Genetic correlations for some type traits and calving interval in Holstein cows

Genetic correlations between type traits and calving interval (CI) in Holstein cows in Parana State - Brazil were estimated. The data comprised linear classification of 23,014 cows, from 248 herds, classified from 2000 to 2010, daughters of 797 sires. Variance components for heritability and genetic correlation were estimated with Restricted Maximum Likelihood method (REML), using the MIXED procedure of statistics package SAS. Heritability estimates for type traits ranged from 0.09 to 0.24 and for CI it was 0.05. Genetic correlation estimations among type traits were, in general, of low magnitude, with the higher value between chest width and body depth (0.52). Estimates of genetic correlations between type traits and CI were mostly small. The low genetic correlation between rump angle and CI (0.02) suggests that the selection for rump angle may not be effective in determining genetic gain for fertility.