The effect of composite and descriptive linear type traits on Functional Herd Life in Holstein cows was studied by means of Survival Analysis (Ducrocq and Solkner, 1998a). The original data set contained 331,105 lifetime records from the Programme d'Analyse des Troupeaux Laitiers du Quebec, from January 1980 to March 1995. Only 191,167 records (or cows) had type information. Mixed Weibull models were fitted to analyse the data; the probability of being culled (hazard) was defined as a product of a baseline Weibull hazard function and explanatory variables. The heritability estimates for Functional Herd Life were 0.07 in the log scale and 0.15 in the original scale. Sire Estimated Transmitting Ability for FHL, expressed as relative culling rate, ranged from 0.6 to 1.4 for all models. Solutions for fixed effects (all significant) indicated a higher probability of being culled for primiparous cows calving at older ages, for cows producing below herd average, for first lactation cows in the first and last stage of lactation and for older cows at the end of lactation. The risk of being culled did not change for cows in herds decreasing or increasing in size. Cows classified with a high score for Final Score were less likely to be culled; Final Score seems to be an important selection criteria among Quebec producers. Feet and Legs, Rump and Mammary System are traits that producers consider in their culling policies; cows classified with a high score had more chance of surviving. Among the linear type traits, the 5 traits with the highest impact on productive life, were Rear Attachment Height, Fore Attachment, Bone Quality, Stature and Fore Teat Placement; Quebec producers seem to consider these traits when they make their culling decisions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.21635 |
| Date | January 1998 |
| Creators | Schneider, María del Pilar. |
| Contributors | Monardes, Humberto (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Animal Science.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001657876, proquestno: MQ50873, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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