Genetics of cattle temperament and its impact on livestock production and breeding – a review

Autor: J. Friedrich, B. Brand, M. Schwerin
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2015
Předmět:
Zdroj: Archives Animal Breeding, Vol 58, Iss 1, Pp 13-21 (2015)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 0003-9438
2363-9822
DOI: 10.5194/aab-58-13-2015
Popis: Cattle temperament, which describes individual behaviour differences with regard to a stressor or environmental challenge, is known for its impact on working safety, adaptability to new housing conditions, animal productivity and for evaluation of animal welfare. However, successful use of temperament in animal breeding and husbandry to improve keeping conditions in general or animal welfare in particular, requires the availability of informative and reproducible phenotypes and knowledge about the genetic modulation of these traits. However, the knowledge about genetic influences on cattle temperament is still limited. In this review, an outline is given for the interdependence between production systems and temperament as well as for the phenotyping of cattle temperament based on both behaviour tests and observations of behaviour under production conditions. In addition, the use of temperament as a selection criterion is discussed.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals