Genetic parameters for hoof lesions and their relationship with feet and leg traits in Canadian Holstein cows
Bibliographic record
Abstract
The objectives were (1) to estimate the genetic parameters and breeding values of hoof lesions, (2) to estimate the phenotypic effect of each feet and legs conformation traits on hoof lesions, and (3) to estimate genetic correlations between hoof lesions with feet and legs conformation traits. The presence or absence of specific hoof lesions was recorded for each hoof. Lesions were classified into infectious (digital and interdigital dermatitis, foot rot, and heel erosion), horn (sole and toe ulcer, sole hemorrhage, and white line disease), and other lesions (interdigital hyperplasia, fissures, thin soles, and corkscrew claw). A total of 34,905 hoof health records from 27,179 cows and 365 herds, collected by 18 different hoof-trimmers in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia, were analyzed using linear animal models. In addition, 5 feet and leg conformation traits (foot angle, heel depth, bone quality, rear leg side view, and rear leg rear view) and locomotion from primiparous cows were considered (n=11,419 and 6,966 cows, for conformation traits and locomotion, respectively). At least one lesion was found in nearly 40% of the hoof trimming records. The heritability estimates for hoof lesions ranged from 0.01 for front horn lesions to 0.09 for rear infectious lesions. Despite the low heritability estimates, we observed large variability in sire estimated breeding value (EBV) for resistance to hoof lesions. Positive genetic correlations were found between the occurrence of front and rear infectious lesions (0.77) and between front and rear horn lesions (0.61), but not between infectious and horn lesions (0.08). For most of the conformation traits, low scores were phenotypically associated with higher incidence of horn lesions, whereas we found no evidence of a phenotypic effect of feet and leg traits on infectious lesions. The heritability of the conformation traits ranged from 0.04 for rear leg rear view to 0.22 for bone quality, whereas that for locomotion was 0.03. The genetic correlations between hoof lesions and conformation traits were low to moderate, yet most of the estimates were associated with high standard errors. In conclusion, although hoof lesions are lowly heritable traits, sufficient genetic variation exists (as evidenced by large variability in sire EBV) for genetic improvement through direct selection in the long term. Standardization of hoof health data collection is encouraged.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.001 | 0.003 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".