Estimates of genetic and phenotypic parameters of litter traits from closed lines of pigs

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Abstract
Phenotypic and genetic analyses of the litter traits total number born, number born alive and total birth weight were conducted on data from two lines of pigs, line A, a synthetic largely of Landrace origin, and line B, derived from the Large White breed. The data were collected from closed herds of the Cotswold Pig Development Company Limited and comprised 1018 litters in line A and 863 litters in line B. Estimates of heritability and repeatability were low for all traits and consistent with other estimates in the literature, for number born alive being respectively, 0·07 (s.e. 0·04) and 0·15 (s.e. 0·04) in line A and 0·12 (s.e. 0·04) and 0·14 (s.e. 0·04) in line B. There was no evidence of an effect of the size of litter into which a female was born on her subsequent reproductive performance.