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Stunted growth question
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<blockquote data-quote="snake67" data-source="post: 949548" data-attributes="member: 17764"><p>First off your opening statement is a bit judgmental - but as you can see it has been let go - so perhaps you are wrong - your apology is accepted in advance.</p><p></p><p>Second - dwarfism is a potential. So is lack of colostrum. While there are probably many other potential causes - as illustrated by Beefy who is no slouch when it comes to cows - these are the two predominant ones - at least in my opinion. (For whatever that is worth!)</p><p></p><p>A new born calf can make it for a couple days with no milk and do poorly forever thereafter - if it is a poor doer at birth and does not get colostrum it WILL be a failing animal - and usually not grow - so poor mothering at birth can be one cause. A 24 hour delay and it is behind forever.</p><p></p><p>Check your records and see who is related to who - despite the "bet my money" on the Hereford, both Herfs and Angus have been known to do the dwarf thing once in a while. Out of our mixed herd of more than a couple hundred blacks and red/whites and over the space of 30 plus years we have had two that dwarfed out - one was a black baldy and one was a pure black. </p><p></p><p>I personally have not seen one since the early 80's - I attribute this to killing everything in the herd that might even remotely be associated with that specific calf. That is what slaughter houses and sale barns are for. Just do not let it be sold for breeding. </p><p></p><p>Your problem is a less than 1% issue - seems to me that most folks raising cattle would like to have that as a statistic. </p><p></p><p>In fact my poor math shows the problem to be about .67 of one percent. I would bet you have more troubles with pulling calves, hoof rot or even deads than that.</p><p></p><p>Be that as it may it is very likely you could solve the problem if you keep accurate enough records - that will - in the end be the answer to your initial question</p><p></p><p>Dwarfism in Herfs now is very rare and can be solved by killing the mother and eating her. Do the same with the calf. The same can be stated for any cow - and to my knowledge there are several breeds that can (does not mean they will) throw a dwarf.</p><p></p><p>I did not see what bull you were using - but the quality of the bull comes to mind - especially as you buy one every year(?) - which I find to be a bit unusual and expensive. What type of bull and what quality are we talking about. Not all registered bulls are equal - and in my opinion, most bulls that I am seeing today should be ground up for burger rather than papered and used for breeding. He does equal half your herd and I am sure you know that.</p><p></p><p>Lots of questions in my mind - but your info is rather sparse.</p><p></p><p>Records - records - records - and cull - cull - cull</p><p></p><p>Check those records and after a time I bet you find a pattern</p><p></p><p>This problem can go away immediately if you do both - keep good records over time and cull hard - wish you all the luck in solving this one. You are not likely to get the complete solution here - but you might get an idea or two. Hope it works out well for you.</p><p></p><p>Best to you and have a great weekend</p><p></p><p>Bez</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="snake67, post: 949548, member: 17764"] First off your opening statement is a bit judgmental - but as you can see it has been let go - so perhaps you are wrong - your apology is accepted in advance. Second - dwarfism is a potential. So is lack of colostrum. While there are probably many other potential causes - as illustrated by Beefy who is no slouch when it comes to cows - these are the two predominant ones - at least in my opinion. (For whatever that is worth!) A new born calf can make it for a couple days with no milk and do poorly forever thereafter - if it is a poor doer at birth and does not get colostrum it WILL be a failing animal - and usually not grow - so poor mothering at birth can be one cause. A 24 hour delay and it is behind forever. Check your records and see who is related to who - despite the "bet my money" on the Hereford, both Herfs and Angus have been known to do the dwarf thing once in a while. Out of our mixed herd of more than a couple hundred blacks and red/whites and over the space of 30 plus years we have had two that dwarfed out - one was a black baldy and one was a pure black. I personally have not seen one since the early 80's - I attribute this to killing everything in the herd that might even remotely be associated with that specific calf. That is what slaughter houses and sale barns are for. Just do not let it be sold for breeding. Your problem is a less than 1% issue - seems to me that most folks raising cattle would like to have that as a statistic. In fact my poor math shows the problem to be about .67 of one percent. I would bet you have more troubles with pulling calves, hoof rot or even deads than that. Be that as it may it is very likely you could solve the problem if you keep accurate enough records - that will - in the end be the answer to your initial question Dwarfism in Herfs now is very rare and can be solved by killing the mother and eating her. Do the same with the calf. The same can be stated for any cow - and to my knowledge there are several breeds that can (does not mean they will) throw a dwarf. I did not see what bull you were using - but the quality of the bull comes to mind - especially as you buy one every year(?) - which I find to be a bit unusual and expensive. What type of bull and what quality are we talking about. Not all registered bulls are equal - and in my opinion, most bulls that I am seeing today should be ground up for burger rather than papered and used for breeding. He does equal half your herd and I am sure you know that. Lots of questions in my mind - but your info is rather sparse. Records - records - records - and cull - cull - cull Check those records and after a time I bet you find a pattern This problem can go away immediately if you do both - keep good records over time and cull hard - wish you all the luck in solving this one. You are not likely to get the complete solution here - but you might get an idea or two. Hope it works out well for you. Best to you and have a great weekend Bez [/QUOTE]
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