Pics of the girls & boys

[LoveMoo11]

Here are some pics I took of my herd today (if you call 6 cows & 2 calves a herd!)

This is Mayberry-she will be three this fall.

Here's my donkey getting sassy

hello!

Petunia-she'll be 8 in May.

she doesn't let a little snow bother her.

This is our dwarf (?) calf-he is 8 months old and hasn't grown an inch since birth.

This little heifer was born in January-I like her other than the ears, but that's not her fault-it was a cold winter! She's sired by Blue Moon.

Bonessa and Sheba.

 

[robert]

what's the breeding behind the little (dwarf) calf?

 

[kenny thomas]

I have a Blue Moon heifer calf born in Jan with froze ears also! :???:

 

[Australian]

You sure have some snow. It makes me feel cold just looking at the pics.
Colin

 

[LoveMoo11]

what's the breeding behind the little (dwarf) calf?

He is a purebred black Angus...There is a little inbreeding but none immediate. The dam's sire is the grandsire of the calf's sire....the breeding was an accident. His sire was only 5 months old and managed to breed a few cows. I am not sure if he is actually a dwarf or what-but he has not grown AT ALL since he was born. The calf that was born in January is bigger than he is. He eats fine, defecates normally, plays, runs, acts fine other than his size. It is really mystifying. His mom died about 3 months ago. I am curious as to whether his internal machinery is maturing or if he is just stunted or what!

I have a Blue Moon heifer calf born in Jan with froze ears also! :???:

must be they have sensitive genetics! haha.

 

[robert]

I'm afraid your answer only posed more questions The sire of the calf was 5mo old??? I've heard of inbreeding depression but this seems beyond that. If you are not comfortable naming names as to pedigree on a public forum then please email me direct, we have had some experience with dwarf calves in Angus and this appears to be, if not a major problem, certainly one that is still appearing.

 

[LimousinGirl]

Well I think that lil' dwarf calf is pretty cute! Seem strange he hasn't grown. :?

 

[KMacGinley]

How old was the "dwarf" calf when his mother died? Have you been bottle feeding him? Must have been pretty big when he was born.

Don't know that a 5 month old is capable of breeding...

 

[3waycross]

I would sure like to see some other angles on that calf you think is a dwarf. From that angle at least he does not exhibit any of the signs of dwarfism. He actually looks more like a true midget to me. Has he been castrated?

 

[LoveMoo11]

I didn't think a 5 month old could breed either-but he was the only bull in with the herd and there are no other farms anywhere near us where one could have escaped and gotten in with ours. If my calculating is right he didn't breed this particular cow at 5 months, but that is when he started with the other cows according to when the first calves were born. This cow he probably bred when he was 7 or so months. As for the "dwarf" -He was about 5-6 months when his mom died. He really isn't that big, but I couldn't get him to stand next to the other calf to show a comparison. He really is about the size of a newborn-he has just filled out of course. We didn't bottle feed him, but when his mom died he latched onto a cow whose calf we had just weaned and sold and he sucked on her for a few months-we normally wean at 6 months but he was so small we figured what the heck. I put a question mark by "dwarf" in the picture caption because he doesn't look like any dwarf I have seen-he is just stunted but I don't know what else you would call it. We've never dealt with anything like this before. He hasn't been castrated-nothing much there to castrate. He really isn't very useful but he doesn't eat much and we wouldn't get anything for him at auction so we just keep him around.
Robert-Here are some links to the pedigrees.
This is the dam's sire and sire's grandsire:
http://www.angus.org/common/epd_ped_dtl ... 44405F4645
This is the calf's dam:
http://www.angus.org/common/epd_ped_dtl ... 4D47554C41
calf's Sire:
http://www.angus.org/common/epd_ped_dtl ... 4C455D4D47
Sire's Dam:
http://www.angus.org/common/epd_ped_dtl ... 4D47554C43
Sire's Sire:
http://www.angus.org/common/epd_ped_dtl ... 4343544744
Thanks for taking a look.

 

[*Cowgirl*]

links aren't working.....

I like the looks of Petunia

 

[LoveMoo11]

grrr...they were working earlier. Must be they expire after a certain length of time...if you really want to look at the pedigrees go to http://www.angus.org/registeredangus/index.html. This should take you to the pedigree lookup where you can type in the names to look up the pedigrees. His dam is C&K Oscar Special, sire is M&M Luke Rocco. Dam's Sire/sire's grandsire is C&K Oscar 17A. Sire's sire is C&K Direct Luke.
Thanks, I like Petunia too, I've had her since she was 8 months old and she's served me well. She was a show heifer as a yearling and has given me 4 heifers and 2 bulls, two of which I showed. May & Pansy are her daughters.

 

[KMacGinley]

Don't think that he is a dwarf, I do think that his mother probably didn't milk much to start with.

 

[pearl101]

Sure r cute!!! :clap:

 

[bigbull338]

you have some goodlooking cattle.sometimes we just end up with a runt calf.love your jenny.