The Influence of Inbreeding upon the Weight and Size of Dairy Cattle

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Abstract
This paper further confirms earlier work demonstrating that Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle can be inbred without necessarily causing a decrease in body weight or size at any stage, from birth to maturity, as compared to outbred controls of the same blood line, provided the Wright coefficient of inbreeding does not exceed 0.20. Females inbred to a coefficient greater than 0.20 develop normally to approximately first calving age, but show markedly abnormal development thereafter. However the animals in this group with growth records complete to 72 months of age do not vary significantly in mean weight, height and heartgirth from the Ragsdale standard, although they are still considerably smaller than the outbred controls. Copyright © . .

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