Effects of dam and sire group on the propensity for twin calving in cattle

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe incidence of twin calvings and double ovulations was studied in two Milking Shorthorn herds and one Friesian herd, each with above-average annual twin calving rates (average 0·031, compared with a national rate of 0·01). The proportions of double ovulations were calculated from records comprising 1237 cow × years (cows over 2·0 years of age); means were 0·08, 0·27 and 0·50, for three groups which had previously produced 0, 1 or >1 sets of twins, respectively. All cows (whether still present or no longer in the herd) were then allocated a twin production status, to indicate the number of twin sets (0, 1 or >1) produced, or produced so far, in their lifetime. There were records from 1559 cows, with sire and dam also known. Twin production status was significantly influenced by dam group (P < 0·01), i.e. the twin production status of the cow's dam. Sires were classified into two groups, according to whether any daughters had produced two or more sets of twins. After allowing for ascertainment, sires in the two groups were found to differ (P < 0·01) by 0·06 in the probability of their daughters producing at least one set of twins in their lifetime (i.e. 0·08 to 0·14). One sire and dam combination in particular had prolific daughters with a probability of 0·39 of producing at least one set of twins in their lifetime (compared with a probability of 0-07 for the other extreme combination). The possibility of these observations being explained by the segregation of a single recessive gene was considered, but the necessary interaction between sire group and dam group was not significant.