Dummy Calves

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gertman

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Are dummy calves the result of management, genetics, or do some breeds have the problem more than others? Share what you know about the subject please.
 
There could be some genetics in volved and maybe managment. All of the dummys I've seen (I've only seen a few) were the result of prolonged labor.
 
dun":393s82gv said:
There could be some genetics in volved and maybe managment. All of the dummys I've seen (I've only seen a few) were the result of prolonged labor.

Dystocia and mineral / vitamin deficiencies cause a lot of problems with new borns ;also the bigger they are the dumber they tend to be....Selenium deficiency is a major cause of dumb dumbs...
 
It has always been my experience, for whatever reason, that Brown Swiss calves are typically prone to beinbg dummies. So much so that I quit buying them.
 
angie":32rzeova said:
It has always been my experience, for whatever reason, that Brown Swiss calves are typically prone to beinbg dummies. So much so that I quit buying them.
There not so much dummies as just the stupidist breed of cattle imaginable. They make good oxen because they're so calm, almost to the point of being commotose
 
angie":2zgb1fj5 said:
It has always been my experience, for whatever reason, that Brown Swiss calves are typically prone to beinbg dummies. So much so that I quit buying them.

So that was it...
 
hillsdown":12i1r03q said:
dun":12i1r03q said:
There could be some genetics in volved and maybe managment. All of the dummys I've seen (I've only seen a few) were the result of prolonged labor.

Dystocia and mineral / vitamin deficiencies cause a lot of problems with new borns ;also the bigger they are the dumber they tend to be....Selenium deficiency is a major cause of dumb dumbs...

Amazing how many big holstein bull calves or simply DUMB...not to mention awfully hard to raise.
 
dun":6j58wrsd said:
angie":6j58wrsd said:
It has always been my experience, for whatever reason, that Brown Swiss calves are typically prone to beinbg dummies. So much so that I quit buying them.
There not so much dummies as just the stupidist breed of cattle imaginable. They make good oxen because they're so calm, almost to the point of being commotose

Our neighbors and good friends switched to brown swiss for the majority their milking herd. One of the reasons they did this was because brown swiss are very "programmable" once you have them trained to lay in free stalls, to milk etc. they never stray. You will never have a dummy laying in the sh@t in the alley ...I think people mistake their docility for being stupid. However the boys may just be really stupid.. ;-)
 
TexasBred":19jsnprd said:
No mistaking the lack of milk production compared to holsteins and an appetite like an elephant.

That goes back to the old saying, "Eats like a Holstein and milks like a Jersey".
 
CattleHand":1qirg4md said:
what do you guys mean by dummy calves?

Calves that take forever to stand , and when you give them a bottle they won't suck so you have to tube them their first feeding..You know dumb dumbs. Everything that is instinctively there for a new born is missing with dummies..Large Holstein bull calves take the cake on this one though and they usually have contracted tendons..


TB, I don't think they saw a change in production as their Holsteins probably only average 50lbs a day, they are not very aggressive with their milk herd..
 
Thanks for the opinions, I believe it may have been a hard birth or a long gestation period, the cow looked as if she was going to bust 3 weeks before the calf arrived.
 
gertman":ngtmixd6 said:
Thanks for the opinions, I believe it may have been a hard birth or a long gestation period, the cow looked as if she was going to bust 3 weeks before the calf arrived.
The only reason gestatyion length would cause it was if it made the calf so large that it had a hard/prolonged labor
 

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