Recording breeding goal traits raises a lot of questions:
- What can be measured?
- How often can or should the trait be measured?
- Who or what is measuring the trait?
- What animals can or should be involved?
- At what age?
- How detailed?
- What is the accuracy of the measurement?
- Do systematic effects play a role on the outcome of the measurement?
In this chapter we focus on the traits with respect to the breeding goal. It should be possible to collect them easily at low costs. And it should be possible to measure or to judge them precisely. Last but not least they should be heritable. In chapter 4 we focus on all aspects of measuring traits and on the animals that might be sources of information to reach the breeding goal by selection. Breeding goal traits are heritable traits that can be easily and accurately measured.