ANALYSIS OF UDDER AND TEAT DIMENSIONS OF PRIMIPAROUS COWS WITH REGARD TO THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN OF THEIR FATHERS

The purpose of the study was to analyze the udder and teat dimensions of primiparous cows, taking into account the influence of the country of origin of their fathers kept on a large-scale dairy farm. The cows included in the study (n = 99) of the Holstein-Friesian Black-and-White breed were divided into 3 paternal groups: daughters of bulls from Belgium (n = 20), Denmark (n = 28) and the USA (n = 51). Significant (p ≤ 0.05) differences were found between the country of origin of the fathers and the hind teat length and front teat thickness of their daughters. The selection effects of the cows studied for improving udder suspension height (66 cm) were satisfactory The average length of the front teats ranged from 4.20 (daughters of bulls from Denmark) to 4.50 cm (daughters of bulls from Belgium) and the length of the rear teats ranged from 3.38 (daughters of bulls from Denmark) to 3.88 cm (daughters of bulls from Belgium). Average front teat thickness ranged from 2.34 (daughters of bulls from the US) to 2.54 cm (daughters of bulls from Belgium), and rear teat thickness ranged from 2.23 (daughters of bulls from Denmark) to 2.34 cm (daughters of bulls from Belgium). Average front teat spacing ranged from 12.70 (Belgian bull daughters) to 14.20 cm (US bull daughters), rear teat spacing ranged from 5.29 (Danish bull daughters) to 5.77 cm (US bull daughters), and lateral spacing ranged from 11.10 (Belgian bull daughters) to 11.75 (US bull daughters). The systematics of box, round and flat udders in all the primiparous cows studied was 51.5, 37.4 and 11.1%, respectively. The incidence of cylindrical, funnel-shaped and bottle-shaped teats was 72.7, 27.3 and 0.0%, respectively. Teats with a round end were much more common (63.6%) than those with a pointed (21.2%) and flat (15.2%) end. Selection of cows for milk production traits should take into account the size and shape of the udder and teats.