Factors affecting calving ease in Egyptian buffalo |
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| Authors: | Amin M S Amin Mohamed M I Salem Mohamed M E Ibrahim Samy A Darweish Ayman G EL Nagar |
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| Institution: | 1. 1Animal Production Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Ministry of Agriculture, Egypt;2. Department of Animal and Fish Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University, Egypt;3. Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture at Moshtohor, Benha University, Egypt |
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| Abstract: | Calving ease (CE) is a trait of economic importance that affects animal welfare and farm profitability. The objective of present study was to investigate genetic and environmental factors affecting CE among Primiparous (PP) and multiparous (MP) buffaloes. A total of 9,627 records from 1999 MP and 2,110 PP recorded during the period from 1988 to 2018 were considered. Herd, season of calving, year of calving, birth weight, parity order and gestation length significantly affected CE rate, while age at first calving and sex of calf had no significant effects. Direct and maternal heritabilities of CE in PP and MP were 0.06 and 0.01, respectively. The low heritability of CE indicated that direct selection may not be an effective method to improve CE trait in Egyptian buffalo. |
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| Keywords: | Bayesian analysis buffalo calving ease genetic parameters |
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