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Inheritance of Twinning in a Herd of Holstein-Friesian Cattle^1,2,

Department of Dairy Science, Washington State University, Pullman

P. M. Hinze and E. M. Gildow

Carnation Milk Farms, Carnation, Washington

ABSTRACT

In a large herd of Holstein-Friesian cattle it was found that the sire and dam contribute to twinning tendency among the daughters. The data covered a 30-yr. period and involved 266 twinning cows (14%) out of 1,905 that calved one or more times. There were 313 multiple births among 7,387 calvings (4.2%). After adjustments for age, daughters of twinning cows twinned significantly more frequently than daughters from nontwinning cows. Parents which were themselves twins apparently transmitted twinning tendency no more frequently than if they had been singly born from the same ancestors. Twinning rates among paternal sisters from nontwinning dams were used to divide 23 sires into a low and a high group. Twinning rate among daughters (cow-basis) of the low-level sires from twinning dams was 11.7 ± 2.6%. Similarly for the high-level sires, the rate was 23.3 ± 3.7%. The difference between the two groups was significant (P < 0.05). Cows conceived within 75 days after cystic ovaries twinned at 15.1% of the subsequent calvings, as compared with 4,9% if conceived after 75 days (P < 0.05). Cows having twins only subsequent to cystic ovaries transmitted the tendency to their daughters at the same rate as cows twinning when not cystic. The total evidence indicates that twinning under most herd conditions is comparatively unimportant as an undesirable characteristic.

¹ Scientific Paper No. 1782, Washington Agricultural Experiment Stations, Pullman. Project W-2 (888). This research was financed in part under Regional Research and Marketing Act, Section 963, Public Law 733.

² The authors are grateful to Carnation Milk Farms, Carnation, Washington, for making the data available for this study.

³ Present address: Department of Dairy Science, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.