Half the genes a calf gets is from his sire, and the other half
from his dam. Some genes will be more dominant than others,
depending on which of his parents has the dominant gene, and some,
like carcass characteristics from his sire, are more heritable than
others. Often a bull that has better genetics than the rest of the
cowherd will produce calves that have slightly better genetics than
their dams.
Some of the more heritable traits that a bull's offspring can
receive from him, if he's better quality than the cowherd, are:
Lean/bone ratio (60% heritability)
Lean percentage (55% heritability)
Mature cow weight (50% heritability)
Carcass grade (45% heritability)
Thickness of outside carcass fat (45% heritability)
Dressing percentage (40% heritability)
Marbling (40% heritability)
Ribeye area (40% heritability)
Yearling weight (feedlot)(40% heritability)
Yearling weight (pasture (35% heritability)
Efficiency of gain (35% heritability)
Birth weight (30% heritability)
Post-weaning gain (30% heritability)
Tenderness (meat quality) (30% heritability)
Carcass weight (25% heritability)
Weaning weight (25% heritability)
Calf survival (10% heritability)
Calving interval (10% heritability)
Calving ease (10% heritability)
The definition of heritability is: "The proportion of the
differences among cattle, measured or observed, that is transmitted
to the offspring. Heritability varies from 0 to 1. The higher the
heritability of a trait, the more accurately does the individual
performance predict breeding value and the more rapid should be the
response due to selection for that trait."
