The relationship between the milk productivity of cows and their daughters in an Ayrshire herd in the conditions of North-West Russia

Abstract

Selection of cows based on the productivity of their mothers is an important part of breeding work. The purpose of the study is to analyze the manifestation of high productivity of Ayrshire cows depending on the milk yield of their mothers. The heritability of milk yield and composition of mothers’ milk by daughters was established to be 0.410-0.112. The maximum number of daughters with a milk yield of 10 thousand kg or more was identified in the 3rd lactation (up to 27.9%). It is advisable to select cows for herd reproduction from mothers evaluated by the results of the 3rd lactation.