MEASUREMENTS OF THE UDDER OF COWS-FIRSTBORN OF BLACK-AND-WHITE CATTLE OF THE UKRAINIAN BREEDING, THE LEVEL OF THEIR HERITABILITY AND CORRELATIVE VARIABILITY WITH MILK YIELD

Abstract

The udder of first-born Holstein (n = 86) and Ukrainian Black-and-White dairy (UBWD) breed (n = 112) in the Burynske herd of Sumy region of the Ukraine was evaluated. The following morphological udder traits were measured, cm: girth, length, width, depth of the front part, and distance from bottom to floor, front quarter length, conditional volume, length, diameter and shape of teats, distance between teats. Heritability coefficients of udder measurements cows of Holstein (h2 = 0.125-0.488) and UBWD (h2 = 0.113-0.464) breed testified that most udder traits are controlled by heredity. Correlation between udder measurements and milk yield for 305 lactation days cows of both breeds was -0.054… 0.568 in Holstein and -0.075… 0.493 in UBWD breed. A negative relationship was found between distance from udder bottom to floor and milk yield, -0.295 and -0.258, respectively. Heritability level and correlations of measurements with milk yield will allow obtaining genetic progress of udder improvement because of indirect selection.