PHA(Heifer+Bull)=???????

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Simmishowchick

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Out of all my Simmi and SimAngus cows, I have one shorthorn my dad bought me for Christmas not this last one, but the one before.So of course, she has to be a PHA carrier and a TH carrier. Before we knew about her PHA status we had bred her to a bull who was TH free and we knew she was carrier at that time. We ran a test on the bull for PHA and he ended up being a carrier and since we knew it was in shorthorns, besides the maine's(I bred her to a 1/2 maine bull hoping to get a blue roan) but anyway, we did some research and realized that my shorthorn heifer, Victoria, sire was a PHA carrier. We decided to do blood work on her and she came back the same way. The expert said that the way my dad was describing her and what not and he said there was like a 35% chance of it being fine and from what my dad said we should have the vet look at her and feel around and told my dad what the calf shouldn't feel like and if it nothing was wrong now then in April when she calves it should come out normal. She is a great heifer, a little shorter for her age in the showring, but is complete in her struture and body condition for her size. She is definatly one of my front pasture cows. Now to the reason I am posting this . . .
When she calves, should I take her to the sale barn, keep her and breed her very carefully and risk the life of her calves or just feed her and leave her open. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I only showed her a couple times, but she definatly is one that I wish could keep forever.
 
Simmishowchick":1hffaffk said:
Out of all my Simmi and SimAngus cows, I have one shorthorn my dad bought me for Christmas not this last one, but the one before.So of course, she has to be a PHA carrier and a TH carrier. Before we knew about her PHA status we had bred her to a bull who was TH free and we knew she was carrier at that time. We ran a test on the bull for PHA and he ended up being a carrier and since we knew it was in shorthorns, besides the maine's(I bred her to a 1/2 maine bull hoping to get a blue roan) but anyway, we did some research and realized that my shorthorn heifer, Victoria, sire was a PHA carrier. We decided to do blood work on her and she came back the same way. The expert said that the way my dad was describing her and what not and he said there was like a 35% chance of it being fine and from what my dad said we should have the vet look at her and feel around and told my dad what the calf shouldn't feel like and if it nothing was wrong now then in April when she calves it should come out normal. She is a great heifer, a little shorter for her age in the showring, but is complete in her struture and body condition for her size. She is definatly one of my front pasture cows. Now to the reason I am posting this . . .
When she calves, should I take her to the sale barn, keep her and breed her very carefully and risk the life of her calves or just feed her and leave her open. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I only showed her a couple times, but she definatly is one that I wish could keep forever.

You have to make that decision. But in my opinion if you guys don't get rid of those defects in the breeds, it will kill the breed completely. And the way to get rid of them is to get rid of all the animals that carry the defect. I know it must break your heart, but, again in my opinion, it's a disservice to the breed to breed cattle that you know have these sorts of problems. Good luck....
 
Why not wait until the calf is born and have it tested then? As far as your heifer is concerned you have to decide if she is worth keeping for the futture. If you breed her to negative bulls your calves will be ok but they will still be carriers. If you are trying to raise steers this wil not be a problem.
 
Breed her to non carrier bulls. SEK has about all their bulls tested. It is simple the resulting calves have a 50% free 50% carrier. Even two carriers have 25% free 50% carrier 25% death. I wouldn't get rid of her or not breed her, just be informed with true information not hearsay. I am waiting on results on my Patty O girl. The Maine site has an excellent article explaining TH and PHA
 

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