Dwarf Hereford Calf

[urbanwoman]

I just acquired a 6-month-old dwarf heifer. Her mom & dad are normal size. (The farmer who had her didn't want her) She isn't much taller than my knee. I have questions. I've raised calves before, but not dwarves. Is there anything special about feed or care for her? Can she be bred safely, and if so, to what sort of bull? Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[El_Putzo]

If I'm not mistaken and the parents are not miniatures, this dwarf calf is the result of a genetic mutation, and should not be bred. Hopefully somebody else will chime in either to correct me or give more info.

 

[certherfbeef]

It should probably be reported to the AHA too.

 

[El_Putzo]

I was thinking that too but wasn't sure if the parent animals were registered. If the parents are registered than yes, by all means it should be reported. Good call Cert.

 

[Brandonm2]

Dwarves can be fed the normal beef feeds. There is nothing special to raising them. I have never tried to breed a dwarf. IF she ever got big enough (I am guessing~500 pounds and 36 inches tall ??/the mini guys should know more) that it was "Safe" to do it I would find miniature Hereford semen.
http://www.miniaturehereford.org/history.htm
ANY breed of normal cattle, even a very low birthweight Angus or Longhorn could kill a dwarf (assuming she cycles at all). Mini Herfs are not dwarves; but if you paid real close attention (I THINK) she might come through it ok, though I am loathe to recommend that anybody multiply the dwarf gene. Dwarfism is a recessive so any calf she has will be a dwarf gene carrier and the mini people have taken efforts NOT to let the dwarf gene into their cattle. Also since she is a regular Herf that is just small due to dwarfism; her calves would have her birth weight had she been normal so even bred to a mini her calf COULD be 70 pounds plus and you won't get that size calf out of her without cutting it out.

 

[la4angus]

If thiis is an angus it should be reported to the American Angus Association. It is my understanding that they are looking for some angus dwarfs to run some test on.

 

[El_Putzo]

The title says it's a hereford, but yes, I agree it should be reported.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Are keeping it as a novelty.not wanting to upset you but it may not live long enough to consider breeding that is if it will even breed you might want to think this one through before preparing a future for it.

 

[Rustler9]

If she's a dwarf and you want to keep her as a pet you would need to have her spayed. This can be done by the vet and won't cost very much-I think it's a lot cheaper than spaying cats and dogs.

 

[WORANCH]

I can't believe anyone would even think of breeding a dwarf. The sire and dam need to be hamburger,along with this calf.

 

[Beefy]

i think if you breed her to another dwarf she still may have a normal calf, as this is sometimes the case in humans. and that would be bad news for her come calving time. dont breed her.

 

[Anonymous]

Kill this calf - it represents all that is wrong with it's parents. It also is a bad representative of the breed.

Bez'

 

[certherfbeef]

Kill this calf - it represents all that is wrong with it's parents. It also is a bad representative of the breed.

Bez'

This just happens to be EXACTALLY what I was thinking but didn't have the sand to say it.

 

[DD RANCH]

Kill this calf - it represents all that is wrong with it's parents. It also is a bad representative of the breed.

Bez'

I agree.

Why waste your time raiseing sh!t cattle when there are so many good ones?

 

[ALACOWMAN]

There is alot of good cattle out there that have that gene lurking around just waiting for some old farmer to make a bad management decision.

 

[Brandonm2]

i think if you breed her to another dwarf she still may have a normal calf, as this is sometimes the case in humans. and that would be bad news for her come calving time. dont breed her.

Actually as I understand dwarfism it is a recessive condition which popped up when purebreeders descided to chase tenderness at ALL costs by breeding frame score 1 cattle smaller and smaller. A true dwarf cow bred to a true dwarf bull should ONLY have dwarf offspring since both should be homozygous for the dwarf gene. Now WHERE one would buy dwarf semen I do not know. I know nothing about dwarfism in people (they don't really interest me that much) so I am sure you are right about people dwarves.

 

[urbanwoman]

Thank you to all who replied to my post. I have new information. The farmer who owned this calf called last night and said she is 3 months old, not 6 months as reported previously. She is still very small. She weighs 50 pounds. I gather from you all that it isn't safe to breed her, so I won't. She is very cute, so I won't kill her. She is the only bovine on the farm at this time, so accidental breeding isn't an issue. I won't sell her, because I'm hearing that she should not be bred.

 

[certherfbeef]

I won't sell her, because I'm hearing that she should not be bred.

Just don't sell her as breeding stock. Any chance you can post a picture. I've never seen a dwarf calf. But I'm guessing that it should be obvious that there is something not right with the calf.

3 months old and 50lbs. I havn't had a 50 lb full term calf born here in years.

 

[urbanwoman]

I don't know how to use this board very well yet. I can take a picture of the calf with my digital camera and e-mail it to you...you could send your e-mail address to [email protected].

 

[sidney411]

Are you sure that the calf is a dwarf and not a mini? I would love to see a pic too, I assume she looks like a mini though, how would you tell the difference?