Post by kansasdexters on Aug 7, 2014 10:59:31 GMT -5
Hi Susan,
I would make notes in my herd records of the occurance, but I would not automatically cull a healthy, productive, purebred registered Dexter for being a carrier of recessive white spotting. Here's why:
1. Until or unless the breed associations make this an issue, and refuse to register animals because of "excessive white", it won't matter. I can cull every animal in my herd that I suspect is a carrier of recessive white spotting, create a herd that is completely free of this recessive gene, and then as soon as I sell any breeding stock to another breeder that doesn't have a herd completely free of recessive white spotting (and there's no simple test), all of my efforts would be for nothing.
2. Since some of the historically significant, traditional Dexter cattle were carriers of recessive white spotting, and I have semen from some of these bulls that I intend to use, it would be inconsistent to cull a cow that was a carrier of recessive white spotting (just because of that gene) and then turn around and use a bull that was a carrier of that same gene.
So the decision to keep an animal that has many desirable breed traits, and only has a few less desirable traits that don't affect health or production, is a no brainer for me.
If I registered the spotted calf, I would include a photo of it in the online pedigree, so that future breeders would know that both its sire and dam carried recessive white spotting. We don't have any other way, at this time, to publically document this.
Patti
I would make notes in my herd records of the occurance, but I would not automatically cull a healthy, productive, purebred registered Dexter for being a carrier of recessive white spotting. Here's why:
1. Until or unless the breed associations make this an issue, and refuse to register animals because of "excessive white", it won't matter. I can cull every animal in my herd that I suspect is a carrier of recessive white spotting, create a herd that is completely free of this recessive gene, and then as soon as I sell any breeding stock to another breeder that doesn't have a herd completely free of recessive white spotting (and there's no simple test), all of my efforts would be for nothing.
2. Since some of the historically significant, traditional Dexter cattle were carriers of recessive white spotting, and I have semen from some of these bulls that I intend to use, it would be inconsistent to cull a cow that was a carrier of recessive white spotting (just because of that gene) and then turn around and use a bull that was a carrier of that same gene.
So the decision to keep an animal that has many desirable breed traits, and only has a few less desirable traits that don't affect health or production, is a no brainer for me.
If I registered the spotted calf, I would include a photo of it in the online pedigree, so that future breeders would know that both its sire and dam carried recessive white spotting. We don't have any other way, at this time, to publically document this.
Patti
Did proboards do this?