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Post by cddexter on Dec 14, 2015 0:15:51 GMT -5
You're probably right, Patti, relating to Perseus. I saw him at the Crowe's. There were several imports, and Beaver didn't come until the second one. The Woodmagic cows were sent as heifers so wouldn't have been of breeding age until the year following import. Still doesn't change the fact that Doris was not an experienced Dexter breeder at the outset, and knew little about cows in general, or that the Crowe's were weekend 'farmers' with someone else doing the work, nor does it address Beaver and what was considered common knowledge at the time. You are imbuing Doris with a background she never had. That's my only objection...Everything I have is packed and I won't have access for at least another eight months, so can't suss out the old paperwork or photos. And it wasn't just Doris, there was a consortium of five who invested in the imports; Doris gets the credit by default. c.
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Post by kansasdexters on Dec 14, 2015 8:48:49 GMT -5
c.
It isn't difficult to find the information concerning the Woodmagic imports into Canada in 1978 and 1979. Beryl Rutherford's book, "My Love Affair with the Dexter", includes a letter from Evelyn Wilton, on page 112. Here's what it says (paraphrased):
Doris Crowe, Ross Stone, Larratt & Paddy Higgins, and Eric Lawlor joined forces to purchase four Dexter heifers from Beryl Rutherford's Woodmagic Herd in England in 1978.
Doris Crowe, who imported the heifers, owned Woodmagic Puffin II, a dun born February 27, 1977. Woodmagic Mourning Dove II was originally owned by Ross Stone. She was born March 28, 1977 and was also a dun. When Mr. Stone sold his Lockwood Herd of Dexters, Mrs. Crowe bought Mourning Dove II.
The third heifer, imported in 1978, Woodmagic Waxwing, was owned Larratt & Paddy Higgins. She was a black cow, born April 21, 1977. Eric Lawlor owned the fourth heifer, Woodmagic Wheatear. She was born April 21, 1977 and was also black.
Six more Woodmagic Dexter heifers and a bull were imported by Doris Crowe in 1979. Now Mrs. Crowe had a herd of seven Woodmagic cows (Woodmagic Plover II, Woodmagic Zephyr's Dodo II, Woodmagic Parula's Warbler II, Woodmagic Morillon III, Woodmagic Misselc*ck II, Woodmagic Muscovy, and Woodmagic Mourning Dove II) and a dun Dexter bull (Woodmagic Beaver II) upon which she built her Cranworth Herd.
Prior to the importations, it was Doris Crowe that asked Beryl Rutherford to undertake a visit round some USA herds to try to find her a suitable bull. When Beryl Rutherford arrived at Doris Crowe's, Beryl was "horrified" that they were using a particularly dwarfish short-leg bull (Highland Perseus), and she told them so. In her book, p. 51, Beryl says, "There was little point in spending a lot of money importing my stock, free of the deformity, and using a short-leg bull to breed it back in."
If Doris Crowe wasn't experienced enough to see any defects or deformities in Dexter breed stock; she was at least experienced enough to ask for help from Beryl Rutherford in selecting a suitable Dexter bull for her herd. Beryl would not have sold her a Woodmagic bull with such an obvious defect as cryptorchidism. In addition, Woodmagic Beaver II had to undergo veterinary inspection prior to export from England to Canada, and that type of defect would have excluded him from export as a registered sire.
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Post by cddexter on Dec 14, 2015 11:37:00 GMT -5
She'd already got rid of Beaver by the time I saw her cattle, so I traveled to Alberta to get a look at Beaver in person. I was as green as Doris in those days, so I didn't know what to look for. I didn't notice anything peculiar about his balls, and the pics I took of him were either too far away or from the side and you can't see them for later reference. I did get the boys to check his height, which was 44" at the hip. Maybe Eric Lawlor will remember? I do remember being offered Beaver to buy and turning him down based on the info I had, and there weren't many of us with Dexters in those days so I had to get the info somewhere and the only people I'd been talking with were Doris and Eric. Looking back it may have been an undescended testicle or partly descended, but as Duncan says this is related. But back to the topic at hand, Eric knew his onions, Doris didn't. I know from personal experience that the gov't inspection isn't all that rigorous, so... This isn't CD trying to blacken the name of a major breeder, kiddo, just passing on old info. But thanks for all the research and long posts. Always interesting and many don't have Beryl's book so it's useful to have the info out there. There was a fifth person involved with the import, investor only and Doris bought her out early on. Can't remember the name offhand, have to wait until I can unpack the 'Dexter 'stuff' come Fall. cheers, c
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Post by kansasdexters on Dec 14, 2015 20:17:28 GMT -5
Thanks c. You keep it interesting in your own special way!
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Post by cddexter on Dec 14, 2015 21:21:53 GMT -5
c.
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Post by sevensparks on Aug 24, 2020 12:09:43 GMT -5
So, I decided to try castrating a calf for the first time ever. His scrotum looked small at 2 months, so I thought I could still get a band around it. Turns out there wasn't any testicles in there. The left one was slighty above the sac and I think I found the right one way up above the penis.
My dad always used burdizzos, but I think this one is going to need a vet.
This calf's full brother from last year has a nice, low hanging set.
Can anyone explain the genetics?
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