, Guelph, vol. 18, pp. 31–34.Google Scholar