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Bottle calf! Some say I'm crazy...
- Thread starter MurraysMutts
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MurraysMutts
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We got another jumper!
95lbs this one is. And got springs in her feet like a deer! What are you gonna do about it chump??
You will have to forgive me, no pic, but she took a whole bottle then proceeded to try and jump right back up there!
She's STRONG! I got her backed in the corner after petting her a bit. Weird right?? She drug me half across the trailer! But we got 'er dun!
One down. A million to go....
95lbs this one is. And got springs in her feet like a deer! What are you gonna do about it chump??
You will have to forgive me, no pic, but she took a whole bottle then proceeded to try and jump right back up there!
She's STRONG! I got her backed in the corner after petting her a bit. Weird right?? She drug me half across the trailer! But we got 'er dun!
One down. A million to go....
farmerjan
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Hereford/shorthorn/holstein cross. Got the narrowness of the holstein... the blue roan of the shorthorn and the wf look of a hereford....
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MurraysMutts
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Figured there was definitely some herf in her. She got horn buds.
I was thinking a touch of brahma? Not enough ear?
She is a slender, muscular lil thing. I'd like to get calmed down and bottle broke real nice. I think she will make a buck!
farmerjan
Well-known member
Yeah, brahma instead of the holstein.... had alot of hol/her crosses with the excessive white face/legs etc around here and up north... a brahma/hereford cross makes sense for your area... get the roan color mixed with the white face etc. I agree she has too much ear for a hol x
Hi Murray. Nice heifer. The bite looks good, so I am not going to suggest you check it - that is up to you. A couple of days ago, I was sent the attached photo of a jersey calf. I am wondering if you and especially the people who give me a hard time about suggesting checking for an underbite have any trouble seeing the underbite on this jersey calf?
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Buck Randall
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Jerseys commonly have underbites. There's no reason to select against it for cattle that will never graze a bite of grass in their lives.
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MurraysMutts
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Her bite is definitely good!
I can verify that. Getting that first bottle in her was a bear!!
Yeah. That lil jersey not only looks like her bite is off. But looks a bit pug nosed as well.
O! @farmerjan I ALMOST bought a dark grey/black tiger brahma bull yesterday. 500lbs or so. Nice n gentle. He sold for around $650
I really didn't need to get started on that kick again anyway I guess....
Travlr
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I'd say she's older than what her size seems to be saying.
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MurraysMutts
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Yeah. At 95lbs I suppose she could still be 2 or 3 months old huh?
One things for sure. She Is a handful!
We will see how much of the feed and water she consumes today..
You should name her Fawn
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MurraysMutts
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Okay, that's the name of one of the orange striped barn cats.Done stuck with "Tigger"!
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MurraysMutts
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The wonderful thing about "tiggers" is "tiggers" are wonderful things!
Travlr
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Their tops are made out of rubber
Their bottoms are made out of springs!
And it looks like she has the springy thing down...
Buck Randall
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She looks like she could be sired by the same bull that made Dumbo. I hope not for your sake.
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MurraysMutts
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Yeah...
I never could get ol Dumbo to take a bottle. This heifer took a bottle great after a small struggle.
She didn't eat any feed today. Did drink some water.
I gave her a flake of nice Bermuda for the night. We will see how it goes. A friend of a friend wants a project for their son. If she will settle down and take a bottle well, he may just have found his project/pet.
Good observation on the pug nosed appearance, Murray. The reason a calf has an underbite is because the premaxillary bone is underdeveloped. That causes the premaxillary bone to be
short and narrow, which makes the calf's muzzle point somewhat upward rather than straight forward. Even a slight underbite affects a bovine's ability to bite off foliage. Thus, cattle with an underbite usually do not gain weight like cattle with a normal bite, causing the livestock owners to get less money when they sell them. Buck Randall, all the yearling cattle that I examined to try to determine prevalence of underbite in our area were Angus, except for three longhorns. The prevalence was over 50%, but all the examined heads were from calves born in 2008 and the prevalence of underbite changes from year to year. Also, a rancher who raised Angus cattle told me that about one third of their calves were born with an underbite, but that was in 2001. Underbite prevalence here has gone down since 2014. No one that I know of here "selects" against it. Underdeveloped bones, facial or other bones is caused by disrupted uptake of minerals, especially calcium. The developing fetuses are exposed in the womb to something that disrupts normal bone growth, so pregnant females with a normal bite can have calves with an underbite. There is no way to "select" against that.
TexasJerseyMilker
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" . Underdeveloped bones, facial or other bones is caused by disrupted uptake of minerals, especially calcium. The developing fetuses are exposed in the womb to something that disrupts normal bone growth, so pregnant females with a normal bite can have calves with an underbite. There is no way to "select" against that."
Then could the reason so many Jersey calves have underbites is their dam was giving away her calcium in her milk?
Seems like dairymen around here (an Oregon river valley) would select against it because the herds spend their days on grass pasture.
Then could the reason so many Jersey calves have underbites is their dam was giving away her calcium in her milk?
Seems like dairymen around here (an Oregon river valley) would select against it because the herds spend their days on grass pasture.
One study done in South Dakota had three pens of white-tailed deer females that were pregnant. One pen of does was given a specific dose of an insecticide imidacloprid in their water. Another pen of does was given a low dose of imidacloprid in their water and the third pen was the control group so not deliberately given imidacloprid. The fawns that died soon after birth had the highest levels of imidacloprid in their spleen. Those that were born with underdeveloped facial bones causing an underbite or an overbite and/or reproductive malformations also had some of the highest leveles of imidacloprid in their spleen. Interestingly, Oregon uses quite a lot of imidacloprid on their fields. Also of concern is that imidacloprid and glyphosate work synergistically to cause far more cellular damage than either alone. Glyphosate is a patented mineral chelator. It chelates the minerals out of any exposed plants and when it falls on plants that animals eat, it chelates the minerals in the animal, causing it to be mineral deficient. When a pregnant grazing animal is thus caused to be mineral deficient, her newborn is likely to have underdeveloped facial bones. I really do not see any way that the livestock owner can select against underdeveloped bones. When those two chemicals are falling in the rain onto the foliage that his or her animals are eating there is no way to keep the animals from being exposed.
