Idiopathethic Epilepsy in Polled Herefords and other breeds?

[Aaron]

Well .. hmm .. where to start ! LOL !

Aaron .. it does not sound to me that the calves you had were NOT definatively diagnosed as having IE. To have those calves express that both the cow and the sire would have had to be carriers. I am sure your vet mentioned to you that there are other health conditions that can cause seizures in calves .. including swelling of the brain .. which can be caused from various things .. also ..poisoning can do the same thing .. and yet it is possible for the calves to recover. I have not heard one FACT that links chronic bloating to IE ..

As far as the CHA is concerned .. I am not sure who you spoke to there .. but one needs to make sure they are speaking to someone there with knowledge of the genetic defect issues on a larger scale ... I asked them about 5 years ago if I could test a cow for the diluter gene .. and the secretary told me "no one had ANY cattle test positive .. that is was very expensive and no one was doing it" .... WHAT ??? who are we kidding ... the diluter gene has affected a TON of cattle up here ! (and I know people who told me that they DID have cattle test positive !!) :roll: I am disappointed that you were told it was an "american problem" .. and for the number of polled breeders in Canada who are using horned genetics .. you cannot really say it is a horned problem either.

I very much doubt that the test that was done on that Gelvieh bull was done in Canada .. the lab in Guelph has just taken over Canada's DNA testing in the last 6 months or so .. and before that the only was to test for IE ... or diluter even was to send it to a lab in the US .. any IE testing that I was aware of was done through the AHA and that American lab.

If you really want to know the cause of your problem .. and I would seriously suggest doing this before you speculate on the breeding that you THINK has caused this problem for you. .. TEST YOUR COWS .. and unless you have a definate pedigree on them .. you are in trouble ... but hear say about what breeding you THINK may have caused you a problem (a problem that you have not PROVEN to be IE) .. can be pretty detrimental to your fellow breeders .. and the whole breed as well. Be sure you have some "proof" before you make accusations ..

On another note .. I would be interested to know if the problem exists in other breeds .. I had not heard of any ..

Jen

I would be pretty sure to classify the reaction as IE. Unless there is another epileptic condition genetically transmitted in cattle, other than IE? You don't need a university education to realize that having 3 or 4 calves flopping to the ground with seizures off the same bull, who did the same himself as a young animal...when no other animal in the herd has ever done such a routine, might make you a bit suspicious that it is a genetic condition, and not environmental.

But thank you, Jen, for your input. I will be getting the commercial cow of the seizure calf tested for IE.

 

[jenran]

Just learned something new today

"In cattle, epilepsy was reported to be inherited in Swedish Red Cattle, although there are reports of epilepsy in other breeds such as Brown Swiss, Romagnola, Hereford, Angus, and Brahman. Attacks usually start when calves are several months old and might disappear entirely between 1 and 2 years of age" ... via this link [http://www.vet.cornell.edu/consult...ying to figure out what bull 4049 is !! :?

 

[WichitaLineMan]

>>your MVF bull traces back to a Miles City Bull that is in 9012y's pedigree .<<

Mile City is ADAMANT that no station cattle carry the defect. They have statements out to that effect and have tested the whole herd.

 

[Aaron]

Just learned something new today

"In cattle, epilepsy was reported to be inherited in Swedish Red Cattle, although there are reports of epilepsy in other breeds such as Brown Swiss, Romagnola, Hereford, Angus, and Brahman. Attacks usually start when calves are several months old and might disappear entirely between 1 and 2 years of age" ... via this link [http://www.vet.cornell.edu/consult...thing but great trouble-free calves. :cowboy: