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Gestation Length in an Inbred Jersey Herd

Department of Animal Husbandry, University of California, Davis

ABSTRACT

The length of a gestation period is determined by numerous factors acting and interacting in an intricate pattorn. Many studies have dealt with the average length of gestation in cattle as it is affected by sueh factors as breed, family, sex of calf, twinning, age of dam, and season. Studies that attempt the quantitative separation of genetic and environmental factors are less numerous. Among the latter are the publications of Düring (8), Jafar et al. (14), and Brakel et al. (2). The last reference includes an extensive bibliography on the duration of gestation in cattle.

The present study was undertaken to obtain further information about the nature and causes of variation in gestation lengths; the partitioning of genetic from environmental variation and the effects of inbreeding and milk production are given particular attention.

SOURCE OF DATA

The data for this study are the records of 1,353 gestation periods of 427 cows of the University of California inbred Jersey herd.