Horn gene ? and misc. BQA and observations.

[Ky hills]

The professors were narrating while the video was showing an apparent bull sale.
Folks looking at a pen of bulls that looked to me more like crappy steer material instead of bulls.
They were emphasizing the importance CED and MCE EPD's.
I definitely think the CED is overblown.
I've been trying to reverse course on extreme light BW. The BWF bull we just sold probably averaged 50 pounds on calves from heifers with sone being probably in the 40 pound range.
Cows bred to that bull had calves probably somewhere between 50-60 pounds.
It's not that I've selected for that necessarily it's just what's available.

 

[OBAX]

Calving ease in my opinion is the selection tool that is most beneficial to use, not birth weight. As hard as it is for us to accept and adapt to, the genetic technology we see today makes it so easy to pick for the traits we need on our operations. The maternal calving ease is also a lane that we sometimes overlook. We can look at the numbers and probability of a calving ease bull, without super low birth weights, and good growth genetics, and we can go a step further and select for feed efficiency and how easy his own daughters are likely to calve. Those are the traits that, once you find them in a package from a reputable breeder, can have big and positive impacts on a herd. It's obviously good that we all have different needs and goals, or else those bulls would be unattainable, but calving ease these days means so much more than rabbit sized calves born.
I think it's just a matter of time before we will be breeding for pre castrated steers. Sexed semen will have 3 categories, heifers, bulls, steers.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I think it's just a matter of time before we will be breeding for pre castrated steers. Sexed semen will have 3 categories, heifers, bulls, steers.

Well that would screw up a lot of judges that tend to ask the kids in showmanship, "How many STEERS are born in the US each year" Trick question - ZERO born.

 

[Lucky_P]

I have raising 3 Jersey bottle heifer calves. One was born here to a cow I raised and dehorned her with paste. That heifer was also going to dehorned with paste. They bought these 2 heifers from a dairy, they was ready to dehorn but no buds could be found. They are born polled. They came from an Organic dairy which of course wants to tell customers cruelty free. Is hornlesnes homozygous like purebed Angus of heterozygous in Jerseys? I'm thinking of the next generation.

@TexasJerseyMilker - the polled gene works the same in Jerseys as it does in any other breed. Polled gene is dominant to the horn gene, so if the calf inherits one copy of the polled gene, it will be polled. A homozygous polled animal will produce 100% polled offspring. Some breeders in the Jersey and Holstein breeds have been working to increase the incidence of polled individuals for many years. There are quite a few AI sires that carry the polled gene; I've probably seen more polled Jersey AI sires available than any other breed, but there are quite a few polled Holstein and Red&White sires out there, and I've seen a few polled Brown Swiss sires, as well. Some of the early polled sires probably gave up a bit on productivity, but forward-looking breeders have brought the quality up in a big way.

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

What if my polled calves are heterozygous polled? If their mamas were horned then half their calves would be horned if bred to homozygous horned bulls, right? Honeydew, the cow I am milking now came from the same dairy. She was horned and so was her heifer calf. Dehorning is sure a pain in the butt for all concerned but no way do I want wicked sharp horns on my dairy stock. A few days ago HD was AI'ed to a polled bull.

Seems like focusing on breeding polled seedstock they might loose some production and health traits.

 

[Travlr]

What if my polled calves are heterozygous polled? If their mamas were horned then half their calves would be horned if bred to homozygous horned bulls, right? Honeydew, the cow I am milking now came from the same dairy. She was horned and so was her heifer calf. Dehorning is sure a pain in the butt for all concerned but no way do I want wicked sharp horns on my dairy stock. A few days ago HD was AI'ed to a polled bull.

Seems like focusing on breeding polled seedstock they might loose some production and health traits.

None of their calves will be born with horns if bred to a homozygous polled bull.

That means the calves born from homozygousXhorned parents are hornless/polled and heterozygous... meaning the calves offspring, if bred to each other, could be either polled/hornless or horned. Half of the calves would be heterozygous polled and carry the horned genetics. A quarter would have horns, and a quarter would be homo/hornless.

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

None of their calves will be born with horns if bred to a homozygous polled bull. Check

Most Jersey cows are selected for production and they are horned. Best you can do to get rid of horns is breed the cows to homozygous polled bulls but this only works for the F1 generation. Only 25% of the second generation is homozygous polled so I guess they have to keep using those homozygous bulls.

My cow Honeydew I had to dehorn and her calf I had to dehorn. Now she is AIed to a polled bull

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

As @Lucky_P said, people have been trying to increase the polled gene, and have worked to keep the quality of the breed.

 

[Brute 23]

I'd say 1100 pound cow, but we are on the same page.

Or a heifer that has to have a special bull that throws #50 calves.

 

[Davemk]

The professors were narrating while the video was showing an apparent bull sale.
Folks looking at a pen of bulls that looked to me more like crappy steer material instead of bulls.
They were emphasizing the importance CED and MCE EPD's.
I definitely think the CED is overblown.
I've been trying to reverse course on extreme light BW. The BWF bull we just sold probably averaged 50 pounds on calves from heifers with sone being probably in the 40 pound range.
Cows bred to that bull had calves probably somewhere between 50-60 pounds.
It's not that I've selected for that necessarily it's just what's available.

Uni of Ky ext has gone off the deep end with their calving ease nonsense. Looks like it is coming from the University itself. Sad.

 

[gcreekrch]

Uni of Ky ext has gone off the deep end with their calving ease nonsense. Looks like it is coming from the University itself. Sad.

Those that can do. Those that can't, teach. Those that can't teach administrate.

 

[GreyGus]

what is the likely outcome of breeding a naturally polled black angus cow to a longhorn bull?
Would the first generation calves be polled?

 

[Warren Allison]

what is the likely outcome of breeding a naturally polled black angus cow to a longhorn bull?
Would the first generation calves be polled?

If the cow is homozygous polled, then yes. Except some LHs have Watusi blood in them, and thus the AHG, and they might have a horned or scurred calf.