Friday, March 29, 2024

LIC finds small-calf gene

Avatar photo
A gene responsible for a number of unusually small calves which have been born in the New Zealand dairy cattle population over several decades has been discovered by Livestock Improvement (LIC) scientists.
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Dairy farms commonly lose between 2% and 4% of calves each year for a variety of reasons and the dairy co-operative said this discovery was made as part of its ongoing research to understand whether there is a genetic basis to those losses.

It said the gene variation discovered explains a small proportion of those losses.

LIC believes the variation has existed in the dairy cow population for at least 40 years.

Its frequency is assessed to be 10% to 15% in the Holstein Friesian and half that in the crossbred populations.

Where both parents carry the variation there is a one in four chance that the progeny will be small.

LIC said the discovery was made in the last two weeks.

Total
0
Shares
People are also reading