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Genetic aspects of the variation of the sweating rate and coat characteristics of jersey cattle

Roberto Gomes da Silva; José Gomes Arantes-Neto; Sérgio Vieira Heltz-Filho

Departamento de Melhoramento e Nutrição Animal, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, UNESP, 14870 Jaboticabal, SP, Brasil. Send correspondence to R.G.S.

ABSTRACT

Sweating rate (SR), skin pigmentation (SP), coat color (CC), coat thickness (CT) and hair length (HL) were measured in Jersey cows, and the heritabilities of and correlations between these traits were determined. The average SR value for 345 cows was 123.3 ± 2.7gin^-211^-1. The other traits were determined in 523 cows, with the following averages: SP, 0.740 ± 0.003%; CC, 0.463 ± 0.004%; CT, 4.11 ± 0.10 mm, and HL, 15.41 ± 0.17 mm. The heritabilities were: SR, 0.222 ± 0.155; SP, 0.112 ± 0.086; CC, 0.303 ±0.035; CT, 0.233 ±0.119, and HL, 0.081 ±0.078. Genetic, phenotypic and environmental correlation coefficients were also presented.

Keywords: genetic; variation; sweating; jersey cattle.

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