Abstract

The objective of the study was to estimate genetic parameters of somatic cell score (SCS = log2 of somatic cell count / 1000) in New Zealand mixed-breed dairy goats using a random regression model. The dataset comprised 37,051 herd-test records of somatic cell counts (SCC) from 3,688 does kidding between 2000 and 2007 distributed in 47 herds. The mixed model included the fixed effects of contemporary group (herd-year-month of kidding), lactation number (1st, 2nd and 3rd), and the covariables day-of-month, proportion of Saanen, Nubian, Alpine and Toggenburg breeds, heterosis, and a second-order orthogonal polynomial of days in milk across all data and for each lactation number. The random effects included a second order random regression polynomial for the additive animal effect and the doe permanent environmental effect within parity and doe permanent environmental effect across parities. The residual variance was assumed heterogeneous, with different residual variances for each of the nine months of lactation. Estimates of heritability increased from 0.12 to 0.25 from the beginning to the end of the lactation and estimates of repeatability ranged from 0.46 to 0.59, also increasing from the beginning to the end of lactation. These results show that genetic improvement can be achieved in SCC by including SCS in selection index.

CA, Apodaca-Sarabia, N Lopez-Villalobos, HT Blair, and CG Prosser

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production, Volume 69, Christchurch, 206-209, 2009