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Twinning in Israeli-Friesian dairy herds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

R. Bar-Anan  and
J. C. Bowman
R. Bar-Anan
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Organization, the Volcani Centre, Rehovot, Israel
J. C. Bowman
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, The University, Reading
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Summary

The incidence, heritability and effects on lactation performance of twinning in 185 000 calvings in Israeli-Friesian dairy herds are presented. The incidence of twinning in heifer and cow calvings (parities 2 to 6 inclusive) was 0·7 and 5·4% respectively in the large Kibbutz herds and 0·7 and 3·5% in smallholders' herds. The heritability estimate for 144 sires each with over 200 calvings of daughters of parity 2 to 6 was 0·024 ± 0·002. The range of incidence of twinning in these parities among sire progeny groups each with more than 1000 calvings was 2·8 to 7·8 %, apart from one sire, whose daughters had 12·2% twins. His progeny excelled in five characters and as an explanation it is suggested that a rare gene is segregating in the breed with a major effect on the endocrine system and associated pleiotropic effects.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , April 1974 , pp. 109 - 115
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1974

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References

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