ESTIMATED BREEDING V ALUES AND GENETIC TREND FOR MILK YIELD IN JERSEY COWS

Abstract

    Data on 1260 pedigree, breeding and performance records of 649 Jersey cattle maintaincd at Livestock Experiment Station Bhunikey (Pattoki) Distt. Kasur during the period 1982-2001 were utilized for the present study. The data were analyzed through Best Linear Unbiased Predictions (BLUP) procedure. The breeding value for milk yield considering all lactations were estimated by using Restricted Maximum Likelihood (REML) procedure fitting Individual Animal model. The estimated breeding values for milk yield for animal model evaluations ranged from -1034 to 1641 Kg for all the cows. The corresponding values for the standing herd ranged from 613 to 521 Kg. The genetic trend for milk yield depicted a deteriorating trend indicating that breeding strategy proved to be inefficient during the last 20 years. Present herd comprise of 15. 34, 15 and I animals of second; third, fourth and fifth generations, respectively. None of the zero (imported) generation or their offsprings is present in the standing herd.

Key words: Animal model, estimated breeding value, genetic trend. Jersey cattle.