Schätzung von Varianzkomponenten mit Gruppenmittelwerten am Beispiel von Legehennen, gehalten in Gruppenkäfigen

Abstract. Title of the paper: Estimation of variance components from group mean records of laying hens housed in group cages
Two models are presented to estimate variance components if only group mean records are available. The first model accounts for additive genetic relationships and full-sib group effects (SIMIANER and GJERDE, 1991) and the second model contains the additive genetic effects of all animals from one cage by using modified design matrices. Estimates of the genetic parameters were obtained by the MIVQUE-method (RAO, 1971; LAMOTTE, 1973). The variances of the estimated heritabilities were derived from the information matrix. Estimations from individual records and from average records (cage average) were compared in a small application on laying hen data. The analysed trait was single egg weight measured on hens housed in group cages. It could be shown: If cage variance is negligible, than for the estimation of the heritabilities full-sib data can be used successfully. The application of the modified animal model is suggested, because this model can take into account more complex relationships between the animals of one cage.