Newbie asks about short vs long legged

[marla]

Hi all,

I just found this board. I'm getting my first cow in May -- a short-legged 2.5 year old cow due to have her second calf in July.

What's wrong with short legs?

Thanks!

[lsg]

There is nothing wrong with short legged animals; but some of them do carry the "bulldog gene". Just make sure any Dexter bull she is bred to is a non-carrier.

[wstevenl]

Yeah, if she truly is a "short leg" then if she's bred to a bull that is also a carrier then 25% of the calves will be "bulldog calves" which means that they will be aborted sometime before birth and are deformed. If you always use a bull that is tested to be a "non carrier" then you don't have to worry about it.

[lazyj5]

Shortleg, non-carrier, short statured, affected, and beef type are all "politically correct" terms for Dexters that carry the achondrodysplasia (dwarfism) gene. This IS the bulldog gene. If the cow is truly a chondro carrier, then she does carry the bulldog gene, will pass it on to approximately half of her calves, when bred to a non-carrier bull (with no chance of a bulldog calf).

If bred to a carrier bull, then about 25% of the calves will be bulldog calves, aborted at about 7 months, deformed and dead or dying soon after. 50% will be carriers and 25% will be non-carriers.

This is a dwarfism gene (affects bone growth, just as in humans) and some cows do have associated problems, such as arthritis, but most live long, healthy lives (just as in humans).

The main problem with the shortleg is political. Some breeders love the shortleg and breed nothing else, culling the longleg calves. Some breed only non-carriers. Some think the gene should be bred out of the breed entirely. Some think it was one of the main factors when originally determining what a Dexter was, and should be preserved. Some like and breed both types. As with any group, problems arise when those of differing opinions take it upon themselves to try and force their views on others. Most breeders feel it is a matter of personal taste, and each should educate him/herself about the gene and breed as he/she chooses.

Congratulations on the new cow and please share pics when you get her.

[wstevenl]

I've understood the stuff about the dwarf gene for a while but have one question lazyJ5.
Why do I sometimes see "chondrodysplasia" and then also the way that you typed with an a at the beginning?

[Honeycreek Dexters]

Great answer Deb this should be a sticky if this board supports them.
HCD

[legendrockranch]

I think the appropriate word Deb used would be "educate". We as breeders have a responsibility to inform our buyers as to what they are buying, plus possible breeding problems that could occur and ways to avoid them, if wanted.

HOPEFULLY........, hint, hint.......one of these days that ADCA will have an explanation of Chondrodysplasia on it's website. So future buyers can educate themselves and make a informed decision.

I'm all for breeding what a individual wants to breed, carrier/non-carrier, black, dun, red, horned/polled, etc. A far as I'm concerned they're all Dexters.

Marla, just a quick question. When you bought your dun cow did the breeder explain things to you?

[lazyj5]

wstevenl, sorry about that, the two spellings have been used interchangeably, but on the lab reports it's with the c, so I guess I should use that. Genebo explains it well.

Barb, the PDCA has this on their site, here's the link. Don't know why the ADCA does not, but I wish they did. People new to the breed need to know this stuff.
www.purebreddextercattle.org/Articles/ShortLongChondro.htm

[legendrockranch]

Thanks for the link Deb.

This is something I have wanted to see on the ADCA website for a long time.

[lazyj5]

Well, Barb, sounds like a good subject to bring up at the AGM. There are other changes I'd like to see on the site as well. Mainly, how it's set to fade in and out when going from one page to another. That can really bog down older computers, especially when on dial-up and it isn't necessary.

Also, on the members with links page. Some of the links open a new browser and some don't, it isn't consistent. The ones that don't open a new browser are a pain, because then you use have to go back to the member page to pick another site to look at. The ones that do open a new browser are nice because when you are finished, you just close that browser and the member page is still up.

And I don't care for the "Mini cows for sale" and "Miniature cows for sale" links at the bottom of some of the pages. But that's just my personal dislike for seeing Dexters called miniatures.

[marla]

Thanks, everyone!

I haven't picked her up yet, I just put a deposit on her. I've never seen her, but I have pictures. I don' t know how to upload them on this forum, though.

The guy I'm buying her from is getting rid of all his Dexters to focus on his lowline Angus herd.

[legendrockranch]

Definitely will bring it up at the AGM Deb, along with having info on the site about horned/polled genetics. Yes, I saw that the P's also have that info their website.

As for the other computer problems, you might want to contact Chuck or Dan.
I would also notify your director of what you would like to see done. Than it doesn't look like I'm the only one complaining about it.

[lazyj5]

Marla, if you want to post the pics of the cow on here, just let us know. We'll coach you through it. It's really pretty easy. Is your cow bred to a Dexter or a Lowline? A friend of mine has a Dexter x Lowline cow that is just stunning.

Barb, I do like the PDCA website content better, but it rarely gets updated and that is frustrating. Guess were're hard to please, huh?