Show cattle are the most top tier cattle in the country. I am sure everyone has heard of the Westminster Dog Show, shown every year on television. What if I told you that they had high, prestigious shows like that for cattle? They take all breeds of cattle to national shows every year, including the North American Livestock Exposition, Keystone International Livestock Exposition ,and several other large shows.
These cattle have thousands of dollars invested in them, countless hours of training, and are fed rations of feed that cost a lot more than your grocery bill. For most, this is a lifestyle, spending extensive time and money showing and raising this type of cattle. They require much more than the average feeder, off the lot cow. However, many complications come with this type of cattle. You must watch for inbreeding. Since there are big names in this industry, the selection of bulls becomes very slim. Only a certain number of bulls have the characteristic for them to be considered "showy."
Not every bull has the muscle, mass, and look that the judges want. What most do is Artificial Insemination. This allows for the most desirable traits to be passed onto the calves. Since there are not many bulls, as said before, there is little genetic variation in the country's show cattle population. Almost every show bull and cow are related. This gives rise to a new problem, genetic diseases that are extremely prominent. There are now three conditions that almost every new bull on the market is getting tested for.
The first being Digital Subluxation (DS). This gives the calves malformed rear hooves This is nonlethal, but the calves cannot walk properly. They cannot grow, due to the hooves not being able to support their body weight.
The next two conditions are very graphic. I can share a website to further look at pictures of this. https://visgar.vetmed.ufl.edu/en_bovrep/congenital-anomalies/congenital-anomalies.html
There is Tibial Hemimelia (TH). This is a lethal condition. There is severe deformities, fused joints, and large abdominal hernias. A calf born with this can live through birth, but will not survive the next day. They cannot walk or stand, therefore there is no way for them to get the milk or care they need.
The other condition is Pulmonary Hyperplasia with Anasarca (PHA). This condition is lethal, and nonviable. The calf will not survive birth. The calves lungs will be undeveloped and are filled with fluid therefore, cannot live outside the womb.
All of the conditions are devastating for any cattle farmer, ultimately a loss of a calf. The only way to prevent them, is genetic testing. The genetic testing can see if the bull or cow is a carrier or a noncarrier for the disease. This will help them determine how they can chose their pairings for breeding season.
I myself, ran into this problem. I bought an expensive show bull, and I thought he had been tested for all diseases. I bred him with my 3 heifers for their first calves. One of my cows had a spontaneous abortion around 7 months. The other one had the TH, with severe abdominal cavity hernia, and had to be put down. And the third calf, was a healthy, gorgeous heifer. Turns out, he was a carrier for multiple diseases and, so were two of the three cows I bred with him.
Genetic testing will help ensure the calves come out healthy and ready to be the next generation. I believe anyone wanting to get into this business, should know about the diseases and genetic test their cattle. If I knew what I know now, I could have prevented the loss of some of my herd. Genetic testing is as simple as obtaining a blood or hair sample from the bull or cow.
References
Pictures
Commenti