Today, this technology is widely used throughout the world for indexing and is increasingly practiced by different dairy and meat breeds. This analysis of the animal genome can be carried out using a sample of blood, hair or cartilage depending on what is requested by the laboratory to which the breeder's cooperative is attached.
Didier ERIEAU, breeder of Charolaises registered in Mouilleron-le-Captif in Vendée, began to genotype his bulls in 2017 from hair samples. His livestock is registered with Charolais + and under performance control. Following an official electronic sampling loop approval test with the EdE des Pays de la Loire, Didier wanted to continue taking samples at birth via the official sampling identification loop.
Why do you genotype your animals?
I got into genotyping to make calving easier in the first place. I started with my bulls in 2017 with Gènes Diffusion and then extended the genotyping to heifers in 2021. I then focused on the selection of the hornless gene in order to have animals that are calmer towards each other but also towards the man. There is also the fact that by selecting on this gene I almost no longer need to dehorn the calves which is comfortable for everyone.
How do you genotype your animals?
Until 2021, hairs were taken from under the animals' tails which were then sent to the laboratory for analysis. It was following an official loop approval test with the EdE des Pays de la Loire in 2022 that I discovered cartilage sampling for genotype via official loops. Since then, I have placed my order for birth tags directly with the EdE by contacting the identification service in my department by email. I sample my animals from birth via official loops.
Why did you choose to genotype your animals at birth via an official sampling loop?
I found this more practical, especially with regard to restraint. Previously, hair was collected after weaning at the time of registration, i.e. at 10 months of age. This required moving the animal, blocking it with the fence and calling in the technician, which generated stress for everyone. Now I buckle at birth, it happens peacefully, the restraint is not the same and my technician only comes by to collect the samples. Everyone saves time and it's safer too.
What is your feedback on using the sampling loop?
It's like with the other buckles, practical, simple to install and more secure. This also allows me to sort out the best lines earlier. Once the samples are collected by Gènes Diffusion, they are sent to the laboratory which then reports the results to the GD SCAN genotyping platform. At that point I can print the indexes while having them directly on my Pilot'Elevage software. On the cost side, we have an additional cost of 1.25 euros per loop which is absorbed by the sale of the animal.
