The use of entropy and information analysis to estimate the milk productivity of the Black-and-White dairy breed cows depending on their lineal affiliation

Abstract

In modern realities, an important place for the effective management of the cattle breeding industry is a properly implemented selection and breeding process with the sampling of cows that are marked by the highest indicators of a set of productive qualities. In this case, the application of entropy and information analysis is one of the most expedient, as it makes it possible to assess the economic and useful qualities of animals as fully as possible. The purpose of the study is to evaluate and analyze the degree of organization of the biological system of dairy cattle productive traits under the influence of hereditary factors such as the age and origin of cows. During the research, methods generally accepted in zootechnics and methods using information and entropy analysis, which are adapted and modified in animal husbandry, were used. The data obtained from the entropy and information analysis show that for cattle of the Black-and-White breed of different lineal affiliations, the level of organization of systems varies – R from 0.009 to 1.341 bits. Moreover, the most stable trait from the point of view of variability was the fat content in milk, the level of unconditional entropy in the section of lactations was equal to 3.333-4.550 bits, which indicates a smaller influence of disorganized factors on the level of manifestation of this trait, and a greater dependence on hereditary factors, i.e. origin. Although in general, a reliable influence of the lineal affiliation of cows on indicators of unconditional entropy and organization of the system was not established, the influence of the age factor on indicators of entropy was observed. Thus, the researched livestock is not characterized by uniformity and consolidation in terms of the main selection characteristics, except for the fat content in milk, which indicates a wide range of variability and serves as a flexible material both for selection and breeding work and for increasing the level of milk productivity. Therefore, the use of empirical data of information theory can be a kind of marker when predicting hereditary traits of a particular productivity, since entropy and information analysis provides wider and deeper values of trait variability