Derivative free restricted maximum likelihood (DFREML) was used to calculate variance and covariance components for cumulative milk yield, cumulative fat yield and cumulative protein yield, of Alpine, Toggenburg, Saanen and Nubian dairy goat breeds. First lactation records of 691 Alpine, 641 Toggenburg, 439 Saanen and 433 Nubian goats freshening between 1986 and 1995, and a combined data set of all breeds, were analysed. Two basic models, either including or excluding coefficients for phantom groups, besides the random and fixed effects, were fitted for each trait and breed. Included fixed effects were age at first kidding and flock-year for the single breed data sets and an additional breed effect for the multiple breed data set. Random effects in sub-models were fitted to estimate direct effects (model 1), direct and maternal effects (model 2) and direct effects, maternal effects and the covariance between direct and maternal genetic effects (model 3). (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

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