ESTIMATION OF THE HERITABILITY OF DISPLAC EMENT OF THE ABOMASUM IN HESSIAN BLACK PIED CATTLE

The degree of heritability of displacement of the abomasum was estimat ed in 30 Hessian herds breeding German Black Pied cattle in which disp lacement of the abomasum occurred more frequently than normal. Estimat ion was made by investigating the similarity between mothers and daugh ters. A total of 2626 pairs were used for this investigation, based on the absence or occurrence of abomasal displacement in the mothers and daughters. The fourpoint correlation coefficient was determined for e ach herd using a quadrant square. The arithmetic means were then calcu lated from the correlation coefficients. The number of herds examined was limited by assuming the correlation coefficient to be stable when it varied by less than 0.02 units during the investigation of more tha n 15 herds. Heritability was then calculated using the correlation coe fficient. The correlation coefficient was stable after examining 15 he rds; for the examination of the last six herds, it was 0.12 (0.117-0.1 24) units. Based on this, the heritability of displacement of the abom asum in the herds was taken to be h(2) = 0.24.