Genetic evaluation for cow fighting ability in the Valdostana breed

This study aimed to exploit the genetic components of cow fighting ability in Valdostana breed. Data from 41 knockout competitions in three different weight categories (WC) performed over two years were used. Two different variables to express fighting ability were considered: 1) a “placing score” (PS) dependent on the position reached in each WC, and 2) a “relative placing score” (RPS), calculated as relative position within WC. A complete data set (COMP) accounting for all fights (n=7157) or a reduced data set (REDU) considering only the best annual PS or RPS for each cow (n=4563), were also compared through ANOVA, REML variance components’ estimates and EBVs’ correlation. The PS in the COMP showed the highest R2 (0.44), and h2 resulted 0.163. The PS in the REDU showed a lower R2 (0.25), similar h2 value (0.189), but higher repeatability than PS in the COMP (0.373 vs. 0.294). The RPS variable in both data sets gave similar genetic parameters, but the R2 models resulted very low (0.02-0.04). The use of the PS variable and the COMP seems the most promising system to evaluate cow fighting ability in Valdostana breed, and a substantial genetic component for this ability seems to exist.