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Need some help, please. Last fall we bought some black and black baldie heifers. We know they are sired by an EXT/Scotch Cap bull, out of Hereford or Hereford/Angus cows. We're considering running an Easy Fortune bull on them. But he's an EXT great-grandson on the dam's side, out of a New Design 036/EXT cow. Is that relationship too close? EXT great-grandson on grandaughters? Thanks for your input...

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Not that up on Hereford or Angus lineages. However, general rule of thumb (genetics) is that if you breed father/daughter, mother/son, brother/sister you will run risk of producing some defective traits as well as some good traits--it's a gamble. The farther back you go in pedigree (2 or 3 generations) you can, as a rule, safely linebreed about any animal of any species. This is why people usually "out-cross" or "cross-breed" to make more people. (Probably a very politically incorrect "joke" here).
 
The Holstein assoc. frowns on more then 12 1/2 % of any one animal in the pedigree. That's probably as good a rule of thumb as any.

dun

> Need some help, please. Last fall
> we bought some black and black
> baldie heifers. We know they are
> sired by an EXT/Scotch Cap bull,
> out of Hereford or Hereford/Angus
> cows. We're considering running an
> Easy Fortune bull on them. But
> he's an EXT great-grandson on the
> dam's side, out of a New Design
> 036/EXT cow. Is that relationship
> too close? EXT great-grandson on
> grandaughters? Thanks for your
> input...
 
In rancher lingo it's called linebreeding if it works and inbreeding if it doesn't. The genetic principle is that the more closely two indiduals are related the greater the likelihood that any defective genes present in either animal will pass to the young. I know of one rancher who mated a full sister-brother pair and got a first rate herd bull out of them. Sire and dam were both genetically sound. Since it is difficult and expensive to test for that with every mating, it's generally best not to breed too close. The old time Texas rule is, If the sire and dam are at least 50% unrelated it'll probably work okay.

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> Line one genetic program herd has been closed for 60 or 70 yrs. Director said they are "pretty sure that recessive traits have shown up" and they are confident in the genetics
 
Someone came along with money, anyway, and the bull is sold. We'll have to come up with something else to use on those heifers. I wish we had 50 calving ease bulls this year. Thanks, again.

> Need some help, please. Last fall
> we bought some black and black
> baldie heifers. We know they are
> sired by an EXT/Scotch Cap bull,
> out of Hereford or Hereford/Angus
> cows. We're considering running an
> Easy Fortune bull on them. But
> he's an EXT great-grandson on the
> dam's side, out of a New Design
> 036/EXT cow. Is that relationship
> too close? EXT great-grandson on
> grandaughters? Thanks for your
> input...
 
Hi Frankie

If I remember correctly EXT is a product of line breeding closer than you are thinking about. Some of the Best bulls in the angus breed are line bred closer. The general rule of thumb is no close relatives, 1/2 siblings, parent to offspring. Dad bought a cow last fall that was bred by her son and the cow was related to the sire of the son. I am waiting to see how calf turns out for growth and appearance this fall. Right now he is herd bull potential. I would not mind having a herd of cows like the dam.

pat
 

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