Table 2.
Behavioural traits (grouped by trait category in italics) which were considered to have reported high accuracy heritabilities (SE ≤ 0.05).
| Trait | Heritability ± SE | Breed | n | Age at Test | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temperament, disposition and/or docility | |||||
| Temperament (CMS) * | 0.09 (0.01) | Dairy breeds | 1,872,979 | First parity cows | [74] |
| Farmer assessed temperament | 0.10 (0.01) | Holstein | 126,614 | Mature cows | [44] |
| Temperament (AMS) † | 0.05 (0.01) | Dairy breeds | 72,683 | First parity cows | [74] |
| Handling temperament | 0.11 (0.02) | Holstein | 8108 | Mature cows | [44] |
| Temperament | 0.11–0.12 (≤0.05) | Japanese black | 7897 | 6–9 months | [38] |
| Temperament | 0.26 (0.01) | Dairy | 843 | Heifers | [75] |
| Docility | 0.19 (0.03) | Pirenaica | 2412 | Mature cows | [41] |
| Docility | 0.29–0.38 (≤0.03) | Limousin | 23,453 | Weaning | [48] |
| Docility | 0.21 (<0.01) | Angus | 50,935 | [49] | |
| Docility | 0.46 (<0.01) | Limousin | 50,930 | [49] | |
| Chute score | |||||
| Chute score | 0.29 (0.02) | Hereford | 25,037 | Weaning | [52] |
| Aggression | |||||
| During separation | 0 (0.05) | Simmental | 140 | Heifers | [37] |
| During gestation | 0.06 (0.02) | Charolais | 5954 | Mature cows | [45] |
| At parturition | 0.19 (0.05) | Charolais | 5881 | Mature cows | [45] |
| Aggressiveness | 0.08 (0.02) | Limousin | 2781 | Heifers | [50] |
| Milking temperament | |||||
| Milking temperament | 0.13 (0.01) | Dairy cows | 1,940,092 | First lactation | [63] |
| Milking temperament | 0.04 (0.04) | Brown Swiss | 2259 | Mature cows | [42,43] |
* Conventional Milking System; † Automatic Milking System