Which of the following are among the recommended adjustment factors used to adjust records?

• A. Color, Size, Breed
• B. Age, Sex, Age of Dam, Parity, Location
• C. Temperature, Diet, Illness
• D. Height, Weight, Color, Coat type

Answer: (B)

Adjusting records accounts for non-genetic influences so animals can be compared on a fair, apples-to-apples basis. The factors typically used for this are age, sex, age of dam, parity, and location because they reliably affect performance across many traits and reflect differences in physiology, reproductive status, and management environment. Age and sex directly impact biology; age of dam captures maternal effects from the dam’s maturity; parity reflects changes across successive pregnancies or lactations; location stands in for varying management practices and environmental conditions.

The other options involve traits or factors that are not standard, uniform adjustment variables. Color, size, and breed are inherent or genetic characteristics and aren’t used as universal adjustments across records. Temperature, diet, and illness can influence performance but are not applied as routine adjustment factors in broad record adjustments due to variability and data quality concerns; they’re more often modeled as specific covariates or in experimental contexts rather than as standard adjustments.