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Post by midhilldexters on Nov 16, 2014 11:59:40 GMT -5
I'd be happy if we could just get #4 in the next two years. What a start that would be!
Carol K
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zephyrhillsusan
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Caught Dexteritis in Dec. 2009. Member of this forum since Oct. 2013.
Posts: 1,502
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Post by zephyrhillsusan on Nov 16, 2014 12:07:26 GMT -5
To get back to your OP, Patti, I think we should add a couple more things: - Make mentoring available (that's a bit more specific and personal than education).
- Make sure that new Dexter owners have a Plan A and Plan B for getting cows and heifers bred. (That's a good suggestion, lakeportfarms.)
- Make sure that new owners understand how many cattle their pastures can accommodate. (Another good suggestion, Hans.)
The last two could be included in the general education, but I do agree they seem to be specific pitfalls. Speaking of education, I know we have an "official ADCA vet." I would love to see a column from him in the Bulletin on a regular basis. He could cover all sorts of things like mineral supplements, suggested vaccination schedules, pros and cons of vaccination, homeopathic and natural remedies, mastitis, grass tetany, toxic weeds and plants like oleander (quite recently two people on KFC almost lost cattle that ate oleander--one was a newbie who fed commercial lawn clippings that had oleander trimmings in them) and wild cherry, various castration methods, how to prevent tetanus when castrating, weaning age . . . there are a zillion subjects he could cover! The articles wouldn't have to be comprehensive, but he could introduce the subject with a basic explanation of the issue(s) and give a couple of suggested resources for further research. Some of these might well be things that people would never have thought of on their own. Some of these have actually come up on this forum--some of them repeatedly, but not every Dexter owner comes here to avail themselves of this great resource. If they are ADCA members, they get the Bulletin, and I think a column like this would help make the Bulletin a valuable, hang-onto-that kind of resource. One final thought on this, I'm afraid that will not be happening any time soon, unfortunately. In that case, some real education needs to be done on WHY it is so important. Sheri posted her response in the time it took me to write all this, and I agree, if we could get your four things done, that would be amazing! But hey, as long as we're asking for the moon . . .
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zephyrhillsusan
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Caught Dexteritis in Dec. 2009. Member of this forum since Oct. 2013.
Posts: 1,502
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Post by zephyrhillsusan on Nov 16, 2014 12:12:31 GMT -5
We have company so I didn't get to answer this earlier. Yes, I totally agree with you, Patti, we have to talk the talk and walk the walk. The tail hairs for my last animal are in the mail with the necessary paperwork for Sire & Dam Qualification filled out. I should have been more specific in what I said though, when I asked how many breeders would be capable of explaining to a buyer how to do Sire and Dam Qualification? The problem is that some breeders think they know how and think their animals are S&DQ (sorry, that's a mouthful to type out each time!), but they don't realize that in order for that to happen, all 3 animals--sire, dam and calf--MUST have their genotype on file at the same lab and be compared at the same time. This is something we really need some good education done about, especially since at this time it's on a voluntary basis, which puts all the onus on those of us who are actually doing it and care about it.
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Post by legendrockranch on Nov 16, 2014 12:39:47 GMT -5
I'd be happy if we could just get #4 in the next two years. What a start that would be! Carol K This should be our number one priority parentage qualification . I'm with you on the next two years Carol. I would love two have two different height standards, this probably won't happen, so Patti's #3 will have to do. Here is an important matter not mentioned, testing and listing ALL animals of genetic defects, that goes for non-carrier/carriers of both PHA and chondro. Barb
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zephyrhillsusan
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Caught Dexteritis in Dec. 2009. Member of this forum since Oct. 2013.
Posts: 1,502
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Post by zephyrhillsusan on Nov 16, 2014 15:44:09 GMT -5
That's a good point, Barb. I believe PHA is on its way out because most breeders with PHA-positive animals are breeding for replacements and will then slaughter the carriers. However, there are probably some untested ones still on the market, and newbies have been hurt more than once by buying them unawares. Lots of breeders want to continue breeding chondro carriers, and I think that is absolutely your right. I happen to have one myself, and his pedigree page states his status. He will be castrated soon, so it's a moot point, but before I ever knew his future I tested him and put his status on record. (*And by the way, only two people on this site correctly identified him as chondro positive; not even the breeder of his sire thought he was a carrier!) I'm going to propose something for those who breed chondro animals to consider: One of the biggest arguments I've heard anti-chondro people use is, "What about after YOU sell the animal if the next owner doesn't teach future buyers the importance of breeding to non-carriers?" Barb has shown an EASY way to silence those objections: Require any animal with PHA or chondro to be listed as such on the pedigree page in order to be registered. I hear the objections already! "That's going to cost us chondro breeders more in testing than it costs the breeders of non-chondro animals!" Guess what? Those of you who are responsible chondro breeders already test because you KNOW that no eye is infallible to make those determinations*. So it's not going to cost YOU any more; it's going to cost those who don't already test, which (IMHO) is irresponsible. We need to change the way we think about it: We need to think about it as something that EVERY breeder should test for until you reach obligate negative status. So let's not think of it as an ADDED cost; think of it as a cost that those who don't have chondro get to (eventually) avoid. If all animals were officially designated, it would be a simple thing for the ADCA to send out, along with the new registration certificate after every single transfer of a PHA or chondro positive animal, a form letter explaining to the new owner the genetic status of their animal and the conditions for responsible breeding of that animal. Think about it: That would automatically silence one of the major objections that non-chondro breeders have to breeding chondro carriers! I call that a win-win! Maybe even a win-win-win if you think about the cows that won't be grieving any more dead calves.
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Post by kansasdexters on Nov 16, 2014 19:37:15 GMT -5
In our herd, we test all of our chondro-carriers and PHA-carriers offspring, and report chondro status and PHA-status when we register. We also test the offspring of our non-carriers. Why? Because if testing is done at the same time that parentage qualification is done, it only costs $10 additional to test for Chondro and $10 additional to test for PHA. Because it's such an inexpensive test, we test all of our registered breeding stock, so that when we sell a registered Dexter, the new owner gets an actual test report that is complete and detailed.
The ADCA's current registration policy of giving obligate PHA-free and obligate Chondro-free status, while not requiring full parentage qualification, has potentially given false reports on PHA-status and on Chondro-status, in my opinion. Anyone that has purchased an "obligate" Chondro-free or "obligate" PHA-free Dexter, should test that animal and make sure that their status is properly recorded with the ADCA. There is a way to fix this problem, it's just not getting done.
Patti
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