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Prediction of UK dairy fertility proofs for foreign bulls

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2017

E. Wall ,
V. E. Olori ,
M. P. Coffey  and
S. Brotherstone
E. Wall*
Affiliation:
Sustainable Livestock Systems, SAC, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 0PH, UK
V. E. Olori
Affiliation:
Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, Shinagh House, Bandon, Co. Cork, Ireland
M. P. Coffey
Affiliation:
Sustainable Livestock Systems, SAC, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 0PH, UK
S. Brotherstone
Affiliation:
Sustainable Livestock Systems, SAC, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 0PH, UK
*
E-mail: e.wall@ed.sac.ac.uk
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Extract

We have recently developed a Fertility Index for UK dairy cattle (Wall et al., 2003). After examining national data it was decided that the Fertility Index should be based on sire PTAs for calving interval (CI) and nonreturn rate (NR) after 56 days weighted by their relative economic weights. However, just under half of the available bulls have no milking daughters in the UK. It would take about 4 years from the time of first use in the UK, for a bull to have sufficient daughters for a reliable fertility proof. Waiting this long for fertility information on which to base selection decisions will slow genetic progress and is undesirable as many of these bulls could have fertility proofs in their country of first test. This study examines the feasibility of converting foreign fertility proofs to UK equivalents.

Type
Theatre Presentations
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 2004 , 2004 , pp. 24
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 2004

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References

Goddard, M., 1985. A method of comparing sires evaluated in different countries. Livest. Prod. Sci. 13: 321–331.Google Scholar
Philipsson, J., Danell, B., Schaeffer, L., Schneeberger, M., Schulte-Coerne, H. and Wilmink, J.B.M., 1986. Procedures for the International comparisons of dairy sires – Current practice and evaluation of methods. INTERBULL Bulletin 1.Google Scholar
Wall, E., Brotherstone, S., Woolliams, J. A., Banos, G. and Coffey, M. P., 2003. Genetic evaluation of fertility using direct and correlated traits. J. Dairy Sci. 86: 4093–4102.Google Scholar