Heavy horns on newborn

[alexfarms]

I had a calf born tonight with the heaviest horns I believe I have ever felt on a newborn. They must be about the diameter of a quarter at the base and protrude probably at least 3/8 inch. I don't have alot of experience with horned calves. Are horns that heavy unusual? The bull calf was about 4 days late on an AI date. Looking back through my records I believe it is also the first horned bull calf I have had out of straight Havre King Domino parents. Both of his parents are polled and neither had produced a horned calf for me before.

 

[randiliana]

That isn't terribly unusual. Just like you can get calves whose horns are so small at birth you can't feel them. Might have something to do with gestation length, it wouldn't surprise me. Same thing as some calves having lots of teeth at birth and some having almost none.

 

[alexfarms]

That isn't terribly unusual. Just like you can get calves whose horns are so small at birth you can't feel them. Might have something to do with gestation length, it wouldn't surprise me. Same thing as some calves having lots of teeth at birth and some having almost none.

I read your articles on your blogspot/easygenes. In your article on scurs you don't present the possibility of a scurred heifer. I have had scurred heifers. In your article on spotted color inheritance. I have been told by the researchers at Miles City that the spotted gene in the Hereford Line 1s is unique. They said they compared it to other breeds with spotted color genes and none of them matched what the Line 1's were carrying. Your articles are interesting. Genetics is fascinating, especially since so much of it is still somewhat mysterious to us.

 

[randiliana]

Thanks, I tried to cover the more basic genes with an easy to understand description.

As far as the Scurred gene, I'm glad you pointed out my error . At the end it was supposed to say that a female that is ScSc is SCURRED (not horned). Wow, that is a BIG mistake!!

As far as the spotting gene in Line 1 Herefords, that is interesting. What I found though was that breeding solid colored cows to a Hereford was giving me some pretty flashy hereford marked calves. Wonder if this is the gene you are talking about or something different. Interesting stuff, anyways.

 

[KNERSIE]

Randi, do you perhaps have a link to research on the heritibility of scurs? All the literature that I've read stated that they believed it to be sex linked at the time, well I have a cow that disproved that theory.

 

[hillsdown]

Wow, I totally missed that and I have 3 scurred females .. I guess I didn't read that closely. Maybe a little Add on my part.

 

[randiliana]

Here's the best article that I could find. It does suggest that they are sex linked....

http://www.braunviehcenter.com/cattle_genetics.html

 

[randiliana]

Here's the best article that I could find. It does suggest that they are sex linked....

http://www.braunviehcenter.com/cattle_genetics.html

 

[bigag03]

At this point, I don't see how anyone can get into detail about the inheritance of scurs, or even horn/poll for that matter, if you throw Bos inducus breeds into the mix. There are theories out there (sex linked, epistasis among multiple genes, etc.) but with every theory, there has been at least one animal that didn't fit the model. I don't have a problem talking theories, but to actually start labeling genes and showing the mode of inheritance to someone that genuinely has a question without explaining that there is still some doubt is misleading.

 

[dun]

Years ago we used to buy a lot of crossbred Angus Holstein calves. The bulls that were used were from a very linebred herd and had been for probably 20 years or more. Every bull calf turned out slick headed and every heifer was scurred. I gave up on trying to figure out scurs other then "is it a scur or a horn"

 

[Northern Rancher]

Somewhere in my acrchives I have a picture of A hereford spotter that Dr. Bellows showed me when I toured around Miles City with him. She had some chrome for sure.

 

[WichitaLineMan]

NR, when is your website going to be up?

Can't wait to see the bull line-up.

 

[Hereford76]

Looking back through my records I believe it is also the first horned bull calf I have had out of straight Havre King Domino parents. Both of his parents are polled and neither had produced a horned calf for me before.

there's the new horned mutant we've all been waiting for