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Effect of Selection for Milk Production and General Health of the Dairy Cow¹

Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames 50011

ABSTRACT

Forty-three pairs of open heifers were purchased as foundation animals to evaluate direct response to selection for milk production and correlated responses of reproduction, digestion, respiration, skin or skeleton, and mammary disorders. One heifer of each pair was selected for high genetic potential, and the other was selected for low potential on pedigree evaluations for milk production. High pedigree cows produced more milk, but they also had 9% more digestive disorders, 5% more foot rot, 14% more skin or skeletal disorders, 11% more cases of udder edema, and 2% more lactations affected by mastitis. High pedigree cows even with the $12.46 more health costs netted $45.80 more per lactation than did low pedigree cows calving in the same year.

The foundation animals were assigned randomly to be bred to sires with high or average predicted difference milk. The repeatability of all 14 sires was greater than 70% with an advantage of 610 kg to the seven high sires when they were chosen. Daughters of high sires produced more milk, had 8% fewer systemic uterine treatments, 3% fewer mammary cuts, more joint or leg injuries, 13% more skin or skeletal disorders, and 19% more cases of udder edema than did daughters of average sires. Daughters of sires with high predicted difference milk netted $77.64 more per lactation than did daughters of breed average sires.

¹ Journal Paper No. 9153 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames. Project 1053, a contributing project to North Central Regional Project, NC-2, Improvement of Dairy Cattle through Breeding.

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