A Production Issue by Drs. Lyle A. Renecker and John E. Blake Introduction High rates of female breeding success and offspring survival are the two major factors in productivity of any commercial livestock industry. To improve breeding success and offspring survival, the herd manager will establish selection criteria and choose which males and females will breed. The genetics or characteristics of future animals will reflect their parentage.
Selection pressure is evident in both wild and captive populations of herbivores.
Predators, environment, and human harvest strategies are a few forces which influence the characteristics of free-ranging populations of reindeer, caribou, moose, wapiti, etc. In livestock production systems, herd managers often breed for specific characteristics such as larger body size, high birth and growth rates, leanness, etc. A single color or combination of colors has been another characteristic often selected by purebred cattle producers as well as reindeer herders. Basic Genetics of Color Color of an animal is a function of genetics. On the basis of the parent's genetics, several color combinations may be possible.