The Role of Conformational Traits on Dairy Cattle Production and Their Longevities

Abstract

The dairy industry faces a unique challenge to constantly improve functionality of the dairy cows to meet the needs of future production and reproduction demands. The basis of improvements is selection of the best animals. The accuracy of selection can be increased by using the combined analysis of both direct information on herd life and indirect information obtained from conformation traits. Generally, conformation traits are important in dairy cattle development. These traits are used for selection of animals through creating the predict equation based on the independent variable and assuring selection of the superior animal with its important trait. The functional conformation traits that influence or facilitate the longevity and reproduction status of dairy cows are the appearance of udder conformation, feet and leg conformation, thoracic and abdominal body conformation, and rump and loin structure. The relationship between conformation traits with milk production and reproduction traits might be different among breeds, which could have implications for the use of conformation traits in different dairy cattle breeding programmes. The estimated correlations between longevity and different conformation traits are also varying with breeds.