ESTIMATION OF GENETIC PARAMETERS FOR UDDER CONFORMATION AND MILK PRODUCTION IN LACTATION ETTAWAH CROSSBREED (PE) GOAT Saniya Ayesha Husni Baisa 1), Veronica Margareta Ani Nurgiartiningsih 1*)
1) Faculty of Animal Science Brawijaya University, street Veteran No.10-11, Ketawanggede, Kec. Lowokwaru, Kota Malang, Jawa Timur 65145, Indonesia
*fapetub[at]ub.ac.id
Abstract
Peranakan Etawah (PE) goats are an important local dairy breed in Indonesia with great potential for milk production. This study aimed to estimate the heritability and genetic correlations of udder conformation traits and milk production traits to support genetic improvement in lactating PE goats. The research was conducted in July 2025 at BPTU-HPT Pelaihari, South Kalimantan, using data from 60 lactating PE goats. Quantitative traits measured included body weight (BW), udder circumference (UC), udder width (UW), teat length right (TLR), teat length left (TLL), teat diameter right (TDR), teat diameter left (TDL), distance between teats (DBT), and milk production (MP) before milking. Fixed effects (parity, birth type, age, and lactation duration) were analyzed using ANOVA, while genetic parameters were estimated with a multivariate linear mixed model fitted by Restricted Maximum Likelihood (REML) in R Studio. Heritability estimates showed low values for TLR (h^2= 0.09), TLL (h^2= 0.17), TDR (h^2= 0.14), and MP (h^2= 0.09)- moderate values for BW (h^2= 0.33), UW (h^2= 0.30), and DBT (h^2= 0.35)- and high values for UC (h^2= 0.50) and TDL (h^2= 0.62). Genetic correlations of milk production showed strong positive correlations with UC (r_g= 0.88), UW (r_g= 0.84), and DBT (r_g = 0.72), and moderate correlations with BW (r_g= 0.45), TDR (r_g= 0.55), TDL (r_g= 0.55), TLR (r_g= 0.53), and TLL (r_g= 0.54). These results indicate that udder circumference, udder width, and distance between teats can be used as reliable selection criteria to enhance milk production and accelerate genetic improvement in PE goats.
