Genetic parameters for carcass traits and body size in sheep for meat production.

The aim was to estimate the covariance components and genetic parameters of carcass traits and body size of meat sheep by employing animal models for single and multi-trait analyses. Data were collected from herds of adult Santa Ines sheep. The ribeye area, subcutaneous fat thickness, and rump fat thickness, evaluated in vivo by ultrasound images of the carcass; and morphometric traits: fat depth, rump height, chest circumference, chest depth, body length, and rump length were measured. The covariance components and genetic parameters for these traits were estimated by restricted maximum likelihood methodology, considering the random additive direct-genetic effects of the animal and errors associated with each observation, and the fixed effects of the contemporary group, the type of birth, and the age of the animal classes. Heritability estimates for carcass traits and animal size were higher in the three-trait analyses than in the single-trait analyses. The magnitudes of the values obtained indicate that genetic progress can be achieved by selection based on the traits studied.