Heifers with positive genetic merit for fertility traits reach puberty earlier and have a greater pregnancy rate than heifers with negative genetic merit for fertility traits.

Abstract excerpt

This study investigated the hypothesis that dairy heifers divergent in genetic merit for fertility traits differ in the age of puberty and reproductive performance. New Zealand's fertility breeding value (FertBV) is the proportion of a sire's daughters expected to calve in the first 42 d of the seasonal calving period. We used the New Zealand national dairy database to identify and select Holstein-Friesian dams...

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