F. Ferdous
Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202,
M.P. Choudhury
Goat and Sheep Production Research Division, Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, Savar, Dhaka-1341,
M.O. Faruque
Animal Research Division, Bangladesh Institute of Research and Training on Applied Nutrition (BIRTAN), Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka-1207,
M.M. Hossain
Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202,
A.K.F.H. Bhuiyan*
Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202,
RCC, Herzitability, BV, Phenotypic index, Genetic index
Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Mymensingh and community herd Char Jailkhana under Mymensingh district, Bangladesh
Variety and Species
Cattle, Variability
The data of the study were collected from the Nucleus Herd of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) funded Red Chittagong Cattle (RCC) project carried out at the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Mymensingh and community herd Char Jailkhana under Mymensingh district, Bangladesh during the period from 2005 to 2011. For genetic analysis of growth traits, birth weight, weaning weight, the pre-weaning daily gain was taken. For genetic analysis of milk production traits, data on seventy-five (75) cows were taken into consideration. Milking was done twice in a day. The whole year was divided into three seasons both for growth trait and milk trait data to take an unbiased account of environmental variation. The three seasons was summer (March-June), rainy (July-October), and winter (November-February). The RCC The data of the study were collected from the Nucleus Herd of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) funded Red Chittagong Cattle (RCC) project carried out at the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Mymensingh and community herd Char Jailkhana under Mymensingh district, Bangladesh during the period from 2005 to 2011. For genetic analysis of growth traits, birth weight, weaning weight, the pre-weaning daily gain was taken. For genetic analysis of milk production traits, data on seventy-five (75) cows were taken into consideration. Milking was done twice in a day. The whole year was divided into three seasons both for growth trait and milk trait data to take an unbiased account of environmental variation. The three seasons was summer (March-June), rainy (July-October), and winter (November-February). The RCC Feeding and management practices followed at the nucleus herd were almost uniform throughout the years. The animals were stall-fed and concentrate feeds were supplied twice daily in the morning and evening. Annual fodder maize and perennial fodder German and roadside grasses were fed in fresh condition to the cattle and calves. Rice straw was used as bulk basal feed with some green grasses. During the crisis period (e.g. in winter when there is a scarcity of green grass), the animals were fed with Urea Molasses Straw (UMS). Regular vaccination, medication, heat detection were performed. Animal are reared in community herds mainly by pasturing in fallow land and harvesting crop fields. Sometimes farmers supply concentrate with straw to the animal. The weight at birth of the calf was expressed in kilogram (kg). The birth weight was taken with a balance directly just after birth. Weaning weight was taken by balance at weaning age and expressed in kg. The growth rate of animals before weaning was estimated. The pre-weaning growth rate was estimated (g/day) on the basis of the exact weaning age of individuals. In this study, lactation length was measured in days. The number of days from the first milking to the end of milking of a cow is called lactation length. Total lactation milk yield was expressed in kg. The total quantity of milk produced throughout the lactation was taken as lactation yield. The average daily yield is the total milk yield in lactation divided by the total number of days in that lactation and was measured in kg.
Data analyses Simple means and standard errors of the studied traits were analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS 16.0) program. For estimating heritability (h2 ), VCE-4.2.5 (Groeneveld, 1998) computer software was used. All analyses were done using a single-trait animal model where the animal’s additive genetic effect was the only random factor and sex of the animal, parity of mother, season of birth and year of birth as fixed factors. The statistical model in matrix notation was: Y = Xb + Za + Wc + e
Where Y = Vector of observation. X, Z and W = Known incidence matrices that were associated with levels of b, a,c with Y. B = Unknown vector of fixed effects (i.e. sex of calf, parity of dam, year of birth and season of birth). a = Unknown vector of breeding value. c = Unknown vector of permanent environmental effect. e = Vector of residual effects. The pre-weaning growth rate was calculated from weight data between birth and weaning. The statistical comparison was done by using SPSS 16.0 computer package program.
SAARC J. Agric., 17(2): 141-154 (2019)
Journal